While 57 of the world’s best cyclocross riders couldn’t bring down world champion Wout van Aert atCross Vegas Wednesday night, an innocuous set of stairs did. The Belgian tripped, midway through the season’s first World Cup cyclocross race, and fell heavily. Thursday, his Crelan – Vastgoedservice team revealed that van Aert had broken his left big toe in the fall.
Van Aert, who went on to win the Las Vegas race in convincing fashion, is still planning to race World Cup #2, Jingle Cross, in Iowa City on Saturday.
Team manager Jan Verstraeten said that little can be done about the injury, but despite the pain, there’s also not much van Aert could do to make it worse.
The 22-year-old will test the toe on the bike in the interim, and the team said it will monitor his pain level ahead of Saturday’s tough, hilly race.