"It's one of the reasons why I keep racing" Mathieu van der Poel targeting Eric De Vlaeminck's record of seven Cyclocross World Championship victories

As Mathieu van der Poel's cyclocross return nears, the reigning world champion has spoken about how his preparation is going and at wind kind of level he will be when he arrives in Mol on December 22nd.

“Last week I returned to Belgium for a few days and did some cross-training,” van der Poel says in conversation with Sporza. “Today I trained on the beach for the second time here in Spain. My form on the road is good, but that is not always a reference for the cross. The basics are in order.”

Unlike his rivals, Wout van Aert and Tom Pidcock, the centrepiece of van der Poel's cyclocross calendar will be the 2024 World Championships in Tabor. “I will definitely have to be in my best shape at the World Championship, whether Wout and Tom are participating or not. I have to be 100%,” the Dutchman says as he doubts whether his old rivals will change their plans. “Usually you stick to your schedule. I suspect that they will not participate in the World Championship, but that does not change my preparation.”

With his Cyclocross World Championship record currently standing at five wins (2015, 2019, 2020, 2021 & 2023), van der Poel is just two victories behind the historical record-holder, Eric De Vlaeminck. “It's one of the reasons why I keep racing," van der Poel admits. "Other than that I don't have many goals in the field. That record is a big challenge, but so is simply becoming world champion.”