"Van der Poel is going to be hungry" - Paul Herygers

Cyclocross will undergo a major change following the arrival of the big three. Tom Pidcock has already begun to change the cyclocross leaderboard. He has already amazed in just two races, and now Mathieu van der Poel will start his cyclocross season with World cup Hulst this Sunday.

Wout van Aert will join the others in the World Cup Antwerp next week. Former World Champion Paul Herygers believes Tom Pidcock is the reason van der Poel decided to start his season early. "I silently wonder if Tom Pidcock's performance has anything to do with that timing. Maybe Mathieu has seen the Brit take all those other crossers by the neck right away and thinks to himself that it's up to him then, too. Van der Poel is going to be hungry,” Herygers told Sporza.

Pidcock was unstoppable in Merksplas and UCI World Cup Overijse. Without much training, he dominated both races and even secured silver in Overijse. "We just learned that thanks to Tom Pidcock. The Brit trained for two hours in the field, and that capon picked up right away. I was impressed. It was like he drove two laps with DRS. In my opinion, Pidcock is stronger than last season."

With the arrival of Wout van Aert and van der Poel, Cyclocross races will see a major change in leaderboard ranking. "The big three are so eager to compete from the first minute. They've been seeing riders blossom on television for several weeks that they know they can handle. I think they are floundering in their seats to compete," concluded Herygers.