Trainer Van Aert will be happy: Two young fans return Van Aert’s lost watch – “There are still honest people in the world”

The Cyclo-cross World Championship was held in Liévin, France, and on the final lap of the competition, something extraordinary occurred to Wout van Aert. The watch was misplaced by the Belgian cyclist while he was on his way to winning a silver medal. The item was returned to its owner in a secure manner by two young fans.

During the time that Van Aert was occupied with conducting many interviews following the championship and the podium ceremony, the press officer of the Belgian team received a tap on the shoulder. “They found Wout’s watch,” was the news that they received from the French group.

It was at that same moment that Van Aert was questioned about whether or not Mathieu Heijboer, his coach at Visma | Lease a Bike, would still be able to do his duties in light of the fact that Van Aert was unable to upload his data. “Even worse,” he laughed, “is the possibility that I will fall short by five kilometers in order to reach a nice round number by the end of the year.” And you should know that it is how those guys think. “I am not joking.”Following their interviews with members of the written press, including those with IDLProCycling.com, two young fans entered the mixed zone while holding the watch in their hands. After giving it a thorough examination to confirm that it was indeed his, Van Aert discovered that everything was in its proper place. Thanks to all of you. It was he who inquired of the youngsters, “Where did you find the watch?” Their response was, “On the descent,” and they were two French children.

As soon as that happened, Van Aert was able to retrieve his watch, which meant that he could upload his race data for analysis as he normally would. He had already attempted to stop the timer on his watch by the time he crossed the finish line; however, by that point, it had already lost its position on the course and was laying someplace else. When he inquired, “Would you like to take a picture of me?” Two ecstatic young men enthusiastically agreed. “There are still honest people in the world,” Van Aert said with a giggle in response to the incident.While everything was going on, the Belgian who works for Visma | Lease a Bike uploaded his performance to Strava. In spite of the fact that he finished the World Championship course of Liévin in one hour, three minutes, and thirty-nine seconds, his watch only had 59 minutes and thirty seconds registered for him. It was at the halfway point of the final lap that everything began to go awry. The explanation that he provided under the data was as follows: “When I hit a pole on the last lap, my Garmin watch fell off.” “But two kids brought it back!” The quickest lap on Strava was completed by Aubin Sparfel, a French cyclist who finished sixth in the U23 category. Van Aert’s lap was good enough for sixth place on Strava.

The talented youngster, who was only 18 years old at the time, had been on a training ride in December. When looking at the times that were produced throughout the course of this weekend, the best lap was set by Oscar Amey, a junior from the United Kingdom. Over the course of 7.26 minutes, he finished the course. The majority of the professionals are currently waiting, and it is likely that they will break the record.