Although cyclocross fans are treated week after week to exciting races and great duels, there is also a portion of the audience that truly tunes in only when Wout van Aert and Mathieu van der Poel join the action. We already know when the Dutch seven-time world champion will announce his program, but not yet what it will look like.
When will Mathieu van der Poel make his first appearance in cyclocross? It’s the million-dollar question, but at the same time, it’s not rocket science. Based on the past few years, Van der Poel has never resumed earlier than November 27. In the last two seasons, he opted for an approach that focused even more on the Cyclocross World Championships alone, with his first race only in mid-December.
World Championships in Hulst
Last winter, the world champion’s schedule originally consisted of eleven races between the World Cup in Zonhoven and the Worlds in Liévin, but after a heavy clash against a post in Loenhout, he broke several ribs. As a result, he had to skip the races in Baal, Koksijde, and Dendermonde, although the rest—including the World Championships—went according to plan.
While Wout van Aert himself has hinted a few times at an earlier start to the cyclocross season, we shouldn’t necessarily expect that from Van der Poel. His team manager Christoph Roodhooft of Alpecin-Deceuninck already told the media that the world champion’s program will only be revealed at the official presentation of the World Championships in Hulst at the end of November.
In Hulst, Van der Poel will once again be aiming for the world title – photo: Photopress Bureau Cor Vos
Which immediately confirms that the title battle on home soil will again be a goal for Van der Poel. It also ensures that he will not be racing before early December.
No holiday snapshots
After the mountain bike World Championships in mid-September, we haven’t seen Van der Poel back in competition. Afterwards, Van der Poel was less present on social media compared to his Belgian rival Van Aert. Roodhooft told Sporza a few weeks ago that Van der Poel "had a good holiday." Roodhooft said: "He is now training fully toward his cyclocross campaign."
So what are the possible dates for a comeback? The earliest could be Kortrijk or Namur on December 13 and 14. However, a return in the trio of Antwerp (December 20), Koksijde (December 21), or Hofstade (December 22) is more realistic.
When announcing the X2O Trophy, the organization definitely expressed a preference to see the first Van Aert-Van der Poel duel at the new Hofstade race. But Antwerp and Koksijde are also reasonable choices given Van der Poel’s fondness for sand. Antwerp is the least technical of the three and could therefore be favored.
2024: December 22 in Zonhoven
2023: December 16 in Herentals
2022: November 27 in Hulst
2021: December 26 in Dendermonde
2020: December 12 in Antwerp
