"We are now heading for a few boring crosses" - Former world champion worries riders will rue Namur missed opportunity with Van der Poel set to dominate

Former world champion Bart Wellens is already predicting a dull few weeks in the cyclocross season, as he believes Mathieu van der Poel is poised to dominate all races in the coming weeks.

Reflecting on the dramatic events of World Cup Namur last weekend, Wellens thinks that Thibau Nys missed a rare opportunity to take down the Dutchman and warned that the coming races, which will suit Van der Poel’s strengths, might not offer much in the way of competition.

Wellens remarked in his column for Het Nieuwsblad, “We are now heading for a few boring crosses.”

With the upcoming sand races, he sees little to no competition for the Dutchman and expects Van der Poel to feel fully at home in the conditions, leading to a much more dominant spell in the coming weeks.

Wellens’ disappointment over Nys’ missed chance in Namur was palpable. “Thibau Nys had a unique chance to beat Mathieu van der Poel, but he let it slip,” he said. “I think he’ll be thinking about it for a long time. That stupid slip up shouldn’t have happened. Thibau will also be thinking to himself, ‘What an idiot I was to make that mistake.’”

The slip occurred at a crucial point in the race, with Wellens pointing out that it was the last place on the course where such an error could afford to happen. “If there’s one corner on the entire course where that should not have happened, it was there,” Wellens noted. “I think it was a lapse in concentration.”

Despite his disappointment with Nys’ fall, Wellens still gave credit to the young Belgian’s overall performance. “It was Nys who was closing the gaps on Van der Poel,” Wellens observed. He also gave praise to Michael Vanthourenhout, who was equally up to the task and kept the pace with the leading group.

However, Wellens does not expect much change in the upcoming races. Looking ahead to Wout van Aert’s return in Antwerp, Wellens feels that the Belgian will not pose a serious challenge to Van der Poel just yet. “With all due respect to Wout van Aert, the signs are that he’s on the right track, but I don’t expect him to immediately match Van der Poel in Antwerp,” Wellens said. “Namur was exciting, but I think we’re now heading for a few uneventful races.”