"It's a course that suits me" - Toon Aerts targeting podium on World Championship return

For the first time since Fayetteville in 2022, Toon Aerts is set to compete the men's elite Rainbow Jersey at the Cyclocross World Championships this Sunday in Lievin. After a solid first full season back in competition following his doping ban, the Belgian is also confident of a good result.

"It's a course that suits me," previews the 31-year-old in quotes collected by Sporza from the Belgian team's pre-World Championship press conference. "That was already said to me when I signed with the team more than a year ago. That's why it started to play a role for me. They also said that it was a bit like Besançon and I performed very well there."

In order to become best prepared, Aerts has taken to YouTube to look at the course in more detail. "And that's how I learned, for example, that there are a lot of stones here," he explains knowingly. "It's a new course that we don't know much about, but I still wanted to be prepared."

With Mathieu van der Poel pre-race favourite, and Aerts' compatriot Wout van Aert the main contender, it is likely that the likes of Aerts and co will be left battling for the third spot on the podium. Given the course is well-suited to him, and the fact he's used online videos to make himself very well prepared for the fight, Aerts is confident in his capabilities of winning that battle for the bronze medal. "It will be an open battle anyway. I will definitely be one of the candidates," he concludes. "Although there are many who are pushing for that place."