• Country

Van Aert to Ride Cyclo-Cross Worlds After van der Poel Scores Crushing Weekend Double

By Siegfried Mortkowitz

Cyclo-cross fans expecting a World Championship walkover after watching Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Deceuninck) make mincemeat of the opposition in two World Cup races over the weekend were probably delighted to hear that the Dutchman’s eternal rival, Wout van Aert (Visma–Lease a Bike), had changed his mind and would ride in next weekend’s World Championships after all.

One can understand the relief felt by many fans at the prospect of an actual challenge in the French town of Liévin to the six-time world champion’s dominance. The weekend’s races were the last two of the World Cup calendar and the suspense lasted all of one lap and a half in Saturday’s race in Maasmechelen, Belgium, and half a lap on Sunday in Hoogerheide, the Netherlands.

In the end, van der Poel had won by 1:14 on Saturday and by 1:42 on Sunday. As the French ironically put it, “It wasn’t a photo finish.” However, a rider other than van der Poel did take home a big prize, and that was the Belgian Michael Vanthourenhout (Pauwels Sauzen–Cibel Clementines) who won the first World Cup title of his career. His 281 points over the 11-race series (one race was cancelled due to stormy weather) beat the second-place Toon Aerts (Deschacht-Hens-FSP) by 40 points. A third Belgian, Joran Wyseure (Crelan–Corendon), who finished fifth on Sunday, completed the World Cup podium with 205 points.

Vanthourenhout was obviously delighted with the title but admitted he was no match for van der Poel. “I went to follow him, but it wasn’t possible today,” he said after Sunday’s race. “When he went, I wanted to ride towards him, but you could see straight away that he was much too strong.”

Though he rode in only five of the 11 World Cup races, van der Poel finished fourth in the final World Cup standings, with 200 points, as he won all of those races. And have I already mentioned that he won each of the seven cyclo-cross races he rode in this season? He would have won more if he hadn’t fractured a rib on December 27 in the Exact Cross race at Loenhout, which he won. Because the injury hadn’t seemed serious, he rode two days later in the World Cup race in Besançon, which he also won, of course. Then they scanned and found the break.

He told Wielerflits after Saturday’s race that the injury hadn’t totally healed yet, but that this wasn’t bad at all. “I still felt it, but maybe that was good so that I didn’t think too much about my legs,” van der Poel said. “I’m happy. I enjoyed this race. It was super beautiful, also with the audience. It was a real cross today.”

By which he meant wet and muddy. Van Aert looked strong in lap 1 (of 7) and part of lap 2 so that when he passed van der Poel with serious intent, it looked as if a real race would take place, to remind us how these two riders have thrilled their fans over the years. But van Aert, who had a poor start, was careless and too eager on a muddy descent and fell. That was the signal for van der Poel to tell his bike, “Giddyap!” Five minutes later, the race was as good as over – though van Aert picked himself up and dominated the rest of the field with a superior performance. But he never came close to catching the winner.

“I was eager to come forward quickly because I was never in the race last week in Benidorm because of that bad starting position,” Van Aert said afterwards. “I was really trying to get to the front as soon as possible. When I started the attack in the second lap, I made a stupid mistake.”

He admitted that even without crashing he probably would not have beaten van der Poel. “Without that mistake, I would have been closer. I wouldn’t say I could have won, as I finished a minute behind. I was able to ride a nice race afterwards.”

Nice enough, apparently, for van Aert to change his mind and ride in the World Championships. I think it’s significant that he made that decision after Sunday’s race, which was over halfway through lap 1 (again of 7 laps) and in which van der Poel was so dominant that he could do ‘wheelies’ for his fans on a downward ramp on laps 5 and 6.

The announcement of van Aert’s participation in the worlds was posted on the Visma–Lease a Bike website on Sunday at 18:02, or almost exactly two hours after the Hoogerheide race had finished. In the statement, van Aert is quoted as saying, “I’m feeling good, and my winter has gone well. 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.”

It won’t be an ordinary World Championship race because van der Poel is trying to make history by winning his seventh cyclo-cross world title, which would tie him for the most with the legendary Belgian Erik De Vlaeminck who won his seven titles (including six in a row) between 1966 and 1973.

Asked on Eurosport if he is fit enough despite the lingering effects of the injury, he said, “I hope so. It looks really good at the moment, but it’s a new race next Sunday. The World Championships is always something special, and I’ll fight as hard as I can to get it. I feel better now than in the first races [of the season]. I hope to ride my best race of the season next week.”

Unfortunately, the up-and-coming star of the sport, European and Belgian champion Thibau Nys (Baloise Glowi Lions), may not make it to the World Championships due to illness. He had been scheduled to ride in both weekend races but did not appear on Saturday. He started on Sunday but faded badly before dropping out early. His father and coach, the ‘cross legend Sven Nys, told Play Sports on Sunday, “When you get these signals of an emerging disease, you know it’s going to be tough. You feel it on the bike… That’s not great at the moment, just before the World Championships. But you have to deal with it. This is also part of top-level sport.”

UCI World Cup Maasmechelen 2025 Results

  1. Mathieu van der Poel, Alpecin-Deceuninck 57:51
  2. Wout van Aert, Visma–Lease a Bike +1:14
  3. Joris Nieuwenhuis, Ridley Racing 1:53
  4. Joran Wyseure, Crelan–Corendon 2:05
  5. Toon Aerts, Deschacht-Hens-FSP 2:16

UCI World Cup Hoogerheide 2025 Results

  1. Mathieu van der Poel, Alpecin-Deceuninck   57:00
  2. Michael Vanthourenhout, Pauwels Sauzen–Cibel Clementines +1:42
  3. Lars van der Haar, Baloise Glowi Lions 1:57
  4. Toon Aerts, Deschacht-Hens-FSP 2:21
  5. Joran Wyseure, Crelan–Corendon 2:28