The chance that Wout van Aert will include the Cyclocross World Championships in his program again this year, as he did last year, is not very high. But neither is it zero, so Belgian national coach Angelo De Clercq is willing to accommodate a potential last-minute decision regarding a World Championship participation on February 1 in Hulst.
This happened earlier this year as well. De Clercq initially announced only eight riders selected for the World Championships in Liévin, but only the week before the title race did he reveal that three-time world champion Wout van Aert had been given the final spot—something no one had expected. A 'special trick' of sorts, which of course can’t just work twice.
For the coming winter, Mathieu Heijboer, Van Aert’s coach and Head of Performance at Team Visma | Lease a Bike, has already clarified things. “I’m not saying no to the Worlds entirely. As far as we’re concerned, the door is slightly open. We’ll decide later, but for now, the World Championships are not part of our plans,” says Heijboer.
Wildcards
These are words the coach De Clercq naturally likes to hear. With Van Aert in his selection, he immediately has a rider who can challenge Mathieu van der Poel, like in Liévin. “I personally spoke to Van Aert for a long time two weeks ago,” De Clercq tells us. “He shared his program with me in detail. There are three aspects of his cyclocross program that were important to me.”
Point one: which World Cup races are on the all-rounder’s schedule? “The first eight Belgians are automatically selected, but because Wout didn’t race much cyclocross last winter, he’s no longer in that group. For the three World Cups he wants to race, he needs a wildcard from me. These are also the races where most UCI points can be earned.”
Van Aert still participated in Liévin – photo: Fotopersburo Cor Vos
A second important point for De Clercq: the Belgian National Championships are on the calendar again for the first time in three years. “As a Belgian federation, you naturally want such a flagship rider in your championship. It’s also important for the organizers. We’re happy that the team training camp was scheduled a bit later than usual this time, so he could come to the championship once again.”
World Championship participation
De Clercq sees a World Championship participation as less likely, but he remains willing to accommodate it. “Wout told me in that conversation that he plans to finish his season after the Belgian Championships to build up towards the road classics. From what I’ve heard, there’s currently little room left for the Worlds. On the other hand, if he beats Mathieu in one or more of those five races, you might get a different feeling about Wout.”
“If Wout calls me again during the Christmas period and expresses interest in racing the Worlds, I would of course be very happy,” De Clercq concludes. “As long as the deadline hasn’t passed and entries haven’t been finalized, it’s always possible in my opinion. For someone like Wout, you can always do something extra.”
However, the national coach sees a scenario like last year’s as atypical. “Wout works very methodically. He needs that structure, also within the team, to reach his best level in spring. Last year he deviated from that to start in Liévin. But you don’t see that from Wout often, and usually he sticks to the plan. So I’ll wait and see if the plans change.”
