World cyclocross champion Tom Pidcock is set to make his racing return at the Superprestige round in Merksplas on Saturday, November 19.
The 23-year-old hasn't raced since taking the points jersey at the abridged Tour of Britain back in early September and hasn't competed in cyclocross since winning the world title in Fayeteville in January.
At last week's Tour de France route presentation, the Ineos Grenadiers star said that he hadn't yet decided on his calendar for the 2022-23 'cross season, instead working on getting rid of knee pain that had lingered since last February.
However, according to a report in Het Nieuwsblad, Pidcock is set to return to cyclocross racing in just over two weeks' time.
The race in Merksplas is the third round of the Superprestige trophy. It's followed the next day by the sixth round of the UCI World Cup in Overijse, which Pidcock is also set to race.
Beyond that, Pidcock's full schedule isn't yet known, and it isn't clear whether he'll defend his world title in Hoogerheide in February.
"I haven't got a schedule yet," Pidcock told Cyclingnews last week. "I think I might start in three weeks, but I actually haven't had the conversation yet. My coach has COVID so we didn't have the conversation last week on the training camp."
As for the other two main stars of the men's cyclocross scene, Mathieu van der Poel and Wout van Aert, neither have yet to confirm the starting point of their season. Both men are expected to make their first racing appearances in late November or early December, however.
