Wout van Aert and Mathieu van der Poel face each other for the first time this season this Friday in Loenhout. Follow the race live on RTL sports.
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Warm-up
After the victory of Marion Norbert-Riberolle among the ladies, a new chapter in the historic rivalry between Mathieu van der Poel and Wout van Aert will open on Friday at the Azencross in Loenhout. After a first missed meeting due to illness, Monday in Mol, Van Aert finally aligns himself with the plowed to challenge the domination of a Van der Poel who is currently untouchable.
Indeed, the Dutch world champion won the three cross-country races he competed in this season. After a resounding victory in Zonhoven in the World Cup on Sunday, Van der Poel left a little more suspense the next day in the Superprestige of Mol, where his first duel against Van Aert should normally take place. On Thursday, the Dutchman showed all his talent to achieve another victory during the Gavere cross-country, as part of the World Cup.
If Mathieu van der Poel arrived in visibly brilliant form on the cyclocross bike, uncertainty reigns as to the form of Wout van Aert. After an eventful road season, the latter underwent “a long revalidation” in order to “strengthen his right leg. So I had less specific training in cyclocross. I have no idea what form I will be in at Loenhout,” he explained.
Last year, ‘WVA’ only won one of seven duels against its eternal rival, in Benidorm in Spain, where Van der Poel fell. This season, the first of three opportunities will present themselves in a peloton where both riders have four career victories. Since 2014, they have shared eight of the nine contested editions, and it is the Dutchman who is the title holder.
On Friday, Tim Merlier will also be at the start of the men’s race.
Mathieu Van der Poel Wout van Aert cyclocross Sanne Cant
