Wout van Aert calls Mathieu van der Poel the best cyclocross rider of all time: "Without a doubt"

Wout van Aert was a guest earlier this week on Laurens ten Dam's Live Slow Ride Fast podcast. Naturally, the rivalry with his eternal opponent Mathieu van der Poel was also discussed. The latter recently hinted at quitting cyclocross or at least a winter without racing the discipline. This surprised his Belgian rival.

""I found it hard to believe," Van Aert said about the moment he heard it. "With how dominant he is right now, I think everyone should be happy if Mathieu keeps racing. It’s fantastic to watch him ride. He is undoubtedly the greatest cyclocross rider of all time." So far, MVDP has won all his races, only being challenged in Namur by Thibau Nys. After the World Cup in Maasmechelen – where the Dutchman was briefly set back twice by bad luck – he said Namur was the toughest race so far.

The team leader of Visma | Lease a Bike – currently sidelined with a broken ankle – predicts a boring World Championship on Sunday. "When it matters, I’ve never seen Mathieu hesitate. I also see no reason why it would be different in Hulst. Mathieu has shown a hundred times that he’s strong enough to ride solo for an hour. You can’t make it more exciting than it is. Mathieu is simply a level above the rest. Last week in Maasmechelen, he seemed even stronger than during the Christmas period. If he had pushed even harder there, he would have uprooted the barriers. He was very impressive."