It is no secret that both Wout van Aert and Mathieu van der Poel will both return to cyclocross this winter, although their dates may differ significantly. The Team Visma | Lease a Bike rider is more likely to be back to the discipline sooner, as he takes on some off-road training in Belgium.In a video shared by fellow cyclocross pro and training partner Daan Soete, it is possible to see plenty footage of van Aert and former pro Jan Bakelants too training off-road, in what is assumed to be the area around Herentals where the two originate from.
Van Aert ended his season on the 20th of September at the Super 8 Classic and has in the meantime had almost two months to wind down, recover mentally, travel and return to some training. The 2026 season is still a long way and the spring classics will be his main goal, but because of the extended time in between, it is likely that the Belgian rider will take up some racing in the meantime. Last year he only made his debut in late December, but it is unlikely that it will be the case once again this time around.
It has already been confirmed by Filippo Fiorelli that Visma will have a training camp from the 8th to 20th of December in Spain, where van Aert is certain to be present at. This means that if he does not wish to start earlier, his debut should only come at the start of the ‘Christmas block’ which begins with the Antwerp World Cup on the same day.
If earlier, then either the Tabor or Flamanville World Cups on the 23rd or 30th of November. The latter would be much more likely as the Tabor race takes place in the Czech Republic and would require extensive travel plans. But the latter isn’t overly likely either taking into consideration it takes place in France, and van Aert does not necessarily intend on competing for any cup.