The decision has been made. Mathieu van der Poel will ride his first cyclo-cross race of the season in the UCI Cyclo-cross WorldCup Namur on Sunday 14 December. The World Champion will be aiming for his sixth victory at the citadel.
When Mathieu van der Poel announced his cyclo-cross calendar for this winter a week ago, the Dutchman had provisionally blocked the date of the UCI Cyclo-cross WorldCup Namur.
There are no more question marks now as he has confirmed his participation. Van der Poel has been testing his legs over the past few days and feels fit enough to open his season at the Citadel of Namur.
For Van der Poel, it will be a return to an iconic course where the Dutchman feels completely at home. In six appearances as a professional, he has already racked up five victories.
The last time Van der Poel appeared at the start in Namur was in 2020. After an absolute thriller – at the time it was referred to as “The cleanest cross of the season,” – Van der Poel beat Wout van Aert and Tom Pidcock.
Duel with man-in-form Nys
This time in Namur, Van der Poel will take on man-in-form Thibau Nys, who has already won the first two rounds of the UCI Cyclo-cross World Cup in Flamanville and Tabor in recent weeks.
