Wout van Aert was the only Belgian to win a medal in the pro race at the Worlds. The 20-year-old finished second behind Mathieu van der Poel. "I had a lot of bad luck - chain problems and a crash - and came just short of the gold. I had the legs to win but am also proud that I did not lose morale like I did at the Belgian Championships," regretted Van Aert.

Aert described his race "In the beginning, I was very good good and had a good answer to Van der Poel's quick start. Then the chain problems started," he told Sporza.

"The chain came off for the first time, but I quickly came back. When it fell off a second time, I lost a bit more time. But I remained perfectly calm and told myself that nothing had happened.

"It just went really wrong, when I crashed and hurt my shoulder. However, I rode on despite the pain and did not lose morale. I did a big chase and in the final lap, I reached van der Haar. For the gold, I came up a bit too short."

At the Belgian Championships, van Aert also had back luck with his chain. Why? "It shouldn't happen but it's no one's fault. Colnago has top bikes, otherwise I would not win 16 times. This was a new bike which gave me a boost before the race. I have also trained smoothely. I think the chain came off because of the mud."

Unlike at the Belgian Championships, he never gave up. "I learned from Nationals and had agreed with Niels (Albert) that I would ride full gas for an hour and not lose morale. That makes me proud of myself."

Nonetheless, the result was a disappointment. "Before the race I would probably have signed for this but now it feels like I lost the gold. Van der Poel was not better. I felt I was the strongest in the race. It is my fault that I didn't win. With these legs, I should not have lost. I had a great day but I will get more chances."