Belgian national coach expects news on Wout van Aert’s world championship participation in two weeks

National coach Angelo De Clercq gave a small heads up before the start of the World Cup cyclocross in Gavere about Wout van Aert’s possible World Championship plans.

De Clercq hopes that Van Aert will still choose to race the Worlds in Hulst and expects to have clarity on this within a few weeks. “It is not completely ruled out. Not only is he important to us sportingly, but the youth also look up to him. I pencil in his name in every selection I make. Around or after the National Championship (on January 11, ed.) it will become clear what it will be,” he told HLN.

No compromises on training camps
Van Aert’s coach Mathieu Heijboer explained at the start of the winter what a 2026 Worlds participation depends on. “The starting point is that we will definitely respect the dates of our training camps with the road team. We are not going to make concessions or compromises on that,” he made clear.

“Only, this year we go with the team a little later than the past years. In that regard, it all fits together well. On January 12, the day after the National Championship, we travel to Spain to stay there until January 24. I’m not saying no outright to the Worlds. As far as we are concerned, the door is slightly ajar. We will make that decision later, but for now the Worlds are not in our plans,” he concluded.