‘I believed I could turn it into a battle’ – two punctures on same rock ends Wout van Aert’s clash with Mathieu van der Poel at Azencross

Just when it looked like there would be a cyclo-cross battle royale between Wout van Aert and Mathieu van der Poel, a rock sparked a puncture for the Belgian, ending his hopes of defeating his eternal rival at X2O Trofee Loenhout-Azencross.

A second puncture, incredibly on the same rock, meant that van Aert finished a despondent tenth, at 1:26, as van der Poel took his sixth win of the winter.