Ahead of his highly-anticipated return to the cyclocross field, Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Deceuninck) believes he's ready to fight immediately for victories, but he has singled out Thibau Nys (Trek-Baloise Lions) as the rider to watch.
Van der Poel will kick off his 2025-26 CX season this Sunday at the UCI World Cup round in Namur, before he embarks on a 13-race programme that builds up to the World Championships in Hulst.
There, at home in the Netherlands, he will take aim at a record eighth cyclocross world title, having matched the previous record of seven held by Eric De Vlaeminck in Liévin last season.
After ending his summer racing in the middle of September at the Mountain Bike World Championships, Van der Poel has been itching to get going in competition, and his confidence will serve as a warning to all those bracing for his return.
"I really enjoy training, but I missed the competition. I'm really looking forward to getting back a week earlier than last year," said Van der Poel via his team, as reported by Sporza.
The world champion confirmed that he'd only trained twice on his cyclocross bike so far – a new silver machine presented by Canyon on Thursday – but it's a tried and tested plan: "That's not much, but it was no different last year, and in the end, it turned out to be enough. Hopefully, it will be enough this time too."
"Expectations can be high, and I set them high myself. Although I personally think I'm still a percent lower than last year," he said. "Still, it should be enough to immediately compete for the win."
Van der Poel conceded how he hasn't been following the season overly closely, but he's well aware of who's been doing well – Nys has won his past three races and the opening two rounds of the World Cup.
"Since I was usually on the bike myself, I didn't follow it too closely. Everything points to Thibau Nys being a bit of a new benchmark," he said.
"Specifically for Namur, you always have to mention Michael Vanthourenhout and Toon Aerts. And Cameron Mason has taken a step. There are plenty of challengers."
Nys was third at Worlds last season behind Van der Poel and his long-term rival in the discipline, Wout van Aert (Visma-Lease a Bike), who will make his CX season debut a week later at the World Cup in Antwerp.
The two stars of the sport will line up against each other at least five times throughout the busy December period and into 2026, but while Van Aert hasn't yet confirmed he will be at Worlds in Hulst, Van der Poel has singled it out as his key objective.
"Like every year, you know. We both have our own build-up, especially towards the spring," said Van der Poel of Van Aert.
"We'll run into each other then. How we'll compare this winter remains to be seen. Hopefully, we can offer the audience some spectacle.
"The World Championships in Hulst are the absolute main goal. The fact that I can become the sole record holder this time is a direct consequence, not the goal in itself."
