ANALYSIS | Three unforgettable Wout van Aert moments in cyclocross

Today, Wout van Aert is finally back on his cyclocross bike for the first time this winter. The Belgian’s rise to the top of elite cyclocross was fast, forceful, and decisive, and in today’s article we will review three of his greatest moments in the mud in his illustrious career to date.

Winning three consecutive World Championship titles placed him in rare company and defined an era of the sport in the late 2010s. Those victories did not come quietly or by default; each arrived under different pressures, and against a field stacked with rivals who would go on to define a generation. Looking only at the defining details, these three races remain the clearest markers of Van Aert’s dominance and his ability to deliver when the stakes were highest.

The first of those moments came at Heusden-Zolder on January 31, 2016, when Van Aert claimed his first elite World Championship title. Racing on home soil in Belgium, the 21-year-old carried the weight of expectation but also the memory of disappointment from the year before.

The race unfolded as a tense contest between the sport’s leading names and his arch nemesis Mathieu van der Poel, but it was Van Aert who made the decisive move. He attacked on the final climb of the former Formula 1 circuit, distancing Lars van der Haar and riding clear to the finish alone.

For Van Aert, the significance went beyond the jersey itself. After the race, he described the moment plainly and without exaggeration: “Nothing compares to this feeling. Last year’s defeat is forgotten now”. It was his first elite rainbow jersey, and it marked the beginning of his reign at the top of cyclocross.

Twelve months later, Van Aert returned to the World Championships facing a very different set of circumstances. The 2017 race in Bieles, Luxembourg, followed a difficult winter in which knee problems had disrupted his preparation. Training time had been lost, and there were genuine doubts about whether he could defend his title.

The race conditions were brutal, with mud playing a central role in shaping the outcome. Rather than riding defensively, Van Aert grew stronger as the race developed. Rivals punctured, faded, or lost momentum, while he steadily moved to the front. By the closing stages he was clearly the strongest rider in the field, winning comfortably and securing a second consecutive world title by over 40 seconds to Van der Poel.

His own reaction underlined how uncertain the build-up had been. “I really didn’t expect this… I’m so happy with my second world title,” he said afterward. He also admitted that the race had not begun as a straightforward defense of his crown, explaining that “then in the second lap I found my good rhythm”.

The third and most emphatic of Van Aert’s championship performances came at Valkenburg on February 4, 2018. By then, the narrative had shifted from whether he could win again to how decisively he could stamp his authority on history. He was truly in this ascendancy over Van der Poel at this stage.

On the muddy Valkenburg course in the Netherlands, Van Aert delivered a performance that left no ambiguity. He dominated from the start, steadily increasing the pressure until Mathieu van der Poel was dropped by the end of the second lap. From there, the race became a long, controlled ride to the finish, with Van Aert crossing the line more than two minutes ahead of the runner-up, which was actually Michael Vanthourenhout on the day.

Van Aert himself framed the race as the high point of his season. “I didn’t expect this… I think it was one of the best races in my life on a bike…I expected a big battle but this was nice of course,” he said. He was also clear about the meaning of the achievement, adding, “It's the third consecutive world title for me. I worked really hard for this. Now it's time to enjoy it.”

Taken together, these three races form a complete picture of Van Aert’s elite cyclocross peak. The 2016 victory at Heusden-Zolder announced him to the world and erased the memory of prior defeat. Bieles in 2017 showed his ability to win despite physical setbacks and uncertain preparation. Valkenburg in 2018 confirmed his place among the few riders capable of winning three World Championships in succession.

Since then, it is fair to say that Mathieu van der Poel has turned the tables and taken his cross ability to a level we have never seen before in cyclocross. But, the only man that has been able to challenge him in the 2020s has certainly been Van Aert. Can he do so again this winter?

Each win mentioned above stood on its own, but together they defined a period in which he set the standard for elite cyclocross and reshaped expectations of what sustained dominance looked like at the highest level of the sport.