Wout van Aert (Jumbo-Visma) said he is “hoping to compete for the win” in his keenly awaited debut in his 2023-2024 cyclocross season on Saturday in the Exact Cross race in Essen, Belgium, but warned that he is not in great shape.
In his first race since the 2023 road season ended, the Belgian said Saturday that a different approach path to the year means: “I don’t think I have ever started the cross winter as badly as I have now.”
Van Aert is the standout name in the Essen event, set to be as muddy as usual after heavy rain in northern Europe earlier this week, but on Saturday morning he roundly rejected the idea that there is not much competition for him to face in the Belgian race.
The Jumbo-Visma racer added that he was not thinking much yet about his three-way duels with two of the other standout names in the discipline, Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Deceuninck) and Tom Pidcock (Ineos Grenadiers), due to take place later in the season.
“It matters a lot to me to make these efforts in the winter, splitting up the long build-up for the road,” he told sporza.be on Saturday morning.
“I have never known it to be anything but muddy here, so it’ll be a real challenge out there today.”
Van Aert played down the idea that the Exact Cross event did not boast a deep field, arguing “that’s easy to say and does not show respect for these racers.”
“These guys have been racing for a long time,” he said. “I don’t underestimate anyone. I am hoping for a win, but we will have to wait and see.”
He said that after the Exact Cross race he should have a better idea of his condition, but the real challenges would come after his ten-day training camp in Spain when he returns for more cyclocross over the Christmas period.
As for the upcoming racing against Pidcock and Van der Poel, Van Aert said he had not thought about it much.
“I am taking cyclo cross very differently this year,” he pointed out, “and I don’t think I have ever started as badly as I have now.”
Van Aert made light of it of what could be a tough start at Essen, telling sporza.be in a half-joking way, “For the time being, the comeback is a bit disappointing, but that mainly has to do with the weather.”
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