Wout van Aerts shrugs off pressure ahead of World Championships: "That title doesn’t add much to my palmarès anymore"

Wout van Aert has won three Cyclocross World Championships in Cyclocross, aswell as countless wins, as is the case in the road. Coming into the battle for the rainbow jersey, he shrugs off the pressure from this Sunday's race.

Earlier this week there were accusations that Mathieu van der Poel's father Adrie could be benefiting van der Poel as part of the race organization. "I've won most of the times when he had designed the course," van Aert replied to that with VTM. "He just can do that really well. The planks are on a better place than before in the World Championships, that's a step forward in terms of safety."

This Saturday morning the Belgian took part in a press conference before the main goal of his winter, in which he's given insight on the expectations and feelings ahead of the World Championships' main event in the Dutch Hoogerheide track.

“It’s all a bit less exciting now. It would be a shame if I miss the title, but it doesn’t mean that much. That title doesn’t add much to my palmarès anymore," he says. “I look at it slightly differently [to Van der Poel], winter is a step below what follows next." Both have prepared their winter taking this race into consideration, and both look to be on their A-game coming into the race. 

Van Aert thinks already of the road season however, which he will start in a month at Strade Bianche. "On the road there are certain races that I say that spring has not been successful if I or the team do not win there. I’m racing for the honor, of course. I’m still in love with the sport, the game,” he argued. 

“I really regret that it’s my last cross on Sunday. It always flies by. When I see how many people I’ve been able to make happy again, that’s what I do It," van Aert concludes, showing emotion towards the end of his cyclocross season this weekend.