Second winter duel: Van Aert and Van der Poel face each other again today in Hofstade

The Christmas race marathon continues, the most intense part of the cyclocross calendar. A few weeks in which there is hardly a day without races. Today's race in Hofstade is not a World Cup reference but is part of the X2O trophy and, moreover, takes place on a Monday. However, the anticipation for it is at its peak as it is the second of the five matchups we will see this season between Wout van Aert and Mathieu van der Poel, in addition to Thybau Nys, who withdrew from the Koksijde race yesterday after a disastrous performance on Saturday.

X2O Hofstade Schedule

December 22, 2025

• 11:00 – Junior Men
• 12:10 – U23 Men
• 13:45 – Elite Women
• 15:00 – Elite Men

Favorites for X2O Hofstade

After the exhibitions over the weekend in Antwerp and Koksijde, showing total dominance in both races on the sand, their preferred surface for cyclocross where they are clearly superior, the top favorite for victory can only be Mathieu van der Poel. The only doubt that may linger over a new victory for the Dutchman is how he will have assimilated, at this point in the season, this block of three days of maximum intensity, clearly a use of the hypercompensation technique for training enthusiasts; in fact, if we look closely, Van der Poel will rest after this race until next Friday.

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Wout van Aert showed a great level in his debut on Saturday in Antwerp, and only a puncture at the most inopportune moment, just after passing the pit area, prevented him from being on the podium of that race. Therefore, we must trust the Belgian who, as we all know, has the level to be at the front, although, given the form of his rival, he will have to give us one of his magical days to snatch victory from him.

Thibau Nys's performance is also in doubt, as he had a race in Antwerp well below his level. After the race, we all attributed it to some problem he might have suffered, but no, he simply could not be at the front, and in fact, his team decided to skip the Sunday race to allow him better recovery with an eye on the avalanche of Christmas races.

As it is an X2O event, Joris Nieuwenhuis, the current leader of the competition, who has a 24-second lead over Cameron Mason and 42 seconds over Thibau Nys (we remind you that the X2O maintains a time classification from race to race as if it were a stage race), will surely try to do his best.

Who will not be participating today is Felipe Orts, who just yesterday assessed the last few days, explaining that things are going as planned despite the fact that this year he has not stood out in any top-level race as he had accustomed us to in recent seasons. Therefore, the Spanish participation will be limited to Gonzalo Inguazo, Kevin Suárez, and Marcos Gómez.

X2O Hofstade Circuit

The Hofstade race returns to the top level of cyclocross after 17 years, when it hosted the Belgian championship in which the legendary Sven Nys triumphed.

Despite its designation as Beach Cyclocross, Hofstade is not located on the coast but is a town adjacent to the city of Mechelen. This qualification comes from the location where it takes place, a property that houses the headquarters of Sport Vlaanderen with a lake and an artificial beach that adds difficulty to the course with its sandy sections, which are always decisive.

How to Watch X2O Hofstade

Eurosport is today the only way to enjoy the live broadcast of the X2O race in Hofstade. Fortunately, the programmers have had the courtesy to schedule the race on Eurosport 2 in addition to the HBO Max platform, where all the races of the current cyclocross season are broadcast.