"I’m starting to get the itch" - Wout Van Aert speaks about cyclocross return and confirms World Championships ambitions
Cyclocross
Wout Van Aert plans to return to cyclocross within the coming months, aiming to once again win the rainbow jersey in the discipline that he has developed into a professional rider as. Recently, he has spoken about his current condition and how his schedule might look like.
“I’ve already watched a few races. Georges (one of Wout's children, ed.) sits quietly next to me on the couch—he’s actually more focused than I am," he shared with Het Laatste Nieuws.
Van Aert has ended his season at the Montréal World Championships just over a month ago. He has taken three weeks off the bike after a busy period of training and racing, and has recently gotten back on the bike.
He has been watching cyclocross on the big screen, although he didn't find the broadcasts encouraging: "I don’t share the view that the racing hasn’t been engaging; it’s exciting and remains a spectacular sport. As a fan, it’s a bit painful to see that attendance at recent events might be lower".
For me, one of the best parts of cyclocross is riding through that ‘wall of sound’ created by spectators standing rows deep," he admits. "But talking negatively about the current situation won’t help, so that’s certainly not something I want to do.”
Wout Van Aert has spoken about his eventual return to cyclocross
Van Aert gets the cyclocross itch
“I’m starting to get the itch, but it’s important that I wait long enough and make a well-considered decision—especially since the road season, for which I have big ambitions, follows immediately after the cyclocross season.”
Van Aert still has a way to go before he returns to the field. He will be present at Team Visma | Lease a Bike's training camp ahead of the 2027 season as a priority, and might begin his CX schedule either right before, or after this is over.
“I’ll be staying in Belgium for the coming weeks, leading up to the team training camp in Spain, which begins on December 8th.”
“I’m not exactly eager to jump straight into cyclocross racing. I’ve only been training for a week. The focus is still on the basics, and I haven’t done any specific work yet. Give me another three weeks to see where my fitness stands and how much more training I’ll need before I’m race-ready," he has explained. "For now, nothing is set in stone.”
Small agenda for Van Aert
In the 2025-2026 season, Van Aert effectively began his cyclocross season after the training camp, on the 20th of December. He was unable to take victory, often affected by bad luck, but also the breakout of Tibor del Grosso who snatched the win against him at Heusden-Zolder.
His winter ended at the Exact Cross Mol, as he suffered an ankle fracture following a crash whilst disputing the race lead with Mathieu van der Poel.
Effectively, he took part in six crosses. He believes his winter will not be overly different within the next few months: “It’s a realistic estimate that the number will be around the same this time.”
What he does tell is that he is likely to take part in the World Championships, regardless of Mathieu van der Poel's attendance - which remains a bg question.
“A World Championship on home soil is more appealing than one held far away. I already raced in the 2021 World Championships in Ostend—though that was without a crowd—and I’d love to experience it with a large audience present,” he concluded.
Rúben SilvaEditor-in-Chief
A founding contributor to CyclingUpToDate since its launch in January 2022, Ruben Silva has played a central role in shaping the site’s editorial direction and long-term growth. Before joining the project, he built his experience through independent blogging at Echelons Hub and by producing race previews for Ciclismo Internacional, developing a strong analytical voice rooted in daily engagement with professional cycling.
Beyond editorial work, he has been closely involved in the expansion and coordination of CyclingUpToDate’s wider network, helping establish and support sister platforms across multiple languages. This includes ongoing collaboration with CiclismoAlDia (Spanish), CiclismoAtual (Portuguese), WielrennenUpToDate (Dutch), and RadsportAktuell (German), contributing to a shared editorial vision and consistent international coverage.
He also helps oversee editorial governance across the network, setting standards for accuracy and consistency and coordinating updates or corrections when needed.
Originally from the Porto metropolitan area in Portugal, he holds a bachelor’s degree in Geography. His path into cycling journalism was shaped not through formal media training, but through independent reporting, community engagement, and sustained on-the-ground involvement in the sport.
Over the course of his career, he has conducted approximately 100 interviews across road cycling and cyclocross, ranging from one-to-one conversations and online formats to press conferences and on-site pre- and post-race coverage. His interviews include leading riders, team managers, and prominent figures within cycling media: Tadej Pogacar, Jonas Vingegaard, Mathieu van der Poel, Primoz Roglic, Wout van Aert, Joao Almeida and Tom Pidcock; managers like Patrick Lefevere and Joxean Matxin; and YouTube personality Bryan Kennedy (BKXC)...
Within 18 months of launch, he helped grow CyclingUpToDate’s English-language platform into one of the most-read cycling news websites, built entirely from the ground up. As both a professional journalist and lifelong cycling enthusiast, his focus remains on delivering accurate, timely, and well-contextualized coverage.
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