Wout van Aert ordered to pay €662,000 to Nick Nuyens due to breaking contract with old team
The Belgian star broke his contract with Sniper Cycling BVBA in 2018 to join Jumbo-Visma
![Wout van Aert and Nick Nuyens](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/U4z3eTgXJ6qbU7gmaV4bhm-415-80.jpg)
Wout van Aert has been ordered to pay Nick Nuyens 662,000€ plus court costs as a sanction for breaking his contract from his old team to join Team Jumbo-Visma in October of 2018.
Van Aert (Jumbo-Visma) was riding for the Sniper Cycling BVBA organisation which had both his road and cyclo-cross teams in 2018, but decided to break his contract to join WorldTour team Jumbo-Visma, where he has since had huge success.
However, his old team were aggreieved about him breaking his contract and claimed he could not do so, with team boss Nuyens taking it to court.
>>> Harrison Ford spotted in full cycling kit near Newcastle
This isn't the first time that this has been in the Belgian courts. Originally it was thrown out as Van Aert claimed he thought Nuyens had defaulted and he could leave the team without paying the severance fee.
However, Nuyens appealed this and the Antwerp Labour Court ruled that Van Aert still had an ongoing commitment which he did not respect.
Sniper Cycling wanted €1.2million in compensation but the judge decided that Van Aert would have to pay half that amount as well as court costs. But the rider's lawyers are allegedly considering an appeal.
Get The Leadout Newsletter
The latest race content, interviews, features, reviews and expert buying guides, direct to your inbox!
Nuyens' lawyer, Rudi Desmet, told Het Nieuwsblad after the ruling: "They went back to the essence of this file and asked whether Nick Nuyens actually made a mistake and there was, therefore, an urgent reason for Van Aert to end the collaboration. Today we know that Nuyens did not make that mistake."
In a testimony given by two-time world cyclo-cross champion, Niels Albert, Nuyens had supposedly asked Albert to lie about why he wanted to leave the team by putting the blame on Van Aert, but this has since been "done away with" says Desmet.
"Nuyens did nothing wrong at the time. And there was certainly no question of lying. Against that one witness statement from Niels Albert, we had more than one witness who stated that there was indeed a hair in the butter between Albert and Van Aert. Moreover, Van Aert was already giving plenty of criticism to the team at that time."
The only way that an appeal by Van Aert would be successful is if there had been an error during the procedures as the files shown in the court will no longer be judged.
Thank you for reading 20 articles this month* Join now for unlimited access
Enjoy your first month for just £1 / $1 / €1
*Read 5 free articles per month without a subscription
Join now for unlimited access
Try first month for just £1 / $1 / €1
Hi, I'm one of Cycling Weekly's content writers for the web team responsible for writing stories on racing, tech, updating evergreen pages as well as the weekly email newsletter. Proud Yorkshireman from the UK's answer to Flanders, Calderdale, go check out the cobbled climbs!
I started watching cycling back in 2010, before all the hype around London 2012 and Bradley Wiggins at the Tour de France. In fact, it was Alberto Contador and Andy Schleck's battle in the fog up the Tourmalet on stage 17 of the Tour de France.
It took me a few more years to get into the journalism side of things, but I had a good idea I wanted to get into cycling journalism by the end of year nine at school and started doing voluntary work soon after. This got me a chance to go to the London Six Days, Tour de Yorkshire and the Tour of Britain to name a few before eventually joining Eurosport's online team while I was at uni, where I studied journalism. Eurosport gave me the opportunity to work at the world championships in Harrogate back in the awful weather.
After various bar jobs, I managed to get my way into Cycling Weekly in late February of 2020 where I mostly write about racing and everything around that as it's what I specialise in but don't be surprised to see my name on other news stories.
When not writing stories for the site, I don't really switch off my cycling side as I watch every race that is televised as well as being a rider myself and a regular user of the game Pro Cycling Manager. Maybe too regular.
My bike is a well used Specialized Tarmac SL4 when out on my local roads back in West Yorkshire as well as in northern Hampshire with the hills and mountains being my preferred terrain.
-
5 exciting tech insights to look out for in the Paris Olympics time trials
Disc wheels, new skinsuits and special paint jobs are all likely to be used on Saturday
By Tom Davidson Published
-
Tom Pidcock criticises 'bland' mountain bike course at Paris Olympics
'When you just gravel over a nice hillside, it's not really mountain bike,' says reigning champion
By Tom Davidson Published
-
Wout van Aert to continue to 'chase opportunities' at Tour de France, provided Jonas Vingegaard is safe
'We want Wout to win a stage, but we have to look at it day by day', says Visma-Lease a Bike DS Frans Maassen
By Tom Thewlis Published
-
How one phone call from Wout van Aert led to the Belgian riding the Tour de France
Visma-Lease a Bike sporting director Merijn Zeeman reveals Van Aert said he wanted "to do something special"
By Tom Thewlis Published
-
21 things you didn't know about Wout van Aert
From studying computer science at university through to what he eats for breakfast
By Tom Thewlis Published
-
Jonas Vingegaard and Wout van Aert to ride Tour de France for Visma-Lease a Bike
The pair will lineup in Florence next Saturday after recovering from their respective injuries
By Adam Becket Published
-
Have Visma-Lease a Bike unofficially announced their Tour de France team with Jonas Vingegaard and Wout van Aert?
The reigning two-time champion has been part of team’s final altitude training camp in Tignes before Florence Grand Départ
By Tom Thewlis Published
-
From 'best condition ever' to 'worst' - Wout van Aert reflects on crashing out of Classics
Visma-Lease a Bike rider rues his misfortune in team documentary after Spring campaign wiped out by crash
By Tom Thewlis Published
-
Wout van Aert back on drop bars as he says he’s 'almost professional again' in Strava post
Visma-Lease a Bike rider broke his collarbone, sternum and several ribs in a high speed crash at Dwars door Vlaanderen
By Tom Thewlis Published
-
Wout van Aert to miss Giro d'Italia due to injuries suffered at Dwars door Vlaanderen
The Visma-Lease a Bike rider was set to ride the Italian Grand Tour for the first time
By Adam Becket Published