Toon Aerts suffers bad luck again in Antwerp: "Frustrating"

Since becoming European champion, things haven't really clicked for Toon Aerts. After winning the European title, he only managed one top-10 finish. Aerts partly attributes the lack of good results to mechanical issues. He also suffered a flat tire in Antwerp, he told Het Nieuwsblad.

The Belgian could only manage an eleventh place in Antwerp. "Last week I had two flats and it happened again now. At that point, you automatically start thinking about Sunday’s race in Koksijde. But well, you have to keep going, right? There's no point in dropping out and leaving the race. You would only regret that afterward. I was hoping to get close to tenth place, but yeah. You know, you can curse a lot, but that’s about it. I’m not sure I can blame myself; I know it’s pretty frustrating," he said.

However, Aerts refuses to believe in a 'curse of the European jersey.' "I refuse to think that way myself. Otherwise, you'd carry that mindset all the time, and it would become a reality. There are still many races to come in the next days and weeks. In principle, I will race everything except the Superprestige events. It will be busy, but that goes for all riders. I rather see it as multiple opportunities for good results," concluded the 33-year-old rider.