Wout van Aert's favourite type of cyclocross races: "The more hellish the circumstances, the better I prefer it"

Wout van Aert raced his first cyclocross event this winter yesterday in Essen and took the victory ahead of Jens Adams. He now flies to Spain for a training camp with Jumbo-Visma before getting back to action on the 22nd of December.

“If you don't like doing this, then I think it would be better to say in the morning that you have a bit of a sore throat and drop out. It may be strange for people to understand, but for me, playing in the mud is something I have loved to do for a long time," van Aert told Wielerflits. "Trying to stay on the bike every lap, looking for the right lines in the mud, remains a fantastic challenge for me. I try to get the best out of myself every time. I didn't even think about the rain and the cold along the way. I've always been good at that, and today was no different. In fact, the more hellish the circumstances, the better I prefer it. And especially in cyclocross.”

He tells what his results show for, he's capable of performing better in the races where low cadence is present, and where mud plays a big role. In the faster, less technical races Mathieu van der Poel was at the same level as him last season and that ultimately saw him finish second in the World Championships. This time around the Belgian won't aim for that, he was also not thinking much of victories but already got one: “I don't feel like I have to win such a cross. I just want to have fun. But if victory does come along, that's just a bonus."

"Just not a goal in itself. You have to ask my trainer exactly what is planned. But what is certain: the cross bike will not last. The days of simply spending hours on the bike are long behind us. Every training schedule is aimed at achieving your goals, and for me this will depend entirely on the road season. I hope to go the extra mile again and look forward to being on the road with the team.”

The Belgian will be with his teammates, including most likely Cian Uijtdebroeks who is currently in the middle of a storm, and he shares details of what's to follow in December.

“This will be followed by the team presentation and then the Christmas period will come again very soon. I'm also happy to go to Spain. In recent weeks I have been on the verge of going to the sun several times, because the weather here was so bad for training on the road," he concludes.