"They have already received more media attention than if we had won 10 races" - Some discontent over Van Aert & Van der Poel's return from fellow pros

The cyclocross returns of Mathieu van der Poel and Wout van Aert are imminent and for the more regular cyclocross pros, this is the last weekend before the superstar duo are back to likely take all the headlines. For some though, the amount of media attention Van Aert and Van der Poel have already received is raising discontent.

"Enough has been written about it. Even before they have ridden a race, they have already received more media attention than if we had won 10 races in a season. I think that is a shame," says former European champion Michael Vanthourenhout in quotes collected by Sporza ahead of Saturday afternoon's X2O Badkammers Trofee in Herentals, a race in which the Belgian actually took the victory.

"I don't need to be in the media. But it will still bother other riders that it is only about those two in this period," continues Vanthourenhout a bit frustratedly. "It will indeed be more difficult to reach the podium. But for us nothing really changes. It is our job and we try to do our best at every race."

Vanthourenhout isn't the only season-long crosser set to see his chances to shine limited by Van Aert and Van der Poel's return though. "We'll see next week," says Lars van der Haar. "Let them make it a beautiful race."

"We now know their calendar, so we also know the matches in which it will be extra difficult to win," analyses Vanthourenhout's teammate, Eli Iserbyt when asked about the superstars' return. "It makes the appointments of this weekend extra important."

In the opinion of Niels Vandeputte, it is also an opportunity to test himself against the best. "We have to try to get as close to them as possible. I see it as a challenge to share the podium with them, like last year," he evaluates. "It's great that they'll both be back soon. They belong in cyclo-cross, where they grew up. It will be a bit more difficult for the real cyclo-cross riders to win prizes, but we have to accept that."