Wout van Aert more than lived up to his status as pre-race favourite in the Exact Cyclocross at Essen on Saturday, blasting home alone by a notable margin in his opening event of the season.
Defying his own pre-race comments that he was not starting his cyclocross season in great shape, Van Aert only waited until just over half-way through the appallingly muddy, rain-lashed course to launch out for an impressive solo victory.
