Wout van Aert’s former team manager demands €1million after he left squad for Jumbo-Visma

The court case rumbles on after Van Aert broke contract with Veranda's Willems-Crelan

(Image credit: Getty Images)

The former team manager of Wout van Aert has demanded more than €1million in damages after the rider left the squad for Jumbo-Visma.

Van Aert unilaterally terminated his contract with Veranda's Willems-Crelan in September 2018, making the switch to the WorldTour team a year ahead of schedule, despite still having a contract with Veranda's.

Former team manager at Veranda's Willems-Crelan Nick Nuyens has taken the Belgian star to court to seek compensation and during a hearing on Tuesday (October 22) he demanded €1,150,000 (£991,719), Belgian newspaper Het Nieuwsblad reports.

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Van Aert’s legal team argue that the 25-year-old left the team because “unacceptable things had happened,” while Nuyens denies this.

Speaking after the Tuesday’s hearing, Van Aert said: “[It’s] a completely skewed amount. I would find it very strange if I were sentenced for that.

“At the time, it was not all about the money for me, my career always came first.

“When I did not respond to their contract proposal, I ended up in situation in which I did not want to end up. I was placed in a completely new team that I had never chosen. So there was no other option for us.”

The labour court in Mechelen, Belgium will give its decision on the case on November 26.

Van Aert had been due to join Dutch WorldTour team Jumbo-Visma for the 2020 season, seeing out his contract with Veranda’s Willems-Crelan.

But last September, the team announced that Van Aert had terminated his contract and it later emerged he had signed for Jumbo-Visma.

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Van Aert’s departure came amid various plans for Veranda’s Willems Crelan to merge with other teams, which eventually resulted in the parent company, Sniper Cycling, joining Roompot-Charles where Nuyens stayed on as team manager.

Former triple cyclocross World Champion Van Aert, now a superstar on the road as well, publicly voiced his displeasure at being kept in the dark about potential mergers.

Van Aert has been out of competition since the Tour de France in July, after he suffered a nasty wound to his leg in a crash during the Pau time trial stage.

He is still recovering and his return to cyclocross racing this winter remains in doubt.

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Alex Ballinger

Alex Ballinger is editor of BikeBiz magazine, the leading publication for the UK cycle industry, and is the former digital news editor for CyclingWeekly.com. After gaining experience in local newsrooms, national newspapers and in digital journalism, Alex found his calling in cycling, first as a reporter, then as news editor responsible for Cycling Weekly's online news output, and now as the editor of BikeBiz. Since pro cycling first captured his heart during the 2010 Tour de France (specifically the Contador-Schleck battle) Alex covered three Tours de France, multiple editions of the Tour of Britain, and the World Championships, while both writing and video presenting for Cycling Weekly. He also specialises in fitness writing, often throwing himself into the deep end to help readers improve their own power numbers.  Away from the desk, Alex can be found racing time trials, riding BMX and mountain bikes, or exploring off-road on his gravel bike. He’s also an avid gamer, and can usually be found buried in an eclectic selection of books.