"What happened to Wout is truly awful" - Van der Poel on his rivals' injuries; return to Spain for training
Cycling
Mathieu van der Poel took what was perhaps his most dominant win of the cyclocross season thus far at the World Cup Zonhoven, despite claiming he is not yet at his best level. The World Champion has recalled Wout van Aert, and also talked about his return home to Spain where he will focus on preparing for the cyclocross world championships now.
"I was subconsciously thinking about it during the cyclocross. What happened to Wout is truly awful," van der Poel said when asked by Wielerflits about his rival. "He's already had so much setback, and of course, you wouldn't wish that on anyone. Let's just hope his road season preparations aren't jeopardized."
The Dutchman will ultimately benefit from the absence of Van Aert who looked to challenge him in Loenhout and then also Mol, but had punctures and a crash ruin both races. Laurens Sweeck has crashed and ended his season whilst leading the World Cup, whilst Thibau Nys has also crashed yesterday in Zonhoven - all of this has cleared way for van der Poel to dominate and now lead the World Cup as well. But it can happen to anyone, including him.
"You saw it happen to Laurens Sweeck in Loenhout too. It just goes to show that every fall, no matter how harmless it seems, can have serious consequences. I haven't forgotten how I ended up with a rib injury myself last year during a training camp in Spain after colliding with that post in Loenhout. These are things you'd rather not have happen to you."
Van der Poel returns to Spain with eyes on world title
However, he gets through this Christmas block relatively unscathed. He has gone down, but never in a a dramatic way, and after a few weeks spent in Belgium and the Netherlands, he returns to Spain where he will be putting in the hours on the bike again, looking to increase his level even further in the next few weeks as he lays his eyes on a record-breaking victory at the World Championships.
"You always need those extra hours after such a busy period with so many cyclocross races. On the one hand, I'm really working towards the Cyclocross World Championships in Hulst. That remains a big goal, so I'll be doing some interval training every now and then to be in top form at the start and aim for the rainbow jersey. I'm really working towards that," he is clear.
He will race the final two World Cup rounds in Maasmechelen and Hoogerheide, but his presence in the Benidorm World Cup - right by where he lives - is uncertain. Training for the time being is the priority. "Of course, there will also be a lot of endurance training in my schedule, with that spring in mind. I'll be putting in a lot of hours, with the necessary rest breaks here and there."
"I got through this Christmas period well, but I'm certainly not at my best yet," he adds, interestingly. "I think I was definitely better at this point last year, but I can't complain. I think I can leave for Spain with a good feeling now; last year was a bit of a disappointment with the broken rib I suffered. I just have to be happy with how everything went in the past races".
Rúben SilvaEditor-in-Chief
A founding contributor to CyclingUpToDate since its launch in January 2022, Ruben Silva has played a central role in shaping the site’s editorial direction and long-term growth. Before joining the project, he built his experience through independent blogging at Echelons Hub and by producing race previews for Ciclismo Internacional, developing a strong analytical voice rooted in daily engagement with professional cycling.
Beyond editorial work, he has been closely involved in the expansion and coordination of CyclingUpToDate’s wider network, helping establish and support sister platforms across multiple languages. This includes ongoing collaboration with CiclismoAlDia (Spanish), CiclismoAtual (Portuguese), WielrennenUpToDate (Dutch), and RadsportAktuell (German), contributing to a shared editorial vision and consistent international coverage.
He also helps oversee editorial governance across the network, setting standards for accuracy and consistency and coordinating updates or corrections when needed.
Originally from the Porto metropolitan area in Portugal, he holds a bachelor’s degree in Geography. His path into cycling journalism was shaped not through formal media training, but through independent reporting, community engagement, and sustained on-the-ground involvement in the sport.
Over the course of his career, he has conducted approximately 100 interviews across road cycling and cyclocross, ranging from one-to-one conversations and online formats to press conferences and on-site pre- and post-race coverage. His interviews include leading riders, team managers, and prominent figures within cycling media: Tadej Pogacar, Jonas Vingegaard, Mathieu van der Poel, Primoz Roglic, Wout van Aert, Joao Almeida and Tom Pidcock; managers like Patrick Lefevere and Joxean Matxin; and YouTube personality Bryan Kennedy (BKXC)...
Within 18 months of launch, he helped grow CyclingUpToDate’s English-language platform into one of the most-read cycling news websites, built entirely from the ground up. As both a professional journalist and lifelong cycling enthusiast, his focus remains on delivering accurate, timely, and well-contextualized coverage.
claps 11visitors 9
Just in
Popular news
Latest comments
- Thibau Nys does exactly what Iserbyt is calling for
Rafionain-Glas08-11-2026 - i did not see it. was the relegation justified or an overly hard decision? and don‘t cross riders deviate from straight lines all the time? bumping into each others when they cut corners, etc … why being more strict with the rules on the finish sprint?Ketterechts08-11-2026
- seems like we are advertising the website with pointless comments…Ketterechts08-11-2026
- So?Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- 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
Loading
Write a comment