From Belgium came the cyclocross calendar of Wout van Aert, who will race eight times this winter. He will start on December 20th in Antwerp and will stop after the Belgian Championships in Beringen on January 11th.

Mathieu Heijboer, Performance Manager of Visma-Lease a Bike, explained how the Flemish rider's calendar will be structured. "Wout proposed these races to the team quite early: there was no discussion about dedicating more or less time to cyclocross. We have been working together for so long. The team and Wout now know exactly what is needed to race well, without compromising the road season".

In drafting the cyclocross calendar, Wout and the team respected a series of practical rules. "There is a tacit agreement about team retreats, which must be followed as much as possible. For example, it will not be possible to race in cyclocross during the team's training camp in Spain, between December 8th and 16th".

Wout van Aert revealed his cyclocross calendar with eight races, including the Belgian Championship and five duels with Mathieu van der Poel. This is not a randomly constructed calendar, because both the rider and the team want to minimize travel times. "The issue of traveling to races is a very important topic," Heijboer continued. "We will not take on additional efforts. We did not go abroad because we wanted to minimize travel times as well".

Another agreement concerns the frequency of races, so there will be no more than three races in a row. Van Aert's current program includes only two races in two days: Hofstade and Heusden-Zolder on December 22nd and 23rd, followed by Dendermonde and Loenhout on December 28th and 29th. "We think three consecutive race days are excessive. Then the workload becomes too heavy, with the risk of illnesses and injuries. At this time of year, we also want to train thoroughly, and there must be space for this".

Then there is the matter of the World Championships, which this year will be held in nearby Netherlands. For now, it seems there are no plans to participate in the world event, but it should also be remembered that last year Van Aert added the World Championship only at the end.

Could the same thing happen in 2026? Heijboer does not rule it out a priori, but it will have to be the Flemish rider and the team to make this decision. "To be honest, at the moment the door is only slightly open. We are not working on the World Championships and do not want to make a definitive decision yet. We are happy that Wout will return to race the national championships, which had not happened for a long time. We decided to bring back the National Championships because we know it will be an important goal to achieve and therefore very stimulating".