The 2025 road racing season is over and done with, and the 2025-26 cyclocross season is already up and running. The top level of ‘cross racing in Europe launched in recent weeks with the Exact Cross, Superprestige, and X2O Trofee series all getting underway.

Riders such as Lucinda Brand and Michael Vanthourenhout have enjoyed hot starts to the campaign, and world champion Fem van Empel and European champion Thibau Nys have also added their names to the early honour rolls.

But, as has often been the case in recent seasons, a shadow – well, a trio of shadows – hangs over the scene. The biggest stars of men’s cyclocross, the riders who have shared the last 11 world titles, are yet to put tyre to dirt this season.

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Mathieu van der Poel rode a limited campaign of just eight races, including five rounds of the UCI World Cup and the UCI Cyclo-cross World Championships in Liévin, France. He won every race, but didn’t start his season until the World Cup round in Zonhoven on December 12.

The Dutchman is currently in Spain training alongside his frequent training partner Freddy Ovett, and so it doesn’t look like he’ll be hitting the mud of Northern Europe quite yet.

We’ll have to wait until the unveiling of the ‘cross Worlds route at the end of this month for his team to reveal when he’ll be back in action.

Taking that timing into consideration, and given that his previous two seasons have started in mid-December, an educated guess would say similar this time around, too.

Wout van Aert, has taken a similar tack to the Dutchman in recent seasons, limiting his cyclocross outings to nine and six, respectively, in the past two seasons, as well as waiting until December to get going.

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There are hints that the Belgian will get underway before Van der Poel, however. Perhaps a 2025-26 season debut at the start of December is on the cards.

“I want to wait a few weeks of training first to see when it makes sense to resume. There’s also a long road season ahead, so we need to plan wisely,” Van Aert told WielerFlits last week at Tim Declercq’s farewell criterium.

Van Aert took a post-season holiday with his family before he resumed some training at the end of October. He then took a sponsor trip to California which wrapped up November 7.

Tom Pidcock didn’t race ‘cross at all last season, and indications are that it may be the same story again this winter for the Briton.

Since ending his road season with a sixth place at Il Lombardia last month, Pidcock hit the gravel. He took sixth place at the UCI Gravel World Championships the next day before heading on holiday and then returning to the gravel bike at the end of October for the week-long South African stage race, Gravel Burn, where he won a stage.

So far, there have been no public pronouncements on this year’s cyclocross season from Pidcock, but it seems unlikely.

“There is very little chance that Tom will race this winter, but it cannot be ruled out,” his coach Kurt Bogaerts told Sporza last month.

“We just have to make sure Tom has enough rest and build-up periods. Because Tom wants to compete and win wherever he starts, and good preparation is crucial for that,” he added, referring to the 2026 road season, where Pidcock will take aim at the spring Classics and Grand Tours.