Wout van Aert wasn't able to pull off the national title at the Belgian Gravel Championships on Sunday, but he gave it a big crack and, in any case, he couldn't have picked a better winner.
Pulling on the red, yellow and black national champion's jersey was Daan Soete, the established gravel racer who is a long-time friend and training partner of Van Aert.
What's more, the race was taking place just a matter of kilometres from where the pair of them were born and grew up, in Herentals – which was part of the attraction for Van Aert to shake up his calendar and make this appearance less than a week out from the Vuelta a España.
And to top it off, the pair of them were alone together at the head of the race on the final lap of the course, before Soete rode clear in the final few kilometres.
"The fact that we rode the final together… I had goosebumps on the last lap," Van Aert said, according to the Flemish media.
"We ride on these tracks here almost daily; we grew up together, after all. It is surreal that everything fell into place so well, because we had hoped to take control of the race with just the two of us. That wasn't easy, because there were many strong riders out there. What a special day."
Van Aert and Soete formed part of a five-man group that established itself half-way through the 163-kilometre race, and they went clear together when Van Aert stamped on the pedals with a big attack 22km from home.
"He made such an acceleration, next to the highway," Soete said of that moment. "I was lucky that he briefly slipped out of his pedal, otherwise I might have been dropped. I was really at my limit."
However, just as it appeared the two friends would ride together to the finish and sprint it out between them, there was a late twist as Van Aert started to struggle and Soete eased away.
"I wasted a lot of energy along the way, bordering on cramps," Van Aert said.
"I would have liked to win myself, but there is absolutely no disappointment on my part."
Van Aert will now turn his attention towards the Vuelta, which starts in Monaco next Saturday, with the World Championships in Canada to follow in September.
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