What races will Van Aert and Van der Poel do before Flanders and Roubaix?

After facing each other for the last time in the CX World Championships, Wout van Aert and Mathieu van der Poel may not meet again in competition until the peak moment of the cobblestone campaign with the Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix. This is the path both are taking towards that marked event.

Van Aert and Van der Poel head towards Flanders and Roubaix on different paths

Although there are still some cyclocross events left in the season, most people, including fans, are already in road mode, with their sights set on the classics. A start to the campaign that promises to be exciting, and where we hope to see the best riders in the best races without any mishaps like those of last season.

However, to reach the peak moment of spring, the two consecutive weekends when the Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix are held, the two main figures of the cobblestones have chosen different preparations.

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After a short and well-deserved rest following his CX World Championships victory, Mathieu van der Poel has set his road debut for the week of March 9, a little earlier than last year, although it is still to be defined whether he will do it in Paris-Nice or Tirreno-Adriatico.

After this small warm-up, he will focus on Milan-San Remo. However, no further dates have been revealed throughout the month of March, although it is expected that we will see him in some of the Belgian cobblestone classics. Especially considering the presence of Tadej Pogacar in Flanders this year, which, according to the Dutchman, will require him to be "in top form to be able to follow him."

On the other hand, Wout van Aert had already outlined his calendar, which will start with his participation in the Clásica Jaen-Paraíso Interior on February 17, and then continue with the Volta ao Algarve.

It is interesting in the Belgian's calendar that he has chosen not to participate in the Italian classics, meaning that we will not see him in Strade Bianche or Milan-San Remo, focusing exclusively on the cobblestones in pursuit of his dream of winning Flanders, Roubaix, or both, who knows.

In his case, the races chosen as preparation for the two cobblestone monuments have been the two events of the Opening Weekend, namely, Omloop Het Niewsblad and Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne. After these, he will focus on good training sessions, and we will not see him with a race number on his back again until the Dwars door Vlaanderen, in the same week as the Tour of Flanders. Precisely the race where his last season took a turn for the worse with a serious fall that prevented him from participating in Flanders and Roubaix and his planned debut in the Giro d'Italia.