When Visma | Lease a Bike announced Wout van Aert’s cyclocross calendar on Monday morning, there were only eight races listed. However, his team is keeping the door slightly open for the Cyclocross World Championships on February 1 in Hulst.
The team’s press release made no mention whatsoever of the World Championships. Only the races between the World Cup in Antwerp (on December 20) and the Belgian cyclocross championships in Beringen (on January 11) were discussed. We’re familiar with this tactic from last winter, when Van Aert only confirmed his participation a week before the Worlds in Liévin, France.
Back then, Visma | Lease a Bike maintained secrecy and denial throughout the entire winter regarding a possible Worlds appearance. Now, Head of Performance Mathieu Heijboer is much more open. “I’m not saying no to the Worlds entirely. As far as we’re concerned, the door is slightly ajar. We’ll make that decision later, but for now, the Worlds isn’t part of our plans.”
Van Aert, Heijboer, and the team’s performance staff will still need to carefully weigh that decision. “It’s always a dilemma. The Worlds don’t fit ideally on the calendar if you want to perform well in the classics shortly afterward. That’s something you can only really evaluate based on how Wout feels at that time,” Heijboer said.
After the Belgian Championships, Van Aert will go on a training camp with the team until January 24. “If we then see that he feels good enough, that the cyclocross races are going well, he’s recovering well, and he’s ahead of schedule, then there’s a possibility the opportunity will arise. Last year, the door seemed much more open, and then it did open—on his own initiative. Now the door is still closed, but not sealed shut.”
Wout van Aert
