"It was perhaps a small mental tap" - Pim Ronhaar suggests Wout van Aert's late nomination was an attempt to shake up Mathieu van der Poel's confidence

Pim Ronhaar will probably want to forget this cyclocross season. Despite some good days (for example his 2nd places at the National Championships, GP Sven Nys Baal, or in Herentals Cross), most of the year he's beyond (his own) expectations due to a setback illness in summer. Now coming into the World Championships, he'd love to repeat his fourth place from Tábor, but he's quite realistic about his odds.

"Mentally, it could be better," Ronhaar opens about his impressions ahead of the World Championships in the Live Slow Ride Fast podcast. The Dutchman was haunted by Lyme disease for most of the summer, destroying his road programme as well as cyclocross preparation: "We all know why that is. That whole summer with all those health problems. At the end of a cross season you really start to notice it. Then everyone is actually worn out, but for me it hits even harder."

Regardless, Ronhaar still comfortably met the World Championships nomination criteria set by national coach and will therefore start in Liévin. "I'm going to give it my all in the races I'm riding. Sometimes that means a fifth place and other times it's a maximum of a twelfth place. It's just what it is at the moment."

And you can't talk about the Cyclocross World Championships at the moment without mentioning Wout van Aert. His participation in the cross in Liévin was unexpected, especially since he kept insisting all season long that he wouldn't be at the start. "For me, it doesn't change much that Wout is participating, but I thought it was special news," Ronhaar confirmed.

"When I heard it, I thought about it a bit longer. I think Wout has known all winter that he is going to do this. That's the feeling I got. Shocked is a big word, but Mathieu probably thought for a moment: oh, shit. It was perhaps a small mental tap. I think it's really great. It's great that he's participating," the Dutchman concluded.