Despite missing the Olympics, he returned in top form in the next year and won the gold medal at the 1977 IAAF World Cross Country Championships, leading the Belgians to the team title in the process. He did not return to defend his title in 1978 but instead focused on the track, where he claimed a 5000/10,000 metres double at the national championships. He could only managed twelfth place in the latter event at the 1978 European Athletics Championships, however.