Visma-Lease a Bike’s ace Wout van Aert had a crash-marred 2024 road season, but he will prepare for the 2025 campaign with six cyclocross races, the team announced on Friday.
Wout van Aert’s #CXWorldCup lineup is set:
🌧️ Dendermonde 05/01
🌴 Benidorm 19/01
🏁 Maasmechelen 25/01Mud, sun, or home soil—he’s coming for it. #FLCS pic.twitter.com/s3qOieVohl
— UCI Cyclo-cross World Cup (@UCIcyclocrossWC) December 6, 2024
In a Visma press release, van Aert said, “Cyclocross remains my first love, which is why I enjoy returning to it every winter. This winter, we’ve opted for a compact schedule of six races that fit well into my training plan. It will be a cyclocross season I approach purely out of love for the sport, but with modest ambitions. After my crash in the Vuelta and my knee injury, it’s essential to make the best use of the time I have to prepare for the road season. A few cyclocross races fit nicely into that plan, but the schedule is deliberately more limited than in previous years.”
We’ll first see van Aert astride a cross bike on December 23 in the Zilvermeercross round of the Superprestige series in Mol, Belgium. Two days after Christmas he’ll take on the Exact Cross Series’ round in Loenhout. In the new year, he will return to the Superprestige at the Gullegem round on January 4.
He’s back where he belongs! @WoutvanAert confirmed for Mol (23/12) and Gullegem (04/01). Get ready for more fireworks this season. 💥 #Telenet #Superprestige #FLCS pic.twitter.com/DgonjrzeUj
— SuperprestigeCX (@SuperprestigeCX) December 6, 2024
The next day Wout switches to the World Cup for three rounds starting in Dendermonde, Belgium. January 19 sees him in Benidorm, Spain. Finally, his mud campaign comes to an end at the Maasmechelen, Belgium World Cup on January 25. Then it’s back to the road for the 30 year old.
Last year, van Aert raced nine cross contests, winning three, including the Benidorm World Cup round.
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