van der Poel's form going into the World Championships a cause for concern: "His body language is that of someone who suffers from a lack of confidence"
CyclocrossTuesday, 10 January 2023 at 21:57
With the busy festive cyclocross period coming to an end, Mathieu van der Poel has seen his form begin to dip due to an untimely back injury. Ruben Van Gucht and Paul Herygers believe he is losing confidence at the worst possible time, just before the Cyclocross World Championship.
"His body language is that of someone who suffers from a lack of confidence," the duo say. "But if anyone can climb out of this pit, it's him. He's the only one who can fix something like that." As the plaguing back injury continues to dog van der Poel.
The mysterious injury that van der Poel has previously described as "annoying", is yet to be fully diagnosed and with the Cyclocross World Championships coming ever nearer, time is running out for the Dutchman to get back to full strength.
"100 scans have been made, but no conclusive answer has ever been found. It remains to be seen and hoped that it will not loom and that he will get rid of it in the long term," Herygers reveals. "The annoying thing is that you can never put your finger on it."
So who do Herygers and Van Gucht think is the favourite for World Championship glory? "Van Aert no longer makes mistakes. He has won 6 of his last 7 crosses," Van Gucht considers. "I have not experienced such dominance from Van Aert too often. In the past you would have said: he is the man of the heavy tracks with mud and running gear. Now nothing is a problem."
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I attended both Herentals and Koksijde. My impression is similar -- he looks hesitant, and indeed has made some mistakes. Obviously a back injury will do that to someone in a sport as demanding as cyclocross, and it does not help that Wout is in historically great form.
Having said that, even as a Wout fan it is notable that MVDP has been able to gap Wout on a number of courses. Perhaps he has had to extend himself too much to do so, and that is why he has made mistakes. But no one should be surprised if he wins at Hoogerheide. He is a monstrously talented rider and I would still list him as co-favorite.