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Wout Van Aert is back: Belgian wins final round of DVV Trofee

Iserbyt and Alvarado are the new series champions

February 8, 2020
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Wout Van Aert expressed disappointment in not finishing on the podium of the Worlds elite men’s race last week, but on Saturday his comeback from injury at the 2019 Tour de France was complete, as he won the final round of the DVV Trofee, Krawatencross in Lille, Belgium.

Van Aert thwacked his injured area in triumph as he crossed the line.

Van Aert had to chase down Quinten Hermans on the final lap to take the victory, his first of the cross season. Since returning in the December 27 round in Loenhout, Van Aert has finished seven races in the top-8, with a runner-up spot to Mathieu van der Poel January 25 in the Kasteelcross Zonnebeke. Van Aert will turn his attention to the road, with March’s Strade Bianche his first race.

Winner of five of the eight DVV rounds, van der Poel skipped the final race, as he prepares for his 2020 road debut at the Volta ao Algarve in Portugal February 19-23. He finished in third place overall in the DVV Trofee, +7:43 to new champion Eli Iserbyt, who won the opening round and came 11th on Saturday.

Iserbyt still has a chance to win the Superprestige series as well, being only one point behind Laurens Sweeck with two rounds remaining.

On the women’s side, Dutch sensation Ceylin del Carmen Alvarado continued her fine season, winning the final round to add the DVV Trofee to her rainbow jersey. For the second weekend in a row, Alvarado beat compatriot Annemarie Worst by a single second, her fifth consecutive DVV triumph. Bested by Worst in the World Cup overall standings, Alvarado has a five-point lead over another Dutch rider, Yara Kastelijn, in the Superprestige series, with two races to go.

After racing two of the eight DVV Trofee rounds, and finishing eighth on the first, Canadian Ruby West placed 40th in the overall standings.