Will he or won’t he? Belgian coach opens up about Wout van Aert and ‘cross worlds

Belgian national coach Angelo De Clercq has given a subtle hint about Wout van Aert’s potential participation at the 2026 UCI ‘CX world championships in Huls, the Netherlands.

De Clercq said he hopes Van Aert will decide to line up for the Worlds, noting the rider’s influence extends beyond results. “It’s not completely ruled out. He’s important for the team, but also the younger riders look up to him. I fill in his name in every selection with a pencil. Around or after the national championships on Jan. 11, we’ll know for sure,” De Clercq said to Sporza.

Road is the priority

Meanwhile, Van Aert’s trainer, Mathieu Heijboer, emphasized that any world championship plans must fit around Visma – Lease a Bike training camps. “The key point is that we respect our training schedule with the road squad. We won’t compromise on that,” Heijboer said to WielerFlits.

Heijboer also noted that the team’s winter preparation will start slightly later than usual, with a trip to Spain scheduled from Jan. 12 to 24, immediately following the nationals. “We’re not closing the door on the Worlds. It’s open a crack. The decision will come later, but for now, it’s not part of our plans,” he added.

The Belgian just missed out on a win on Tuesday’s Superprestige in a two-up sprint with Tibor del Grosso.

With the national championships approaching, we will likely have to wait a few more weeks before knowing whether Van Aert will compete for the rainbow jersey.

But this was similar to the situation last year. Van Aert raced a condensed season, as he wanted to prepare for the Classics. That meant fitting in racing when he could, with a goal to begin higher volume road prep around the time the worlds went down. After some good results, he decided at the last minute to race the worlds. He rode well.

Although he had some bad luck early, he still finished second to his long-time rival Mathieu van der Poel. Could he spoil history for the Dutchman? At the worlds next year, MvdP is aiming to break the all-time record of seven, with which he shares with the late Eric De Vlaeminck.