Wout Van Aert missed his eighth straight cyclocross win in Sunday's Hulst World Cup race, but was not discouraged: "Every good song has an end."

The Belgian had been on a winning streak since his return to cyclocross at the Boom Superprestige race on December 4. However, a chain problem on the first lap of the Hulst race caused him to lose significant time and he was forced to fight his way back up the field from 40th place After an hour of intense racing, he finished fourth, 1:09 behind the winner, Tom Pidcock (Ineos Grenadiers).

"It would have been nice to keep the winning streak going, but I always say, 'The next day is always the closest to your first loss. Every good song has an end. On Wednesday we have a new chance," Van Aert said, referring to the X2O Trophy Herentals, which will be held east of his hometown of Antwerp.

Van Art won Saturday's Barr by chasing down Pidcock after stopping at the pits to change his shoes. On Sunday, the Jumbo Visma rider hit a large hole while trying to avoid another rider and dropped his chain. He struggled to get the hooked chain off and started to chase, but was passed by most of the riders. He spent the rest of the race testing his form and passed most of his rivals to finish in fourth place.

"At first I didn't realize right away how many people had passed me because I was only concentrating on my chain. Only after half a lap did I realize that I was way behind," Van Aert explained.

"I tried to go 'full box' but I think fourth was the best I could do. But I think fourth place was the best I could do. I came here to give it my all and I did my best."

Van Aert has not yet decided whether he will travel to the United States for the cyclocross world championships in Fayetteville at the end of January. He will target the Belgian National Championships in Middelkerke on January 9 before making a final decision. Van Aert also intends to target the spring classics on the road as part of an intense season and is concerned about the effects of travel to the US and jet lag.