On Sunday, racers return to Namur for the UCI CX World Cup. Mathieu van der Poel’s return to cyclocross brings him back to Belgium, a venue that has staged many decisive races but one unforgettable near-upset. Five years ago, on the brutal slopes of the Citadel, Toon Aerts pushed the Dutch superstar closer to defeat than almost anyone has managed in recent memory.
The 2019 World Cup unfolded like so many van der Poel races — until it didn’t. Within minutes, the world champion surged clear on the off-camber climb, rainbow bands flashing as the rest of the field scrambled behind. It looked familiar, inevitable. Another day, another Mvdp win. Game over early. But Aerts refused to read the script. He was not racing for second, that day.
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“At Namur, the morale is always a little higher. It was one of the first big crosses I rode as a junior, and I think I went to every one after that. It is one of the toughest races of the year, but the nice thing is that you can constantly ride around at your own pace,” he said to Wielerflits.”You are fighting more against yourself than against the competitors. That suits me perfectly.”
World cup cx Namur 2019 men first lap pic.twitter.com/N9gKgRuOrm
— 🏁Cycling record of MTB🏁 (@dleopardi47) November 22, 2022
Namur has always brought out the best in the Belgian. The course rewards rhythm, resilience and patience more than snap acceleration, and Aerts arrived confident, with a deep belief that the Citadel suited him perfectly. Long climbs, constant pressure, no hiding.
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Then the weather intervened. Relentless rain turned the circuit into an absolute mess. Temperatures hovered near freezing, and the race became a test of survival as much as speed. Riders weren’t racing each other so much as fighting hypothermia.
Mid-race chaos followed. Van der Poel suffered punctures. Aerts attacked. Gaps opened, and closed, and reopened again. At one point, van der Poel stalled on the cobbled climb, empty and exposed, while Aerts surged ahead on pure grit. It was a proper battle.
But aggression came at a cost. Aerts crashed hard, remounted, and kept going. When he fell again late in the race, van der Poel finally slipped free, riding to a gutsy win.
Aerts finished battered, shaking, and eventually diagnosed with broken ribs. Yet the result barely tells the story. The race lives on because it showed something rare: van der Poel vulnerable, and Aerts proving he could meet him on the same battlefield.
“I should have won,” Aerts has said since — and few who watched that day would argue.