The last-minute decision by three-time cyclo-cross world champion Wout van Aert (Belgium) to participate in the World Championships in Liévin, France, this weekend has sent the cycling world into a frenzy. The major showdown with Mathieu van der Poel (Netherlands), who is aiming for his seventh world title, has instantly boosted ticket sales by 2,500 and, naturally, increased media attention.
With Van Aert's addition, the Belgian team's chances of winning gold have also increased, as the team includes World Cup overall winner Michael Vanthourenhout, European champion Thibau Nys, and Eli Iserbyt. The clear favorite remains van der Poel, who has won all seven of his starts this winter, including five World Cup stages and both races against van Aert.
85% of the course runs on grass (meaning mud, as heavy rain on Thursday made the course very soft and a section was closed for training), and there are no long running sections. Belgian national coach Angelo De Clercq stated that the difficult conditions favor van Aert, who, based on results, is forced to start from the third row. "We need to ensure that van Aert moves up from the third row to the front as quickly as possible," he added.
Today's World Championships featured the mixed relay, where Great Britain took gold, followed by Italy and France. The women will compete on Saturday, and the men on Sunday.
The first 📹 of the #Lievin2025 at race pace 💨
— UCI Cyclocross (@UCI_CX) January 31, 2025
Muddy conditions after a lot of rain yesterday but let's see how the course changes over the weekend 🤔
📍 2025 UCI Cyclo-cross World Championships pic.twitter.com/m80BHcWtHu
