‘His ankle is the most painful’ – Wout van Aert’s final cyclo-cross battle with Mathieu van der Poel at risk after Belgian’s heavy crash in Mol

Wout van Aert finally looked to be almost the better of cyclo-cross World Champion Mathieu van der Poel for the first time this season during the Exact Cross in Mol on Friday, suggesting he was arriving at peak form.

However, the snowy conditions led to a hard fall for the Belgian and worrying signs as Van Aert then dropped out of the race while visiting the mechanical pits.