Wout van Aert is putting the final touches on his preparations for his cyclocross season debut this weekend, with the Belgian set to make his return to the mud and sand – and face off against Mathieu van der Poel for the first time – at the UCI World Cup in Antwerp on Saturday.
The Belgian is set to ride a limited six-race 'cross campaign this season, making his return one of the most hotly anticipated events of the winter, and five confirmed races with eternal rival Van der Poel appointment viewing.
Van Aert has spent time in California this offseason, and he has stated that his cyclocross campaign will focus on building for the spring Classics in 2026. But he's still taking winter racing seriously with several Strava rides this week focussed on preparing for his 2025-26 season debut.
On Wednesday, Van Aert logged a 68km ride on his Cervelo R5-CX 'cross bike near his home in Herentals, named 'First day of school', while later in the day he put in another 70km of training, entitled 'Double Wednesday… CX is coming.'
The first duel of the season between Van Aert and Van der Poel will come in Antwerp, a race where the Dutchman has triumphed seven times since 2014, beating Van Aert into second place on five occasions. Van Aert won the event back in 2015 when it was part of the BPost Bank Trofee.
This year's race, part of the UCI World Cup, will see the pair battle against other top names such as Joris Niewenhuis, Tibor Del Grosso, Thibau Nys, and Michael Vanthourenhout, among others. As a result, Flanders Classics CEO and race organiser Tomas Van Den Spiegel expects huge numbers of fans to show up on Saturday.
"We do expect a few more people than usual," he told Het Laatste Nieuws. "An exact forecast is very difficult. Cyclocross fans are often very late deciders.
"But this week, we're seeing about 1,000 tickets flying out the door each day, which should easily push us towards 12,000 to 14,000 by Saturday. A record? Hmm, those are numbers that have been achieved in the past. But it'll probably be close."
Van Den Spiegel said his team is "certainly thrilled" with the projected outcome, but noted that cyclocross won't always be able to rely on Van Aert and Van der Poel to sell tickets and make money.
"The sport has proven in the past that it can weather storms many times. But we must capitalise on the momentum to improve the future of cyclocross and our organisations, making it more sustainable, and creating the stars of tomorrow. Because one day it will be without Mathieu and Wout; they won't be racing forever," he said.
"Hopefully, it'll take a while, but we have to be prepared. That's precisely why we're incredibly happy with the development of, for example, Thibau Nys and some of the young female talents. They must ensure that there will be life after Van der Poel and Van Aert."
Van der Poel will line up as the favourite for victory on Saturday, having made his season debut last week with a win in a thrilling battle with Nys at the Namur World Cup.
A change to the layout in Antwerp this weekend could assist both him and Van Aert, with the pair facing the challenge of starting from the third row.
"We've moved the start and finish lanes to the wide Thonetlaan, where the riders' campers used to be parked," Flanders Classics head of cyclocross Chris Mannaerts told WielerFlits.
"The finish on the Wandeldijk next to the beach had the advantage of being right after the last sandy section, but in terms of crowd flow, that finish did cause a lot of problems.
"The new starting lane is over six meters wide, and there are plenty of opportunities to move up at the beginning. The starting lane is split into two sections, but that bend on the asphalt won't pose many problems. It will take over 400 meters before the lap first reaches a width of four meters, at the first dip in the sand. So there's plenty of room to choose your position before it gets tricky the first time."
