From Tour of Flanders to Cyclocross World Championships, Michel Wuyts points out Wout van Aert's repeated mistake: "Van Aert turned out not to have remembered anything from that lesson"

The World Championships were understandably the climax of the cyclocross season. Dozens of thousands of people gathered in Hoogerheide to watch the many battles over the weekend, but none were as anticipated as the clash between Mathieu van der Poel and Wout van Aert. Several big names in the sport have shared their opinions in the race.

"A kind of creative improvisational talent," journalist Thijs Zooneveld said in the Het Wiel podcast. "It is very surprising what he does. Everyone thinks he's going to save energy for the last round, but he's been pushing from the start. With such a sprint we have analyzed to the last detail that Van der Poel benefits from a short sprint and Van Aert from a long one. And what is happening today? Van der Poel starts from afar. That kind of thing makes him completely unpredictable for opponents too."

The strategy used by van der Poel was also due to the high speeds of the track, which as was the case in Benidorm, favoured the Dutchman's explosivity, whereas van Aert did not have long running sections or gruelling ascents in which to make the difference. Van Aert was beat to second place, and Michel Wuyts was quite a critical voice of the Belgian, pointing out a mistake he had seen before.

"Van der Poel did not fall into the trap of excess after his shaky winter," Michel Wuyts said of his compatriot. "Guerrilla had to wear Van Aert down. Bridges, humpback whales, high beams, ten times I got the impression from my place in the Western Cape that Van Aert was about to break. That lip hung so low on me. They are the consequences of years of professional malformation, I realize, but mini-signs do not escape my notice."

"In De Ronde (Tour des Flandres, ed.) of 2020, Van der Poel took Wout billiard surface... The Belgian in the trap of too short a sprint. Then a still manageable thump of seven centimeters. At this World Championship cross, Van Aert turned out not to have remembered anything from that lesson from Oudenaarde" he argued.

Although the two are almost evenly matched in sprinting power, it has became apparent that van der Poel has a bigger acceleration and benefits from sprints starting at lower speed, whilst van Aert has the ability to carry speed in a pure sprint better. This has in the past been analyzed in some sprints, but van Aert opted for the strategy that wasn't in his favour, waiting for van der Poel to launch his sprint in the finishing straight of the race.

"There was that hard realization: in a man-to-man sprint I have a huge problem against my biggest competitor on all fronts. Step into spring with that realization. Good thing Van Aert has a stone head. He'll need it," he states.

Not all Belgians see it as negatively however, with former pro Paul Herygers prioritizing the spectacle that the duo delivered this Sunday: "A great moment. The titan duel was written in the stars, the ultimate final sprint as well. A nice climax for the World Championships. "We only had answers to the questions after the finish. He was in a bloc for long rounds. Van der Poel is simply the rightful world champion today."

"The foreplay was without a doubt for our compatriot [van Aert]. This season was full of Van Aert parties. He has very often shown himself to be the best crosser of the two. We hadn't seen that often in recent years. Where the Dutchman was often the sharpest and quickest cyclocross rider, Van Aert dominated the cross this season," he argued.

"Van der Poel was hurt and at times even humiliated. But after this World Championship victory we have to conclude again that Van der Poel has had a great season. This one hour has given a nice layer of shine to Van der Poel's season."