'I think they'll be back racing at the end of December' – Anticipating the cyclocross plans of Van der Poel and Van Aert

The 2024-25 cyclocross season is in full swing with the top series including the Superprestige, X2O Trofee and Exact Cross getting underway last month.

Star riders including Eli Iserbyt, Fem van Empel, Thibau Nys and Ceylin del Carmen Alvarado have all resumed racing and winning in recent weeks, though the two superstars of the 'cross world, Mathieu van der Poel and Wout van Aert, haven't yet returned to action.

Both men have been training in Spain recently following the end of their 2024 road seasons. Van der Poel ended his campaign with a bronze at the Road Worlds and the rainbow jersey at the Gravel World Championships. Van Aert, meanwhile, hasn't raced since crashing out of the Vuelta a España in September.

The pair have been based in the popular off-season training location of Alicante in southeastern Spain. Van der Poel has been training alongside gravel racer Freddy Ovett in Spain, while on Tuesday Van Aert logged 2,000 metres of elevation during a 127km ride in the hills north of Benidorm.

While they were once fixtures of the cyclocross season from September or October through to February, in recent seasons they have started their campaigns in late November or early December with preference given to their road campaigns.

Van Aert isn't expected to return to action before the end of December after a Visma-Lease a Bike training camp which concludes on December 19. Therefore, he may make his season debut at the World Cup rounds in Hulst or Zonhoven on December 21 or 22. 

Van der Poel's plans are less clear. In early October, the Dutchman said, "We still have to decide whether or not I will race cyclocross this winter".

Last week, the Dutch national cyclocross coach Gerben De Knegt said "he does have plans for cyclocross, but the question is whether it fits" with his planning for the 2025 road season.

With the future plans of the pair still unclear, several ex-pros gave their opinion to WielerFlits. Pauwels Sauzen-Bingoal directeur sportif, the three-time world champion Mario De Clercq, predicted that they would be back in action before the new year.

"I think they'll both be back racing at the end of December," he said. "They can't do nothing for the whole winter, can they? I don't think that will ever happen, and they'll never want that."

Bart Wellens, himself a double World Champion and DS at Intermarché-Wanty, said that Van der Poel and Van Aert likely wouldn't take on many races, with not much time passing between the end of December and the Cyclocross Worlds in Liévin on February 2.

"They'll never be able to do many races. If they start on the weekend of Hulst, they'll quickly reach the Worlds – especially knowing that most teams do an extra training camp in January," he said. "I think that's a bit of a shame but they're always welcome in our sport and we also need them, to some extent.

"By the way, if you're only going to do so little cyclocross, then you're doing the UCI a disservice. They have made the World Cup [which this season runs 12 rounds between November 24 and January 26 – Ed.] compact especially for those two. If someone like Van der Poel ignores a large part of those races, then that's a big middle finger to the UCI.

"If they say 'we're not coming' then you have to rely on new top riders like Nys, who you've put at a disadvantage with the new calendar. They'll be tired at the start of the Worlds, where it would be tough to beat Van der Poel or Van Aert even if they were fresh."

Another double world champion, Niels Albert, said that the pair "bring a certain atmosphere" to cyclocross when they do compete. He added that he thinks they'll want to return to the sport where they built their reputations.

"They both come from 'cross, that is their past and the basis of their career," he said. "Cyclocross is also a nice family sport to compete in. In that respect, I think they still like it and that they still want to get that feeling every winter."