"They are competitors like any other" - Laurens Sweeck ready for arrival of van Aert, van der Poel and Pidcock in cyclocross

With each passing race, Laurens Sweeck keeps proving himself. While the Belgian has already secured four victories, the arrival of the big three poses a challenge.

"They are competitors like any other," Sweeck said of the big three. "I will also start the upcoming crosses with the aim of winning. If those guys are competing, the chances of winning will, of course, be reduced. But I wouldn't say I'm hopeless, either. Anything can happen in a cross. The form of the day is also decisive," Sweeck told Sporza.

Last week, Sweeck faced Tom Pidcock and Mathieu van der Poel in Hulst World Cup, winning silver. He acknowledges van der Poel's superiority, but he does not undermine himself. "He was impressive right from the start anyway. Pretty soon, he rode us half a minute behind, but after that, he did make some mistakes," said Sweeck.

He is already cautious of Wout van Aert ahead of the start of his cyclocross season this Sunday. "If Wout wasn't ready, he wouldn't be at the start. I expect him to be pretty good already and grow cross by cross. Maybe the gap between Van der Poel and Van Aert has narrowed. In any case, I feel ready to offer resistance,” concluded Sweeck.