Wout Van Aert, and his Team Jumbo-Visma (Visma-Lease a Bike in 2024, have made some important choices. The Belgian champion has decided not to participate in the Cyclocross World Championships in Tabor in February and will also miss the National Championships. his goal is to do well in the Spring Classics (on road) and then in the Giro d'Italia, where he will race for the first time and seems to even want to aim for the general.
The boy from Herentals, however, will make some appearances in cross-country starting in Belgium in Essen on 9 December, to continue with the appointments in Mol (22/12), Antwerp (23/12), Gavere (26/12), Zolder ( 27/12), Hulst (30/12), Baal (1/1) and Koksijde (4/01). In January there could also be two other appointments with Zonhoven (7/1) and Benidorm (21/1), but everything is in flux.
Mine is a conscious choice and for this reason I will make a shorter program. Last year I noticed that it was mentally harder to really focus on the winter season and then transition into the spring season. I've decided for myself that I no longer want to leave anything to chance when it comes to Spring Classics. This is why, although with a heavy heart, I am carrying out a more limited program regarding cross-country – Wout Van Aert
Mathieu van der Poel, however, will participate in more cyclocross races with the aim of the world championship. Even if he announces that in the future he will be forced to reduce his commitment to cyclocross to safeguard his physique, especially the back that gave him so many problems last year.
Mathieu van der Poel's cyclocross calendar includes 13 races. And, above all, the World Cup, where he will try to regain the rainbow jersey that he already wears. Even though it was in cyclocross that Mathieu van der Poel began to shine, we must say that in this discipline he has already won everything.
Not only would I avoid risks for my back, but we also have to take into account the fact that I don't have much else to achieve on a sporting level in cyclocross – Mathieu Van der Poel
Of the 3 current great cyclists in the discipline (along with Van Aert and Pidcock) he is the one who has opted for a more intense and broader calendar and, to date, the only one who has confirmed his participation in the World Championship.
