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.”
Whilst most notably, Roger De Vlaeminck has spoken out on the lack of star power at the Cyclocross World Championships, stating the race is barely worth watching given the seemingly certain victory for van der Poel, Sweeck's coach Thomas Sneyers is also more realistic.
“We remain realistic, but it is not completely impossible to do something at the World Championship. Is that why we are now going to focus more on the World Championship? That hasn't been discussed yet," he assesses. "In any case, we prepare ourselves in January with an internship. But mentally it does do something, right? Purely theoretically, the chance is greater. Maybe it will give the riders a little more feeling of: I should have a great day. On the other hand, that can also cause extra pressure.”
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