The cyclocross season has begun and, although for now we won't witness the exciting duels between Van Aert and Van der Poel, the great mud cycling stars have promised they will return: the first could be the Flemish rider from Herentals. The countdown has started for Wout van Aert's return and, while his precise schedule is not known, the data reported on Strava easily suggests that the Belgian has begun his cyclocross preparation.

Van Aert had taken a short vacation after finishing another exhausting road season, and since cyclocross is a great passion for the Belgian, with the authorization of his Visma Lease a Bike team, we'll see him jumping and running on muddy roads with a bike on his shoulder. We know for certain that Van Aert resumed training on October 21st: from the type of distances and route, it's clear these are typical cyclocross race preparations. The training takes place in the Herentals area, but also between Lille and Lier, going out even in the rain and covering distances not exceeding 70 km for now. There have also been training sessions on the beach in Knokke, places the Flemish rider has always frequented before starting the winter mud season, and at Het Zwin.

Neither Van Aert nor his team have yet announced if and when a winter race calendar will be officialized, and he will almost certainly not be seen throughout November, with his races potentially ending in the first week of January. Last year, Van Aert made his debut on December 27th at the Azencross, where he finished fourth in a race dominated from the start by Mathieu Van der Poel. We then saw the Belgian in five other competitions, where he won first place in the Gullegem cross and at Dendermonde, a World Cup stage. At the World Championships in France in Lievin, he won the silver medal, always behind the dominant Van der Poel. The Flemish rider achieved only two victories during the season, but was still satisfied because, for him, cyclocross is pure fun. So, to not abandon his great passion, he will almost certainly be seen racing in the cross again, with the desire to have fun and measure himself once more against his eternal rival, Mathieu van der Poel. The Dutchman will also race this winter, and his calendar is also not yet known.

This year the World Championship will be held in the Netherlands and Van der Poel will most likely be hunting for his eighth title to write a new record in this sport, while Van Aert will be content to try the pleasure of challenging his rival again: if he comes second again, it won't be a problem for him.