"Van der Poel is still a few steps ahead; you're not going to get there" - Jeroen Vanbelleghem

The Christmas block is now over in cyclocross, the most dense and important part of the calendar for many. Throughout the two weeks of intense racing a lot has happened. Whilst Tibor del Grosso has finally proved himself, and Thibau Nys has continued to put in a few very strong rides, it is still quite unlikely that anyone will be able to get to Mathieu van der Poel's level in time for the Hulst World Championships. 

"Mathieu is so mentally strong, and he doesn't even need to use it yet. To beat him, what do you have to do? You'd be in for a rude awakening," commentator Thijs van Amerongen said in the Kop over Kop podcast. It is a sentiment shared by the man who sat next to him. 

"Van der Poel is still a few steps ahead; you're not going to get there. It would be great if one of the youngsters could win the World Championship against Van der Poel," Jeroen Vanbelleghem argued. "That might even motivate him to give it his all again next winter. But I estimate the chance that Van der Poel doesn't win the World Championship at 0.4 percent," he joked".

The World Champion has now been winning every single cyclocross race he started, literally, in almost two years (the 2-year mark will be reached in the coming weeks, most likely). This season he has been rather unmatched, only with a small battle in Namur where he began his season; and later on seeing Wout van Aert fail to contest races with him due to punctures and a crash respectively at the Azencross Loenhout and Exact Cross Mol. With the Belgian out of competition, the path towards an eighth world title has never been more open for the Alpecin-Premier Tech rider. 

"They've taken the step, which doesn't necessarily bring them closer to Van der Poel, but it does mean they've surpassed the cyclocrossers who race full-time and for longer periods," Vanbelleghem argues. They are two different levels, but the truth is that both youngsters, despite both still struggling with occasional back problems, have reached a very high level on the bike and in popularity. Del Grosso has the technique, whilst Nys has the explosivity. 

The two currently wear the Dutch and Belgian national champion jerseys which they will have to defend next weekend, but at the Superprestige Diegem, they have already provided an immense spectacle. But Nys still lacks the consistency that is required of a rider his level, van Amerongen argues: "He's still making quite a few mistakes this season, and there are quite a few crashes. His clear-round average still needs to go up, but that will definitely happen. Nys will calm down a bit in the coming years."

"Thibau really wants this for himself, just like his father Sven. He really wants to achieve something, which I think is great. He's not doing it for the outside world or a contract, but truly for himself." However the pressure from the Belgian crowd and being the son of one of the sport's biggest legends does put a high weight on his shoulders. Meanwhile del Grosso can stay relatively intact in the shadow of van der Poel at Alpecin, two completely different situations. 

Vanbelleghem also believes that del Grosso might make a bigger switch to the road after the strong results he's shown this year, which may make him a part-time cyclocross rider as is the case with his leader. "That will also depend on his road level. If he makes significant progress there, you already know that Alpecin-Premier Tech will say: cyclocross is fun, but just do it as an addition. That's already the case. However, if he stays on the road, he might be able to do more cyclocross, like Nys is doing now".