The 5 cyclocross races where Mathieu van der Poel and Wout van Aert will race against each other in 2025-2026
Cyclocross
The full 2025-2026 cyclocross schedules of both Mathieu van der Poel and Wout van Aert have been revealed, with the two having very different goals and races in mind. However, cycling fans will get to enjoy the duo race against each other on five separate occasions throughout the months of December and January.
Mathieu van der Poel will be racing a more extensive schedule with 13 races building up from the Namur World Cup on the 14th of December to the Hulst World Championships on the 1st of February.
Meanwhile van Aert, who had his revealed today in a post shared by Team Visma | Lease a Bike, will race 8 crosses from the 20th of December to 11th of January. It will be more condensed, starting in the Antwerp World Cup and surprisingly ending in the Beringen Belgium national championships course.
Van Aert will race the nationals, but also the Superprestige Heusden-Zolden and Dendermonde World Cup where van der Poel won't be present, whilst the Dutchman mainly races from 18th January onwards whereas van Aert will have already ended his campaign by then. All of their clashes will be on the 'Christmas block'.
The first of which in Antwerp on the 20th December; then X2O Trofee Hofstade on the 22nd December; X2O Trofee Loenhout on the 29th December; 2nd of January in the Exact Cross Mol and lastly they will end with another World Cup clash on the 4th of January in Zonhoven.
Van Aert won the Dendermonde World Cup race last winter and may do it again in the absence of Mathieu van der Poel this December. @Imago
Read also
| Date | Race | Van der Poel | Van Aert |
| 14/12 | World Cup Namur | X | |
| 20/12 | World Cup Antwerpen | X | X |
| 21/12 | World Cup Koksijde | X | |
| 22/12 | X2O Trofee Hofstade | X | X |
| 23/13 | Superprestige Heusden-Zolder | X | |
| 26/12 | World Cup Gavere | X | |
| 28/12 | World Cup Dendermonde | X | |
| 29/12 | X2O Trofee Loenhout | X | X |
| 1/1 | X2O Trofee Baal | X | |
| 2/1 | Exact Cross Mol | X | X |
| 4/1 | World Cup Zonhoven | X | X |
| 11/1 | Belgian National Championships | X | |
| 18/1 | World Cup Benidorm | X | |
| 24/1 | World Cup Maasmechelen | X | |
| 25/1 | World Cup Hoogerheide | X | |
| 1/2 | World Championships Hulst | X |
Rúben SilvaEditor-in-Chief
A founding contributor to CyclingUpToDate since its launch in January 2022, Ruben Silva has played a central role in shaping the site’s editorial direction and long-term growth. Before joining the project, he built his experience through independent blogging at Echelons Hub and by producing race previews for Ciclismo Internacional, developing a strong analytical voice rooted in daily engagement with professional cycling.
Beyond editorial work, he has been closely involved in the expansion and coordination of CyclingUpToDate’s wider network, helping establish and support sister platforms across multiple languages. This includes ongoing collaboration with CiclismoAlDia (Spanish), CiclismoAtual (Portuguese), WielrennenUpToDate (Dutch), and RadsportAktuell (German), contributing to a shared editorial vision and consistent international coverage.
He also helps oversee editorial governance across the network, setting standards for accuracy and consistency and coordinating updates or corrections when needed.
Originally from the Porto metropolitan area in Portugal, he holds a bachelor’s degree in Geography. His path into cycling journalism was shaped not through formal media training, but through independent reporting, community engagement, and sustained on-the-ground involvement in the sport.
Over the course of his career, he has conducted approximately 100 interviews across road cycling and cyclocross, ranging from one-to-one conversations and online formats to press conferences and on-site pre- and post-race coverage. His interviews include leading riders, team managers, and prominent figures within cycling media: Tadej Pogacar, Jonas Vingegaard, Mathieu van der Poel, Primoz Roglic, Wout van Aert, Joao Almeida and Tom Pidcock; managers like Patrick Lefevere and Joxean Matxin; and YouTube personality Bryan Kennedy (BKXC)...
Within 18 months of launch, he helped grow CyclingUpToDate’s English-language platform into one of the most-read cycling news websites, built entirely from the ground up. As both a professional journalist and lifelong cycling enthusiast, his focus remains on delivering accurate, timely, and well-contextualized coverage.
claps 1visitors 1
Just in
Popular news
Latest comments
- wtf dudemij07-11-2026
- big rival … ridiculous.Ketterechts07-11-2026
- It would be great if the World Champion's jersey could be rotated among McNulty, Simmons, and Jorgenson. They threaded the needle perfectly. If each hadn't done exactly what he did, exactly when he did it, the race would have gone to one of the more heralded superstars. That said, how nice that this humble and hardworking guy gets his moment in the sun.
MarkFour07-11-2026 - This is a really interesting idea, which, if well prepared could even be very successful. Very little money needs to be involved for a first season and any success could lead to rapid interest from sponsors.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- Hmmm, you seem to have a very convenient black and white view of things. Perhaps you haven’t been around much to discover how complex problems can become over time with people who know how to control, manipulate (or worse) others so gradually or subtly that you arrive at an irresolvable situation before you realise. This is how many inconveniences get introduced to the young, naïve, passionate or “desperate”, knowing they are not armed, protected or strong enough to defend themselves once it’s too late. Why do you think omerta culture is so widespread, why do you think so many people continue to go through so many awful things in life that others can’t understand anyone getting into? Life may be far more jolly for you but you would do well to understand (or reflect more on) the real world to refrain from being so quick to criticise those in a hard spot that may have genuine reason for speaking out.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- Seriously do you think when somebody gets into a serious accident, the ambulance is called by the hurt person?🤦 there is always a buddy system in place for a risky job. police , firefighters etc so that if someone gets hurt, the other call that in.abstractengineer07-11-2026
- I get the point totally. We live in the snowflake society where some riders forget they are getting paid to ride and get results. When they have a few issues they try to look outside of the real issue instead of themselves. It odd so many of the team are making no complaints and getting on with their job. If you do not like what you do find another job simples. Tough love as my mum would say.paultryan200207-11-2026
- many people advise him to grow slowly and rather do giro and/or vuelta instead of tdf. but i can totally understand that he is not satisfied with taking over once pogi declines, but instead beat him in his prime. so if he goes for tdf again, i‘m all for it. let‘s hope that pogi recovers soon!Ketterechts07-11-2026
- So gracious to offer something no-one would be prepared to pay for. The Giro is not the Tour and doesn’t command the same interest or attract the same “elite” (those willing to pay to be a part of something they consider has ego boosting potential). Roadside viewing will always largely remain free for everyone outside circuits. Introduction of a symbolic entrance to mountain climbs is worthy of exploration. Asking 1-2€ isn’t going to repulse real fans (most will spend 50-100€ on their outing that day all things included) but will prevent a portion of the total knobhead thrillseekers who will join in any large gathering as long as it’s free, just because they’re attracted to crowds, without which it it difficult for them to work up their anti-social behaviour.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- How is radio going to help when someone went over a cliff or bridge or off the roadside into a forest unnoticed and is laying there unconscious?Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
Loading
Write a comment