"A rest period is welcome" - Unlike Van Aert & Van der Poel, Quinten Hermans completely skips cyclocross winter

Although perhaps not quite to the level of the likes of Wout van Aert and Mathieu van der Poel, Quinten Hermans has made a name for himself as a talented and very capable multi-discipline star in recent years. This winter though, the Belgian is set to completely skip cyclocross in order to focus on a big road season in 2025.

A World Cup winner back in 2021 in Fayetteville, Hermans has gradually been focusing more and more on the road in recent seasons. For example, he only raced a total of eight crosses last winter. Although Alpecin-Deceuninck teammate Van der Poel recently revealed an 11-race calendar for the coming months, Hermans is to race no cyclocross. “I think a rest period is welcome,” Hermans recently noted in Het Belang van Limburg.

Given he rode two Grand Tours in 2024 (the Giro d'Italia and the Vuelta a Espana ed.), it's somewhat understandable that Hermans is feeling the need for rest. Currently though, the Belgian is with Alpecin-Deceuninck teammates in Spain, focusing on making 2025 his biggest and best season on the road to date.