Will we see Van der Poel and Van Aert on the cyclo-cross bike this winter? Niels Albert: "They love cyclo-cross too much"

The two-time cyclocross world champion believes that the two rivals will indeed return to cyclo-cross. "Mathieu might race a little less," he speculates in an interview with HLN. "Wout definitely will. I see him coming back strong after his crash in the Vuelta and his rehabilitation. It's impressive how, after such a 'stupid' setback—these things keep haunting him—he always finds the mental strength to motivate himself and fight back. 85% of people would have thrown in the towel by now."

According to the 38-year-old Belgian, their love for the sport will ensure that the Dutchman and the Belgian will absolutely get back on the bike this winter. "Both of them love cyclo-cross. It fits perfectly into their system. One hour of intense, pure interval training." Looking ahead to the 2025 spring classics, Albert believes Van der Poel and Van Aert will continue to race cyclo-cross. "Short, sharp turns, twists, pushing through, pulling, and sprinting: there's no better training for the Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix. A Flemish classic is really just one long cyclo-cross race." Philip Roodhooft, team manager of Alpecin-Deceuninck, has already confirmed that the Cyclo-cross World Championships are a goal for Van der Poel.

Now that the two greats are temporarily staying away from cyclo-cross, attention has shifted to others. In the Exact-Cross in Beringen, Lars van der Haar was the strongest, but it was the incident between Eli Iserbyt and Ryan Kamp that sparked the most discussion. "Well, what exactly happened before that?" Albert wondered. "We had to rely solely on TV footage and the statements from Eli and Jurgen (Mettepenningen, team manager, ed.). The fact is, even though something like this happens in the heat of the moment, you still have to try to keep your cool. On the other hand, I don't know Eli as someone who loses his temper easily or lashes out without reason. If Ryan was really throwing nasty remarks at him and provoking him, then his reaction is somewhat understandable. I know myself—I wouldn’t be easy to deal with in that situation either."