In an unexpected twist, Mathieu van der Poel will go up against Wout van Aert on Sunday for a shot at the cyclo-cross men’s world title in Liévin, northern France at the weekend.
Unlike Van der Poel, Van Aert was initially not scheduled to compete in the worlds but due to his form on the CX field in recent weeks it was announced that he will now be on the start line. Any duel between the longstanding rivals is always highly anticipated, whether it’s on or off road, although the two caked in mud going after the cyclo-cross rainbow jersey is special.
The duo enjoyed an epic battle in Hoogerheide, the Netherlands in early February two years ago, which provided plenty of edge of your seat moments. Van der Poel won that battle, before going on to win again - with Van Aert absent - last year.
Achieving a seventh would be a remarkable feat on Sunday but the presence of Van Aert in France will make things far from straightforward. Van Aert has three world titles to his name and his recent results suggest he will be firmly in contention in Liévin. We’ve put together a summary of both rider’s form going into the elite men’s race in France on Sunday.
Mathieu van der Poel
(Image credit: Getty Images)
The flying Dutchman has won eight of the races he has started this winter out of the 11 he was initially due to compete in. Even more impressive. when looking at his form, is that the final four victories came despite him suffering with a fractured rib that he picked up over the festive period.
He kickstarted his cross campaign with victory at the Zonhoven round of the UCI World Cup in Belgium before he then followed that up 24 hours later with another win at the Superprestige Zilvermeercross in Mol.
Next up was the Boxing Day clash at the UCI World Cup in Gavere, Belgium which was a far more closely run affair, with Van der Poel edging out Belgium’s Michael Vanthourenhout by 26 seconds. He then secured the victory in Loenhout the following day by 14 seconds ahead of Nys despite fracturing his rib in a mid-race crash.
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Three straight victories then followed at UCI World Cup rounds in Besançon, France, Maasmechelen in Belgium and Hoogerheide in the Netherlands to ensure Van der Poel is well and truly set up for a shot at a seventh world title.
"Pleasantly surprised," Van der Poel said when asked how he felt on learning Van Aert would take part. "It’s always nice to race against a rider like him, but there are other names I’m also keeping an eye on. Thibau Nys is someone who can rise above himself in a championship. Michael Vanthourenhout is also in good form."
Wout van Aert
(Image credit: Getty Images)
Van Aert started his cyclo-cross campaign later than his rival and was only initially scheduled to race six races this winter. This decision was made due to him keeping one eye on the start of the Classics and also the fact he was coming back from injury.
The four-time World Champion started his season at Loenhout, the same race Van der Poel obtained his injury, and managed fourth place behind the Dutchman. This was followed by two victories at the Superprestige Gullegem event and the Dendermonde round of the UCI World Cup. Van der Poel was not on the startline for either of those two victories.
The Belgian rode the Benidorm round of the World Cup and finished fourth behind overall winner Thibau Nys. He completed his initial schedule by taking second in Maasmechelen behind Van der Poel. On his decision to participate in the Worlds and face his rival for a shot at the rainbow bands, Van Aert said that being on the startline in Lievin will aid his preparation for his upcoming targets on the road.
"I’m feeling good, and my winter has gone well," he said. "The World Championships only recently came into my mind and after Maasmechelen the Belgian team coach, my coach at Team Visma | Lease a Bike and I decided to compete.
"I am excited to start in such a beautiful race, and I think that this extra boost is doing me good in the lead-up to bigger goals on the road. Obviously the preparation has been very different, but I’ll give it my best."
After previously working in higher education, Tom joined Cycling Weekly in 2022 and hasn't looked back. He's been covering professional cycling ever since; reporting on the ground from some of the sport's biggest races and events, including the Tour de France, Paris-Roubaix and the World Championships. His earliest memory of a bike race is watching the Tour on holiday in the early 2000's in the south of France - he even made it on to the podium in Pau afterwards. His favourite place that cycling has taken him is Montréal in Canada.
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