'From now until the World Championships, we're racing for second place' - Cyclocross specialists brace for Mathieu van der Poel's season start on Sunday

Mathieu van der Poel will start his cyclocross season on Sunday at the UCI Cyclocross World Cup in Namur, and all of his rivals are preparing for the worst-case scenario: that the Dutchman continues the 11-race winning streak he's had since January 21, 2024.

The reigning cyclocross World Champion was beaten at the World Cup in Benidorm that day, but before that, his last defeat was one year earlier at the Zonhoven World Cup, where he lost to Wout van Aert.

There is cause for a little hope, as Van der Poel had a difficult end to his road season. After catching pneumonia during the Tour de France and dropping out before stage 16, he struggled to find his form again. He won a stage and finished the Renewi Tour in second place overall, but then fell flat in his MTB campaign, finishing a distant 29th at the world championships before ending his season.

However, his Alpecin-Deceuninck team confirmed last week that Van der Poel's training has gone well and he is ready to be on the start line in Namur. He even showed that his bike-handling skills are still top-notch this weekend, too.

That has the cyclocross regulars expecting to watch the rainbow bands ride away from them in at least a dozen races that Van der Poel will start.

"He might not even be the best cyclocross version of himself, because he's barely trained in cyclocross. But that doesn't really matter," European champion Toon Aerts said to Wielerflits.nl. "We know that from now until the World Championships, we're racing for second place. I have no illusions about that."

Lars van der Haar agrees. "If you simply look at history, you know that the victories are gone once Van der Poel joins," he said. "Namur might be the toughest, but after that, it's over. But that doesn't stop you from trying to get as close to that result as possible.

"Podium finishes suddenly become victories. Anyone who can get close will try to beat him and take on the challenge. I took every opportunity I had against Mathieu, but he reaches a special level every time. Especially in his first two matches, it's often extreme."

Aerts said he wasn't likely to win in Namur but noted that might be different for other riders who were hoping Van der Poel would wait another week. "For someone like Thibau Nys, it might be different. Thibau has been dominating the last few weeks. Of course, that's over now," Aerts said.

In 23 of Van der Poel's last 25 'cross races, the only question has been by how much he would win. But Aerts thinks Namur is a tough enough course that it might take a few laps before the World Champion rides away.

"That uphill start in Namur suits him. He can definitely get away from there, and I expect him to launch his attack quickly and be off," Aerts said. "But in principle, it's not necessary. He can easily wait a bit. With the challenging course and the elevation gain, there are still plenty of places to make a difference. After all those hours of training in Spain, he'll definitely have a tempo 'cross like that in his legs."

Fans can expect the rest of the riders to not even try to follow when Van der Poel goes, because doing so will almost always make them blow up.

"You can only engage in a duel if you're close to his level," Aerts said. "And I don't see anyone doing that right now.

"Tibor Del Grosso, perhaps most of all. But a duel? You really shouldn't expect that. Thibau Nys is already much better than in previous years, and he's made a lot of progress. But let's not expect him to reach that level just yet. It's also quite impressive to finish second behind Mathieu van der Poel."