Mathieu van der Poel and Wout van Aert | "If you've been each other's competitors for so long, you'll never be best friends

Mathieu van der Poel and Wout van Aert will be headlining the upcoming Cyclocross World Championships as they return in search of the rainbow stripes. Cyclocross rider and compatriot of van Aert Daan Soete talks of their relationships throughout the years.

"Out of frustration, Wout once kicked a spoke out of his wheels as a 12-year-old. That was after a defeat in a road race... Wout was not a good loser as a child. But that is typical of great champions," Soete told Sporza. He will be present at the World Championships, however Belgian eyes will mostly be on Wout van Aert.

"Everyone looked up to Mathieu back then. 'He has a really chic bike' we said to each other. Mathieu then rode with the very best material: carbon wheels from his father and Dugast tubes. Moreover, Mathieu won every race in which he started. Exactly a child of the gods," he describes.

Van der Poel and Van Aert have been rivals since the youth ranks, a rivalry which has moved into Juniors, under-23's and ultimately Elite. The Dutchman has been World Champion four times, van Aert three. This year the gap is likely to either be closed or expanded, as the two have shown a level superior to that of the riders who will be racing alongside them.

This season there has again been balance, with van Aert beating van der Poel several times over the Christmas period in heavier tracks, and with back concerns worrying the Alpecin-Deceuninck camp. However he seems to have gotten through, and has returned convincingly to beat van Aert in Benidorm, and take a comfortable win this weekend in Besançon - whilst van Aert did the same in Hamme.

"Losing against Mathieu frustrated Wout. But he got motivation from those frustrations. Wout wanted to beat Mathieu again the following week and he often succeeded. Being stubborn and never giving up: that is Wout's greatest talent. If you've been each other's competitors for so long, you'll never be best friends. But they always cross with a lot of respect for each other," Soete believes.

Yorben van Tichelt, childhood friend of van der Poel, adds to the story that built over the years: "You saw that Wout was the rising man among the juniors. As a second-year junior, he was almost always on the podium and he could make it quite difficult for Mathieu in certain crosses."

"From that time on, Wout and Mathieu started pushing each other to a higher level. Then rivalry also arose. There was cursing at each other in the event of a defeat. Logical, if you are each other's competitors and both have a winner's mentality," he argued.

This Sunday will see the climax of both riders' winter, as both aimed at the World Championships, without any big goal outside of them.

"After a defeat, some wine was sometimes put in a friend's house. Mathieu was a little less sober than usual on Monday. When those men see what they have meant to each other after their career, there will be a lot of respect for each other," he concluded.