Mathieu van der Poel and Wout van Aert are both legends of cyclocross, despite still having a few years of their career left and already skipping full cyclocross campaigns already for many years. However, many still hope that the duo would come back to their roots and race one more full season or focus on the classifications as they did when they were younger, as is the case with Michel Wuyts.
“He’ll be there. For about ten cyclocross races maximum, and masterful without a doubt,” Wuyts said in words to Het Laatste Nieuws regarding Mathieu van der Poel. The Dutchman has the opportunity this winter to win a record-breaking eighth world title in the discipline and there are no signs that he won’t return, after what have been a few years where he simply been unmatched virtually anytime he started a race. His continuous good health and lack of injuries are potentially what saw him increase the gap over Wout van Aert, who often won over him in the earlier years of their career specially in the big moments.
At the time being however it is van der Poel who rules the discipline fully, whilst van Aert often uses it now only to prepare for the road season, and at time skips the World Championships too as he looks to remain fresh and well prepared for the cobbled classics in early April where he is still looking to win a monument.
However taking into consideration the talent of the Team Visma | Lease a Bike rider, as well as the possibility of the discipline becoming a winter Olympic sport in 2030, we could see a rebirth of interest from the top pros that have focused more on the road over the past few years. “I don’t think it’s impossible that Van Aert and Van der Poel will throw themselves into it for a few more winters in their twilight years,”