"Whatever he asks, we will happily pay" - The 1 Christmas cross without van der Poel and van Aert present is willing to go big

If we exclude Hulst, the very first cross race of the Christmas block, only the Diegem Cross on the 30th December - the heart of the period - is missing either Mathieu van der Poel and Wout van Aert. Largely, this could be attributed to it's night schedule, but race organizer says that he is still willing to get van Aert racing after he lost one race from his initial schedule.

"There is already the Turbo Cross of Average Rob here, which brings a lot of spectators. Jonathan Borlée and Luca Brecel are coming, they are also stars who attract people," Francis Bosschaerts said in an interview with Wielerflits.

Wout van Aert got ill and missed out on Mol, the first race of his planned schedule. He could hence potentially add another to compensate, and Bosschaerts is very alive to that possibility, even though it's of course unlikely. “I don’t know at the moment whether it’s an issue. You usually hear a week in advance whether the big guys are coming or not. They then give their price, you sign the contract and pay. There is no negotiating with Van Aert, Van der Poel and Pidcock. They decide for themselves where they will ride.”

Thus far, they decided not to take part in the Diegem Cross, a tough hit for the race organizers that had already expressed disappointment. However Van Aert's setback opens up the window slightly for the Superprestige race. “The only thing we then have to make sure of is that we have the money to pay them. But if Van Aert calls one of these days, he can definitely start," he adds.

"He can ride here, no problem. Whatever he asks, we will happily pay," he even goes as far as saying. "But in the end, that will not make any difference to us. I was in Mol on Monday and two laps before the end, the public was already entering the tent. There was no tension and therefore no atmosphere. Diegem is more of an ambiance cross. And maybe we are the most exciting cyclocross in this period.”