Cyclocross is in full swing in Europe, but as fans know, once Mathieu van der Poel and Wout van Aert show up, things get a little more heated. On Saturday, Thibau Nys—who may be one of the few riders in the near future who can challenge the Big Two—started his winter campaign with a dominant win.
It will be interesting to see what the son of Sven can accomplish this year. He’s got a Grand Tour under his belt and has bcecome a force in the WorldTour—something that always gives MvdP and Van Aert the edge when they race the Euro ‘cross season. The longtime rivals are definitely a level up on the rest of the field, whether it’s World Cups, Exact Cross, Superprestige or the world championships. Given that Tom Pidcock may not do much, if any, ‘cross this year, Nys is poised to become the third of the Big Three.
2025-2026 ‘cross season
As for Van Aert, last year he rode a heavily condensed program but made a last-minute decision to race the worlds, where he finished second behind Van der Poel. At Tim Declercq’s farewell criterium, Van Aert spoke about his cyclocross season.
“My legs are good enough for a criterium, but for a real cross race I still have to train a bit,” he told Sporza. “I still have some obligations in the coming weeks and then the real work begins. I want to wait for a few weeks of training first to see when it makes sense to resume. There will also be a long road season and that is why we have to make a sensible plan.”
The Visma – Lease a Bike rider has been on the bike for about two weeks, but this criterium marked his first “competitive” outing since the road season wrapped up.
“Tim has become a good friend in the peloton. I was free this weekend and that helped. It’s nice to celebrate his farewell,” Van Aert said. “In the peloton it is often hard against hard, but friendship also goes across teams and we also have mutual friends. Tim deserves a lot of respect. The general public quickly ignores how important such a rider is, but in the peloton everyone knows how to appreciate him.”
On Sunday, the Euro ‘cross season continues with the X2O Trofee Lokeren. You can watch it on FloBikes.com at 7:40 a.m. EDT. If you miss it, check back here on Canadian Cycling Magazine for a full report.
Affiliate links present. Canadian Cycling Magazine may receive commissions.
Click Here to Read the Full Original Article at Canadian Cycling Magazine…