Wout van Aert may have been the big draw at the UCI Cyclocross World Cup in Dublin last year but the Jumbo Visma rider is now looking doubtful for the return event in two weeks time in the Irish capital.
He is now following the trend of the big dual road and cyclocross riders, including double world champion Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Deceuninck), in planning a very short winter season, clearly with his eyes fixed on the 2024 road campaign.
And as the need to limit the effort over the winter is set to curtail van der Poel's 'cross season to a matter of weeks, Van Aert's season is now shaping up the same way.
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Het Laatste Nieuws has published what it says are the first details of Van Aert's cyclocross season, which will not begin until late December. The details include:
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- December 22: Exact Cross, Mol
- December 23: World Cup, Antwerp
- December 28: Superprestige, Diegem
- December 29: Exact Cross, Loenhout
- January 1: X2O Trofee, Baal
During that period in December and January he will not ride the World Cup races in Namur, Gavere and Zonhoven. There is also no mention of the World Cup in Dublin in two weeks, which will fall weeks before Van Aert's season is due to start.
However, neither Van Aert nor his Jumbo Visma team has yet confirmed his schedule, with the details emerging now coming via the cycling media in Belgium.
For his part, Van der Poel is set to limit his cyclocross season to 10-15 races, up to a world title defence in the Czech Republic in February. That short campaign means he will not start racing cyclocross until December, which will be too late for the Dublin World Cup on November 26th.
