"Before they’ve even raced, these guys have already gotten more media attention than we’d get for winning 10 races"

Sporza brought up the subject before the X2O Trophy event, and eventual winner Michael Vanthourenhout shared his thoughts: “So much has already been written about it. Before they’ve even done a race, they’ve gotten more media attention than we’d get if we won 10 races in a season. I think that’s a shame,” said the Pauwels Sauzen-Bingoal rider.

That said, Vanthourenhout isn’t too bothered by it personally. “I don’t need to be in the media. But for other riders, it must sting that during this time of year, the focus is only on those two. Sure, it’ll be harder to get on the podium, but for us, nothing really changes. It’s our job, and we’ll keep giving it our all in every race.”

Niels Vandeputte, Van der Poel’s teammate, agrees. “We just need to try to stay as close to them as possible. I see it as a challenge to share the podium with them, like we did last year,” said the Belgian. “It’s great that both of them are coming back to race. Cyclo-cross is where they made their name, and they belong here. For the other cyclo-cross riders, it’ll be tougher to get results, but that’s just part of the sport.”

At Baloise Trek Lions, there’s a similar mindset. “We’ll see how it goes next week. Let them make it a great race,” said Lars van der Haar. Pim Ronhaar shared his thoughts after the race, speaking with IDLProCycling.com. “I’m glad they’re coming back to cyclo-cross, especially when they’re both at the starting line. It gives you something to aim for, and I like the challenge of racing at such a high level for an hour. We haven’t really thought much about it, it’s more a media thing. It doesn’t keep us up at night,” said the ever-direct Ronhaar. “Sure, it’s something people like to talk about, but for us, it’s not a big deal.”

Eli Iserbyt, who’s been competing against the two stars for years, knows where he stands. “We’ll see next week how fast Mathieu and Wout are. For us, it feels like the start of a second half of the season. But even finishing second or third behind those guys is still something to be proud of. We’re riding at a high level, but when they’re in the race, it’s a whole different level.”

As for the news that Van der Poel will race 11 times this season, Iserbyt wasn’t surprised. “That story about him only doing three races, I couldn't really believe it. I didn't think that would happen, I figured Mathieu would do a schedule similar to previous years. It’s a solid program, and it’s great for the sport of cyclo-cross.”