Much has been made of the expected absences of Tom Pidcock and Wout van Aert from the 2024 Cyclocross
World Championships with many notable names believing the race is now a simple win for
Mathieu van der Poel.
One of the men most likely to upset the applecart and challenge the van der Poel is expected to be
Laurens Sweeck and the Belgian remains hopeful despite the long odds. “Increasing the chances, right? Mathieu can also suddenly have a bad day, or encounter something in the first round," he points out. "You obviously don't wish that on him, but either way you move up in the pecking order. Although I think that many Belgians will mainly work towards the Belgian Championship. It is really completely open there.”