Cyclocross World Championships, Van Aert: "Van Der Poel is the favourite"

Rome, 1 February 2025 - In words, at least in public, Mathieu van der Poel he said he was happily surprised of the presence at Cyclocross World Championships of the bitter rival: who knows in reality what the true feelings of the Dutchman are, who Liévin tomorrow he will also have to deal with Wout van aert to go hunting for yet another world title

Van Aert's statements

 The Belgian himself, in a press conference, first tried to explain the reasons for this sudden change of program after having spent many months sending back to the sender the invitation to experience the most anticipated duel. "Actually this year I always wanted to participate in the World Cup, but honestly before winter I would not have expected to feel so good. The desire has always been there: then when the opportunity came I seized it. After the Christmas period I ran to Benidorm and Maasmechelen and things went well and so I decided to participate". After the happy notes comes the awareness of a fact about what the hierarchies are at the start of Liévin. "The favourite however remains Van der Poel. He will be difficult to beat, but we will do everything to make the race as difficult as possible: I can't wait to race". However, the two long-time rivals are united by several physical problems that are significantly slowing down the long approach to the scheduled appointment. Sunday February 2: the Dutchman is dealing with the after-effects of the rib fracture he suffered in Loenhout, a race he curiously won, and the Belgian with the consequences of the many falls that occurred in the 2024. "I don't know what my level is and neither does my coach. Of course, if I World Cup had they been my designated goal at the beginning of the season I would have arrived in better conditions. This year for me what matters most are the Classics of spring. The dream, however, is to be able to play with Mathieu, maybe in a sprint, as no one has managed so far this year. For me, reaching the sprint would mean having kept up with his pace for an hour. It's not easy: for example, at Maasmechelen I felt good and in any case I arrived quite a long time after him". The historical memory of Van Aert goes even further back: to be precise, to 2020 FIBA WC. "This race reminds me a bit of the one in Switzerland, when I was coming back from an injury. There was no pressure and I was happy just to be at the start. This feeling is very different from when you start and all that matters is winning. Today it is no longer like that and this allows me to show up at the start in a more relaxed and carefree way".

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