CX schedule 🇧🇪 Wout van Aert: ✅ Essen (09/12) ✅ Mol (22/12) ✅ Antwerpen (23/12) ✅ Asper-Gavere (26/12) ✅ Heusden-Zolder (27/12) ✅ Hulst (30/12) ✅ Baal (01/01) ✅ Koksijde (04/01)
"Hoping for Tom Pidcock, eh" - Cyclocross race organiser reacts to snubs from Mathieu van der Poel and Wout van Aert
CyclocrossThursday, 16 November 2023 at 10:10
Both Mathieu van der Poel and Wout van Aert have revealed their cyclocross calendars for the upcoming winter and both of the cross-discipline superstars will be absent from the X2O cross in Herentals. A bitter blow to race organiser, Erwin Vervecken.
"From what I understand, the first team training period is scheduled for that period. There the emphasis is less on cycling but more on photo shoots, trying on clothes... And Wout couldn't avoid that," Vervecken responds to this news in conversation with Het Nieuwsblad. "Oh well, last year Essen was the victim. Hardly anyone was at the start there. Now they suddenly get Wout, who is riding his first race there."
Whilst the added inclusion of the likes of van Aert and van der Poel don't guarantee a more exciting race, their appearances and especially races where the pair go head-to-head are some of the biggest money-spinners in the sport. "Within our organizations, Mol and Baal in particular are the top posters," Vervecken eyes. "In Mol, Wout and Mathieu will look into each other's eyes for the first time. One year is not the same as the next."
Just one of cyclocross's three multi-discipline superstars is yet to announce their calendar. "Hoping for Tom Pidcock, eh," Vervecken concludes. "He is still laying his egg, but he would not be reluctant to face Herentals and he would also appear at the start in Baal. But it is as you say: it is a complicated puzzle to assemble and you rarely know in advance where the puzzle pieces will end up."
claps 0visitors 9037
Just in
Popular news
Latest comments
- yeah, that’s a more fair assessment. “reaching mathieu’s level” doesn’t mean you’re planning to replicate his whole career. the former IS doable, potentially. it’s just the latter that likely is not.OCexile25-12-2024
- That’s not entirely true. Every person follows their own development path and peaks differently. Remco and Primoz had hardly started cycling before elite level. Jonas was pretty much under the radzr until he unexpectedly had to take over responsibility at JV. Some guys only get real good in their thirties others have peaked mid-twenties. You can’t tell in advance how and upto what level they will progress, obviously his career might not have MVDPs length but nothing says he could not end up doing a few seasons at his level.Mistermaumau25-12-2024
- well, del grosso is 21 right now. when mathieu was a year younger than that, he was already winning elite level world championships, not U23. i think del grosso will be a very good pro for years, but if he was really going to be the next van der poel someday, he’d already have to be at that level right NOW. van der poel was showing signs of true greatness when he was 15-16. THAT’S what generational talent looks like.OCexile25-12-2024
- Yeah.... gear 😅.mikolajjj24-12-2024
- It shouldn’t be about expectations in the first place should it? Besides, if you look at everyone’s calculations as a whole they don’t add up in the first place. There’ll be 2-3 riders with a 50% chance, a dozen with 10 or 20% and dozens more with a 5% so we’re expecting at least 2 if not 3 winners. Remind me again who won before her? Says it all about using data to decide on participation.Mistermaumau24-12-2024
- Ok, happy I’m not too interested in this team coz’ the account of what happened is really hard to follow.Mistermaumau24-12-2024
- The UCI is worse than USA CyclingVeganpotter24-12-2024
- It's not like they wanted her to not win😅 She had an outstanding Olympics. But there's a reason why she wasn't expected to win the road race and that's ok. Things like this happen and it's great...better than seeing expected winners win.Veganpotter24-12-2024
- Bruyneel ? The man with a lifetime ban from cycling...why do you keep giving him and his doper mate, Armstrong, a platform?DJ24-12-2024
- yeah, agree. on the subject of being a “complete rider,” i do think that’s getting more interesting. mathieu seems to have decided he wants to get much better at climbing the the high mountain passes. he appears to be looking for new challenges, which should be interesting to watch. in most cases you’d dismiss a goal like that at age 30, but it’s mvdp. he’s never going to climb with the real climbers, but if he can improve enough it could open up stage wins when the parcours isnt just purely toothy and punchy.OCexile24-12-2024