"Wout definitely wants to win. But physically he is not yet fully capable" - Visma's Jan Boven on Van Aert's recovery and possible World Championships presence
Cyclocross
Wout van Aert recently announced his cyclocross calendar for the 2024-2025 season. It included only six races with no specific goal, not building up towards the World Championships. However a decision will only be made later on in the winter. For the time being, the team is focusing on his recovery and looking at the races without pressure.
“The choices about which races he is going to ride were mainly made by Wout himself. He has looked at what is best in terms of work and rest, in his build-up towards the classics on the road. Because that is where Wout's main goals ultimately lie," Jan Boven told Wielerflits. These will feature a return on the 23rd December in Mol; and will feature three World Cups in Dendermonde, Benidorm and Maasmechelen.
Then some rest and a build-up towards the spring classics. “We actually want to do a copy of last year's build-up. We have a lot of confidence in the program that we built last year, and that is also what we based the current approach on. Certainly the part after his last cross and his first road race should go in exactly the same way, in order to see Wout at his best in the classics.”
This means he should once again do a training camp in March instead of racing Paris-Nice or Tirreno-Adriatico, to race a bit in February and then likely return at Milano-Sanremo. Cyclocross-wise, Boven lowers the expectations due to the knee injury that slowed down the Belgian.
“In any case, that injury slowed him down a lot. He was badly injured and was unable to cycle for a very long time. The only expectations are to have fun, do something nice and have fun. For Wout, it is great that he can do cyclocross. He is a cyclocrosser and that is where his heart lies. But Wout is also a born winner, and Wout definitely wants to win. But physically he is not yet fully capable of that.”
Asked if he will be able to compete with Mathieu van der Poel, whom he will meet a few times, he responds: “You never know. We do not know what Mathieu has done. It is in line with expectations that he will stand out. Mathieu is really building up to the World Championship, for us the winter is really only important to have a few fun goals as a break. That winter has also been long. We had to stop the road earlier, which makes that fun factor more important than ever.”
Het Laatste Nieuws reported recently that the World Championships were off the table, but we now learn that this is not quite the situation. “Maybe it is still on the table, you never know. We can always adjust the programs. Ultimately you calculate back, compared to his choices last season. He didn't participate in the weekend of Hoogerheide anymore, but now his road season starts a bit later. And after the cross you still have to have a little break somewhere," Boven concluded.
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— Team Visma | Lease a Bike (@vismaleaseabike) December 16, 2024
Rúben SilvaEditor-in-Chief
A founding contributor to CyclingUpToDate since its launch in January 2022, Ruben Silva has played a central role in shaping the site’s editorial direction and long-term growth. Before joining the project, he built his experience through independent blogging at Echelons Hub and by producing race previews for Ciclismo Internacional, developing a strong analytical voice rooted in daily engagement with professional cycling.
Beyond editorial work, he has been closely involved in the expansion and coordination of CyclingUpToDate’s wider network, helping establish and support sister platforms across multiple languages. This includes ongoing collaboration with CiclismoAlDia (Spanish), CiclismoAtual (Portuguese), WielrennenUpToDate (Dutch), and RadsportAktuell (German), contributing to a shared editorial vision and consistent international coverage.
He also helps oversee editorial governance across the network, setting standards for accuracy and consistency and coordinating updates or corrections when needed.
Originally from the Porto metropolitan area in Portugal, he holds a bachelor’s degree in Geography. His path into cycling journalism was shaped not through formal media training, but through independent reporting, community engagement, and sustained on-the-ground involvement in the sport.
Over the course of his career, he has conducted approximately 100 interviews across road cycling and cyclocross, ranging from one-to-one conversations and online formats to press conferences and on-site pre- and post-race coverage. His interviews include leading riders, team managers, and prominent figures within cycling media: Tadej Pogacar, Jonas Vingegaard, Mathieu van der Poel, Primoz Roglic, Wout van Aert, Joao Almeida and Tom Pidcock; managers like Patrick Lefevere and Joxean Matxin; and YouTube personality Bryan Kennedy (BKXC)...
Within 18 months of launch, he helped grow CyclingUpToDate’s English-language platform into one of the most-read cycling news websites, built entirely from the ground up. As both a professional journalist and lifelong cycling enthusiast, his focus remains on delivering accurate, timely, and well-contextualized coverage.
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parisbound0008-11-2026 - there needs to be space in life for pointless comments!Ketterechts08-11-2026
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