Cyclocross fans love it when The Big Two–that is Mathieu van der Poel and Wout van Aert square off, but so far, we haven’t had a proper battle royale like in the past. That’s mostly been due to the Visma – Lease a Bike having bad luck. And then, the Alpecin – Deceuninck, erm Premier Tech (happy new year!) just runs and rides away with things.
Sand and more sand
Well on Friday, maybe this is the day for a proper duel. The Exact Cross Mol is back for 2025, it’s once again a course with a lotta sand. According to Wielierflits, the course is a little different these past years.
“The first passage along the pond has remained completely the same, but for the second riders were sent more parallel to the first passage. That extra loop is gone. That is also how the course was made during the Belgian championship in 2013,” organizer Koen Monu said.
There’s also a large dune near the back of the course, where a short but brutal climb forces racers to choose between riding or running. For riders like van der Poel or van Aert, that’s usually when their incredible power will allow them to distance them on the ROTF (Rest Of The Field.)
Then there’s some speedy sections through the forest followed by a technical sequence of rolling terrain This is the fourth time the Big Two go against each other. Loenhout didn’t go well for Van Aert, where a flat ruined the party before it even got going. ,
There are several Canucks racing. In the junior men’s race, Fabrice Dufresne, Thomas Deniger and Asher Bensimon are representing.
In the elite women’s race, Canada has Katja Verkerk and Siobhan Kelly. The elite men’s race will have Rhett Bates and Liam Sargeant line up again.
Check back with Canadian Cycling Magazine later for results and reports from all the races!