Van der Poel could have a minimal CX season but without missing Benidorm

The cyclocross season is approaching its peak and we still have no news on which races Mathieu van der Poel will compete in, while anticipation grows awaiting the announcement of his calendar.

The cyclocross world on edge awaiting Van der Poel's calendar announcement

December, especially the Christmas week, is the peak moment of each CX season with races happening almost every day with Exact Cross, Superprestige, X2O, and of course, the World Cup, which has three races: Hulst, the legendary Zonhoven, and Gavere with just five days apart.

These races are almost mandatory for the best CX cyclists and for them, it represents an important source of income as the Christmas races have the highest prize money, offer more cachet, and receive more media attention.

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The media attention, which in Belgium and the Netherlands is similar to what a footballer in Spain may experience in the days leading up to a major rivalry match, seems to be one of the reasons why Mathieu van der Poel has not yet announced his cyclocross calendar for this season, and who knows, he may even avoid the traditional Christmas races.

According to Dutch media reports, former cyclocross rider Niels Albert, there are rumors that Van der Poel's CX season could be reduced to a minimum, only including the World Cup races in Benidorm, near where he resides most of the year, and Hoogerheide, a race organized by his father, Adrie van der Poel, both at the end of January.

These races would serve as preparation for the World Championships where Mathieu van der Poel aims to equal the record of 8 rainbow jerseys held by Eric de Vlaeminck, the same number also held by the legendary Marianne Vos in the women's category.

However, Albert seems skeptical that Van der Poel will race so little, suggesting that it could also be a tactic from his team to avoid the tremendous media pressure that cyclocross riders in general, and Mathieu van der Poel in particular, face in Belgium and the Netherlands.

At the moment, we also have no information on the cyclocross calendar that Wout van Aert will face, who has been seen training on the roads of the Tour of Flanders with the Visma-Lease a Bike classics team in recent days. And there has been no sign of life from Tom Pidcock either.