‘From now until the World Championships, we’re racing for second place’ – Cyclocross specialists brace for Mathieu van der Poel’s season start on Sunday

Mathieu van der Poel will start his cyclocross season on Sunday at the UCI Cyclocross World Cup in Namur, and all of his rivals are preparing for the worst-case scenario: that the Dutchman continues the 11-race winning streak he’s had since January 21, 2024.

The reigning cyclocross World Champion was beaten at the World Cup in Benidorm that day, but before that, his last defeat was one year earlier at the Zonhoven World Cup, where he lost to Wout van Aert.