"I will not let myself be led to make statements anymore" - Michael Vanthourenhout tired of van der Poel and van Aert questions that have "been asked twenty times"
Cycling
Michael Vanthourenhout has been having a strong cyclocross season so far, hitting his best form right on time as the World Cup began, and currently he leads the competition having won two out of the three races. He had been asked more times however about the return to cyclocross of riders like Mathieu van der Poel and Wout van Aert, and wishes to not be in the spotlight so much.
“That question has been asked twenty times again. I am mainly focused on my own cross season. Of course Wout and Mathieu will be there again next week, but I am just doing my best," Vanthourenhout told Wielerflits this past weekend. "It is not that I am now organizing my cross differently because they are participating.”
“Don't get me wrong: it is great that they are participating again. Those guys made the cross very big and it is a nice challenge to compete against them. Maybe I can stand on the podium with them one day. Those are photos that you can look back on with pleasure later.”
Vanthourenhout stands a pretty good chance of doing so, likely battling with Wout van Aert as well taking into consideration his likely lower form. The former European Champion is on his own mission this winter and he says that he and other riders aren't so pleased with the constant request for comments on the 'big two' that will come into the field in the coming days.
“We also do our best to perform every week. Then that excessive attention is a bit of a shame. And yes, sometimes it is also annoying. I don't need to be in the media either, I am not someone who seeks out the spotlight and sucks all the attention towards me. But other riders will still be bothered by the fact that it is only about those two during this period," he argues.
"I will not let myself be led to make statements anymore," the Belgian hits. "It is simply: they are of a very high class and then we will see what is possible in the coming weeks. Third, fourth or fifth: it does not matter to me. I always try to do my best.”
“I will not let myself get carried away in that area anymore, you know. And do my own thing, follow my own career path. First of all, I now want to defend my rankings as well as possible and fulfill my personal goals," Vanthourenhout concluded.
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We're crossing borders next Saturday and you can be there as well! 🤩 Participate and get the chance to win a duo ticket for Hulst on the 21st of December. 🤞 Test your luck via this link: https://t.co/gI9QvZdCXL #CXWorldCup #FLCS pic.twitter.com/QR0YkSdoPt
— UCI Cyclo-cross World Cup (@UCIcyclocrossWC) December 16, 2024
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- The UCI do have their favorites.
Front24208-11-2026 - On a positive note, you maybe notice turning this topic into a discussion has the benefit of eliminating certain participants who do not see how they can turn it back to their sole interest ;-)Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- People see what they want to. I am actually the opposite of your accusation, probably more of a rebel than most of you who don’t get the big picture. The difference is, I don’t go moaning publicly about the consequences of my transgressions, I understand the need for rules and I take my OWN responsibility when deciding to ignore or break them or doing so involuntarily. I will also not hesitate to state my case or argue vehemently when relevant, sometimes it works, sometimes it makes things worse but that’s the price to pay for principles and having character.Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- That may be but that was unknown to others and nothing says that’s the whole truth. Again, don’t try to misinterpret, it is a call and technically it is correct. Besides, even if there is a valid reason, that does not disqualify the ruling or punishment as far as the rules have been developed. I don’t think they’re as far as in football where for handball there is a distinction (in some ways and specific cases) between intentional or not. And football can be just as harsh and people live with it, eg the offside rule, also judged to within tiny fractions but often wrong or ignored. It’s the nature of every collective organisation and sometimes I wonder if our rebellion against it isn’t seated in the feelings we carry from the injustices we’ve felt personally, like being flashed driving 1km/h too fast when we are explained limits are just a security measure but we are absolutely certain not to have endangered anyone with our transgression. The problem is, nobody has better solutions and no 2 people have the same interpretation of where a limit should be.Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- Because for you deviated implies the other rider MUST have been made to fall and fail to finish ??? I don’t know if you ride a bike but next time someone carves you up or drives dangerously close, just hold back from those feelings of changing something, reporting or filming or even complaining. Everyone will just say, hey you’re still here undamaged, doesn’t seem like anyone did anything.Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- And we, what are we doing?Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- And yet, it attracts people, even you. What’s more, it attracts the rival fanboys to fill cyberspace with endless pointless my hero is better than your hero blabla that’s all been heard before and only helps sell the site as an advertising platform. You know what the solution is but most can’t resist. No different than women who follow and discuss celebs through gossip magazines.Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- he is doing 460 watts for 35 min to achieve 7 w/kg with VO2 at 96 , just unreal numbers.abstractengineer08-11-2026
- Just do it, and put up with the consequencesJumpyjohn08-11-2026
- "was a headliner at the Tour de France" Nobody cared about Piddie. Only rivals that were there for Pogi, Jonas, Remco, Sexias, Lipo, Del Toro and they were all expected to lose. Piddie was not even in any conversation.abstractengineer08-11-2026
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