Cyclocross, first seasonal victory for Van Aert

Rome, 4 January 2025 - When the cat's away, the mice will play: the absence of Mathieu van der Poel iIn a certain sense it paves the way for the first success of the season, the87th overall, Wout van aert, which makes the stage its own super prestige di Gullegem.

Van Der Poel's absence

 After the fourth place in Loenhout, the Belgian won at home and did so by beating his compatriot Eli IserbytThe two fought for a long time, practically until the last lap, when the rider of the Visma-Lease a Bike he delivered the decisive blow that sent his rival into a tailspin, as he made a mistake in engaging the pedal in the transition from the sandy section to the mud section. The all-Belgian podium was completed by Michael Vanthourenhout on the eve of the stage of World Cup di Dendermonde, scheduled Sunday January 5: another appointment in which he will be missing Van der Poel, after the absences already noted at Baal e Koksijde. The reason is easy to say: that blow to the side taken at Loenhout, despite the victory in that race and the subsequent comforting medical tests, still has its course. And it is a very high price, as stated by the Dutchman himself, who commented with a laconic 'I have no other choice: I still have to be patient' in a press release his sudden setback in the mud season. On the horizon now there is a return in Spain for a training camp for the road season already included in the initial programs, according to which now Van der Poel will be absent from cyclocross for a while. Yes, but until when? The appointment should be (at this point the conditional is a must) for the 25st Januarywhen Maasmechelen the final act will take place in preparation for the real declared objective of the season: the World Cup di Lievin of the 2 February for the hunt for the seventh rainbow seal. Then Van der Poel will put aside the mud to concentrate on the road and the Classics of spring.

Lotto's alarm on the cycle market

 In 2025, after the failure to renew with the sponsor Dstny, Lot will have the simple name 'classic': a return to the past that does not prevent the Belgian team, in the person of the general manager Stephane Heulot, intercepted by Het Nieuwsblad, to complain about what is happening in the cycling market. "Cycling is changing at great speed and a handful of teams are trying to explode the market. I take the example of Florian Vermeersch: the offer formula from UAE Team Emirates it was double ours. So, obviously, we can't compete with these formations, but if in 2026 we want to have a place in the World Tour we will have to add something". It is inevitable to talk about what happened with Maxim Van Gils. "At the beginning 2024 we adjusted his contract, adapting to his requests, which were rather expensive. For this reason we could never have predicted what happened, also because contracts must be respected, but I fear that the transfer market model is also coming to us".

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