Cyclocross merely "a building block" for Wout van Aert's Spring Classics charge according to Mathieu Heijboer

Wout van Aert has revealed a more limited cyclocross calendar this winter, notably missing the World Championships and Belgian Championships. According to Jumbo-Visma coach Mathieu Heijboer, this is part of the bigger plan.

"Wout would prefer to do more racing this winter, but he understands the bigger picture," Heijboer explains in conversation with Sporza. "The entire winter is all about performing in the spring. Cyclocross is a building block in this."

After finishing second at the Cyclocross World Championships earlier this year, van Aert has opted against trying to garner revenge on Mathieu van der Poel in Tabor. "We learned that such a World Championship had too much of an impact on Wout's spring. Especially working towards such a World Championship and the subsequent decompression," says Heijboer. "With a more limited cross program (and no World Championship) we want to ensure that there are no gaps in Wout's preparation for the classics."

In Heijboer's new role of van Aert's coach, following the departure of Marc Lamberts, Heijboer is keen to keep the good times rolling. "But every rider does have his direct contact person with whom the training sessions are discussed. Until last season, Marc was Wout's contact person, now I am," he explains. "Now I can make decisions about Wout's training. But not much will change substantively, because Marc and I have the same philosophy. Our training approach is therefore not much different."