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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Warming 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 has won the three cross-country races he has started this season. After a resounding victory in Zonhoven in the World Cup on Sunday, Van der Poel left a little more suspense in the Superprestige in Mol the next day, where his first duel against Van Aert would normally take place. On Thursday, the Dutchman showed all his talent to achieve another victory at the Gavere cross-country race, as part of the World Cup.
If Mathieu van der Poel arrived in clearly brilliant form on the cyclocross bike, uncertainty reigns as to the form of Wout van Aert. After a rocky road season, the latter went through “a long revalidation” in order to “strengthen the right leg. So I had less specific training in cyclocross. I have no idea of the shape I will be in in Loenhout,” he explained.
Last year, ‘WVA’ won only 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 come on a field 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
