"What happened to Van Aert against Powless won't happen to Van der Poel" - Thijs Zonneveld in the difference between the two cross legends

Mathieu van der Poel and Wout van Aert evolved at the same period of time in cyclocross, jumped to the road virtually at the same time and achieved similar levels of (extreme) success all throughout the early years of their careers. However in recent years a gap has opened, favouring the Dutchman, who is now clearly above in both disciplines.

This week, after van der Poel's, van Aert's cyclocross calendar for the winter has been revealed with only a few races and no World Championships. These haven't been ruled out, but provisionally speaking, the race in Hulst is not in his calendar. "I think: if Van Aert feels he can become world champion, he will go. If it's like the past few years and he's riding for second place, he won't go," Thijs Zonneveld said In de Waaier podcast. That is quite likely to be the case unless the seven-time World Champion van der Poel gets injured or ill, something which has rarely happened in recent years. 

"Van der Poel has a little more flexibility in the winter. He thrives on easy cyclocross, staying active between training sessions. Van Aert, on the other hand, is extremely trainable and very easy to manage. That went well for a long time, but last year he lacked some punch. He wasn't very good." The two never looked eye-to-eye, with van der Poel winning every single race he took part in.

"At Visma, they're thinking more about the perfect winter, while at Alpecin, they've seen: if we do this again in the winter, he'll be very good again in the spring. At Visma, they still need to bridge the gap, while Van der Poel has found the recipe." It could be argued however that van der Poel is simply a level above, and does not require the same level of preparation to reach the same performances.

But both ultimately aim for the cobbled monuments in the spring, the races they perform at their best. But it's not an equal fight as it was in their early years. "We can now agree, and Visma agrees as well, that Van der Poel is more talented than Van Aert. In the Classics, that is. In the Monuments, he finds everything a little easier than Van Aert. Just like in cyclocross."

The classics also gained new main charachters such as Mads Pedersen but above all Tadej Pogacar, who even came close to winning Paris-Roubaix last year on his debut. "And then Pogacar joined the ranks in recent years. Van der Poel has that extra boost for those short efforts, and he has a stronger killer instinct. What happened to Van Aert against Powless (at Dwars door Vlaanderen, ed.) won't happen to Van der Poel anytime soon."

A key point in Zonneveld's view is what has happened since 2023. We know van der Poel moved to Spain and has managed to remain more healthy and injury-free, whilst in van Aert's case, he has suffered several setbacks. In 2024 alone, his Dwars door Vlaanderen and Vuelta a España crashes took him out for months on both occasions and present serious obstacles to evolution in a peloton that does not stop racing faster.

"That's a key point in their shared story. Until the Wollongong World Championships, Van Aert was able to match Van der Poel with more professionalism, but after Wollongong, Van der Poel also started living his sport professionally. Since then, talent has become the deciding factor again. And Van Aert has also had his fair share of bad luck," Zonneveld concluded.