Bart Aernouts (born 23 June 1982 in

Essen Essen () is the central and, after Dortmund, second-largest city of the Ruhr, the largest urban area in Germany. Its population of makes it the fourth-largest city of North Rhine-Westphalia after Cologne, Düsseldorf and Dortmund, as well as ...

) is a Belgian former professional

cyclist Cycling, also known as bicycling or biking, is the activity of riding a bicycle or other types of pedal-driven human-powered vehicles such as balance bikes, unicycles, tricycles, and quadricycles. Cycling is practised around the world fo ...

who competed mainly in

cyclo-cross Cyclo-cross (cyclocross, CX, cyclo-X or cross) is a form of bicycle racing. Races typically take place in the autumn and winter (the international or "World Cup" season is October–February), and consist of many laps of a short (2.5–3.5&nb ...

races. Aernouts often finished only a few places behind big names such as

Sven Nys Sven Nys (; born 17 June 1976) is a former professional cyclist competing in cyclo-cross and mountain bike. With two world championships, seven world cups, and over 140 competitive victories, he is considered one of the best cyclo-cross racers of ...

Niels Albert Niels Albert (born 5 February 1986 in Bonheiden, near Antwerp, Belgium) is a former professional cyclo-cross racing cyclist Cycle sport is competitive physical activity using bicycles. There are several categories of bicycle racing incl ...

and Zdeněk Štybar, but occasionally managed top results in high calibre races of the

Gazet van Antwerpen Trophy The Cyclo-cross Trophy (), also known as X²O Badkamers Trophy (), is a Belgian cyclo-cross racing series currently sponsored by X²O Badkamers (X²O Bathrooms). It is one of the three major season-long competitions in Cyclo-cross, the other two ...

or the Superprestige. He achieved his major wins in

Sint-Michielsgestel Sint-Michielsgestel () is a village in the municipality of Sint-Michielsgestel (municipality), Sint-Michielsgestel, Netherlands. Geography The 120 km long river Dommel flows north from a well near Peer, Belgium, Peer in Belgium. Just nort ...

, where he won both the Junior

UCI Cyclo-cross World Championships The UCI Cyclo-cross World Championships are the world championships for cyclo-cross organised by the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI). Starting in 2022, seven events are organized each year – UCI Cyclo-cross World Championships – Men's elite ...

in 2000 and the Cyclo-cross Sint-Michielsgestel in 2010. Aernouts announced his retirement from professional cyclocross in February 2015 after illness curtailed his 2014–15 season.

References

External links

* 1982 births Living people Belgian male cyclists Belgian cyclo-cross cyclists People from Essen, Belgium Cyclists from Antwerp Province 21st-century Belgian sportsmen {{Belgium-cycling-bio-1980s-stub