Veranda's Willems-Crelan file lawsuit against Wout van Aert
20 September 2018 10:55
The fallout between Wout van Aert and the Veranda’s Willems-Crelan team could end up in court after team manager Nick Nuyens filed a lawsuit for breach of contract, according to Sporza. The news comes days after Van Aert announced that he would race as an independent rider as he begins his cyclo-cross season. Spokesperson Ward Callens confirmed to Sporza that the team "did not accept that reason” and that the matter had been referred to their lawyers. It is the latest in a long-running saga that began with the proposed merger between Veranda’s Willems-Crelan and the Irish Pro Continental outfit, Aqua Blue Sport. Hours after it was announced that the two had merged, it was denied by the Belgian team and Aqua Blue eventually folded in dramatic circumstances.ADVERTISEMENT A merger was then completed between Veranda’s Willems-Crelan and Dutch team Roompot-Nederlandse Loterij. The move was supposed to be the best of both worlds for the teams, with each set to lose a sponsor at the end of this season. However, Van Aert had voiced his displeasure at the constant announcements, complaining that he and the other riders were not being kept afloat of the developments. He even sarcastically suggested that he would take a gap year before he is set to join the LottoNL-Jumbo team in 2020, though he had said that he would honour his contract. At the end of August, Van Aert’s coach and mentor Niels Albert announced that he would leave the team due to personal reasons. In the weeks since, Van Aert’s relationship with the team, particularly Nuyens, has deteriorated.
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