The road race at the World Championships, held in early August this year for a change, turned into a battleground. A flurry of attacks created the first breakaway more than 100 kilometres from the finish line, including the Jumbo-Visma riders Van Aert, Tiesj Benoot, Nathan van Hooydonck and Dylan van Baarle. Christophe Laporte had to let go at the front due to equipment failure.

After Benoot and Van Hooydonck, among others, began to ride in Van Aert's service, an elite group of four riders remained in pursuit of Alberto Bettiol, who had escaped alone. The Italian was caught after a solo ride of several dozen kilometres by the group that included Van Aert, Van der Poel, Mads Pedersen and Tadej Pogacar. At this point, Van der Poel attacked. Van Aert held on the longest but eventually had to let the Dutchman go. Van der Poel rode the last twenty kilometres solo to the line, despite a crash in the closing stages. Van Aert continued to chase and again showed his strong legs to take the silver medal.

After receiving his medal, Van Aert told his story. "Of course, I came here for the gold medal, but I am realistic enough to say that silver was the highest achievable today. That is why I am still standing here as a somewhat satisfied person. When Mathieu attacked, I was right on his wheel. I could stay with him for a while, but then I had to let him go. Even though we gave everything in the chase, Mads, Tadej and I immediately understood that he was gone.”

The Belgian continued: "It was a blistering race that eventually turned into a man-to-man battle. I was always in an excellent position. I think that was the key to success on this track. I cannot thank my teammates enough for their support throughout the day. I was confident in the corners and wanted to take the initiative on the climbs. The legs were good, but one rider just proved to be better. Hats off to Mathieu for what he did today. My focus is now on next week's time trial.”

Fellow countryman Benoot struggled, but he could do the necessary work for his leader. "The course was gruelling, but I got through it. Wout asked me to take the initiative and control the race. Once he took over, only the strongest were left at the front. It is a shame that Wout could not crown his great day with a gold medal, but Mathieu is the rightful new world champion. He peaked again today at the right time; we can and must be honest about that”, said Benoot, who finished ninth.