A back wheel puncture at exactly the wrong moment in the Clásica Jaén left leading favourite Wout Van Aert stranded and - after fighting his misfortune tooth and nail - finally defeated in Spain’s top off-road event on Monday.
With around 53 kilometres to go at the start of one of the four gravel sectors, the Visma-Lease A Bike leader found himself standing on the side of the road, frantically changing tyres with teammate Per Strand Hagenes at a point where team cars were still some distance behind.
