Cyclo-cross fans have been treated to the duels between two greats, Mathieu van der Poel and Wout van Aert, for years. The two men will be competing together this winter, but there are signs coming from van Aert's team that the Belgian ace is not taking this cyclo-cross season seriously.
Visma–Lease a Bike announced that van Aert will make eight starts in December and January, but race director Mathieu Heijboer clarified that the team leader's goal is "above all to have fun." Van Aert is using the winter events, where he will face van der Poel five times, as preparation for the spring classics.
"The main sporting goal is in April, that's clear. The goal of cyclo-cross is above all to enjoy and give something back to the fans. That's still Wout's big passion," said Heijboer, noting that van Aert will start the winter in a stronger position than in 2024, when he started training late due to a crash at the Vuelta a España.
Last spring, van Aert was unable to beat Van der Poel or Tadej Pogačar on the road, who won the Tour of Flanders and Paris–Roubaix. Van Aert aims to improve on his results. "Mathieu and Tadej are of course huge talents, capable and ready to win wherever they compete. But we see a lot of room for improvement to rediscover the best version of Wout," said Heijboer.
Van Aert's cyclo-cross season will culminate in his attempt to win his sixth Belgian championship in mid-January, with the national championships being his final race of the season.
The season plan is also built around Visma–Lease a Bike road camps – the January camp starts the day after the Belgian Championships. The Cyclo-cross World Championships are not part of van Aert's plans.
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