"The door is a bit open": Wout Van Aert's non-participation at cyclocross Worlds may not be as finite as it seemed...
Cyclocross
Finally, Team Visma | Lease a Bike published the long-awaited winter calendar of three-time cyclocross world champion Wout Van Aert. And already in his debut in Antwerp, he'll clash heads with arch-rival Mathieu van der Poel who kicks off the 2025/26 season one week earlier. Van Aert will race extensively through the Christmas racing block, but stop at Belgian Championships at the start of January. No World Championships.
And while Van Aert will not shoot for his fourth rainbow stripes in Hulst, Van der Poel has confirmed his presence, and will try to get that 8th title which would be the historical record by surpassing the 7 that Erik de Vlaeminck also has.
But there is one reason in particular why Wout van Aert's presence at the World Championships in Hulst cannot be ruled out.
Last winter, Visma | Lease a Bike also did not make official Van Aert's participation in the battle for the rainbow jersey when his initial calendar was released. In the end, however, the Belgian did appear at the start of the Liévin 2025 World Championships, where he took yet another silver medal behind his great rival, Van der Poel himself.
Then it was only a week before the start of the World Championships that Visma confirmed Wout Van Aert's participation.
Van Aert won the Dendermonde 2025 World Cup and could do so again in Mathieu van der Poel's absence
In addition to the above, there are also statements by performance manager of Visma | Lease a Bike Mathieu Heijboer to Wielerflits:
"I don't completely refuse to participate in the World Championships. As far as we are concerned, the door is a bit open. We'll make that decision later, but for now, it's not in our plans. If we see later that he's feeling so good, that cyclocross is going well, that he's recovering well and that he's ahead of schedule, then the opportunity may come up."
Wout Van Aert's CX Calendar 25/26
- Antwerp World Cup: December 20
- X2O Trofee - Hofstade Plage Cross: December 22
- Superprestige Heusden-Zolder: December 23
- Dendermonde World Cup: December 28
- X2O Trofee - Azencross Loenhout: December 29
- Exact Cross - Mol: January 2
- Zonhoven World Cup: January 4
- Belgian Championship: January 11
Ondrej ZhasilCycling Journalist
Ondřej Zhasil is a cycling journalist at CyclingUpToDate and has been part of the team since 2023. He is based in Ostrava, the third-largest city in the Czech Republic, and covers professional cycling across the main UCI competitions, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España. A key focus of his work is startlist analysis and pre-race coverage, where he examines team selections, rider line-ups, and tactical scenarios ahead of major events.
Alongside WorldTour coverage, Ondřej has developed specific expertise in junior cycling and in racing across East Asia, including competitions in China and Japan. He also maintains a broad working knowledge of other disciplines and levels, including cyclocross, while continuing to expand his understanding of mountain bike racing.
Ondřej holds a bachelor’s degree in Mathematics and Physics, which supports his analytical, data-driven approach to performance and race analysis. In his reporting, he regularly uses ProCyclingStats for results, statistics, and historical context. He places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles promptly when new, verified information becomes available.
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- He should have been allowed to go to Movistar. Right now both arent a good fit for each other and are just wasting each other's time and effortabstractengineer08-11-2026
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Rafionain-Glas08-11-2026 - i did not see it. was the relegation justified or an overly hard decision? and don‘t cross riders deviate from straight lines all the time? bumping into each others when they cut corners, etc … why being more strict with the rules on the finish sprint?Ketterechts08-11-2026
- seems like we are advertising the website with pointless comments…Ketterechts08-11-2026
- So?Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- The UCI do have their favorites.
Front24208-11-2026 - On a positive note, you maybe notice turning this topic into a discussion has the benefit of eliminating certain participants who do not see how they can turn it back to their sole interest ;-)Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
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