Today Wout van Aert took his 9th win in the pro ranks at the GP Sven Nys in Baal and he is now one of the big favourites for the Belgian championships on January 11. "I know everyone will consider me as top favorite there," he says. 'Personally, I also hope I will do well there."
Unlike in the previous races, Wout van Aert did not take the initiative in Baal immediately. "In the beginning, I was a bit hesitant," he told Het Nieuwsblad. "I mainly wanted to defend my position in the stadings and it was not up to me to open the race. In the second half, I still felt that I had something left and I accelerated."
Only Tom Meeusen managed to follow him even though he was clearly suffering. When the Telenet rider suffered a puncture, van Aert was on his own. "Pretty quickly I had a big gap," he said. "And I just kept riding my pace. This is another great victory."
The win was already his ninth in the pro ranks, meaning that he tops the list of winners ahead of Kevin Pauwels who has five victories. Van Aert is now considered the favorite for the Belgian championships where he will ride against the pros. "People expect that I ride for the win," he said. "I hope that too, but I stay calm. I am still very young and nothing is necessary. If I fail, I have many chances to become champion. I will be very motivated at the start and I'm well prepared."
That preparation already starts on Thursday. Van Aert travels to Calpé with teammate Rob Peeters and will train there for several days. He will only return to Belgium on Monday
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