"Wout van Aert can come closest to Mathieu van der Poel" - Belgian coach defiantly backing Visma star ahead of CX World Championships

This weekend, the 2025 Cyclocross World Championship are a mouth-watering prospect for cycling fans. Mathieu van der Poel starts as favourite, but after the announcement earlier this week that Wout van Aert will also now take part, the Dutchman isn't likely to have things all his own way in Lievin.

The decision of Van Aert's participation was a relatively last minute one. But now the call has been made, Belgian national coach Angelo De Clercq is confident the Team Visma | Lease a Bike star has as good of a chance as anyone in stopping Van der Poel. "Wout van Aert can come closest to Mathieu van der Poel," De Clercq defiantly declares to Sporza. "The World Championship circuit is really a circuit for men with substance. Then Wout naturally comes forward. Although Van der Poel is of course also someone with a lot of substance, what can't he do?"

Given those two multi-discipline superstars are expected to battle for victory, that then leaves the rest of the race fighting for the last spot on the podium. De Clercq also sees plenty of hope for the Belgian's here too. "We have 8 Belgians who qualify for that," he predicts. "I am thinking for example of Emiel Verstrynge and Joran Wyseure , who respectively came 2nd and 3rd in Dendermonde on a very tough course."