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Followers of Wout van Aert have been anxiously awaiting his cyclocross schedule. As a result of when you’re a real Wout follower, you understand that cyclocross is the place he began, and the place he’s nonetheless a lot enjoyable to observe.
And nobody can be dissatisfied, as a result of the Belgian sprinter is about to go head-to-head along with his longtime rival, Mathieu van der Poel, for 5 cyclocross showdowns this season.
However first, a bit of journey to Columbia for the Giro di Rigo, and dancing. Van Aert loved some down time at El Giro de Rigo in Colombia this weekend. He took half within the 155 km. Gran Fondo, which came about simply southwest of Bogotá, with a number of followers and different professionals.
Extra From Bicycling
Cycling News reported that the Belgian celebrity was “given a hero’s welcome in South America and met by enormous cheers on stage on the occasion presentation.” Then, “Van Aert appeared to have the time of his life in Colombia forward of returning to the stringent coaching schedule that is available in preparation for his cyclocross season and the 2024 WorldTour.”
Different professionals in attendance included Rigoberto Urán (EF Training–EasyPost), Sergio Higuita (Bora-Hansgrohe), and Santiago Buitrago (Bahrain Victorious). In accordance with Cycling News, “Higuita and van Aert examined the legs and sprinted alongside one another in the course of the 4-hour trip earlier than rejoining the extra informal tempo.”
Greater than 5,300 individuals took half within the Gran Fondo, and greater than 30,000 followers lined the streets to see van Aert and Urán, who was a part of Columbia’s main success story in street biking. Then, they partied in true Colombian style.
The upcoming MVDP showdown
However now, van Aert is off to observe large watts within the mud. In accordance with Het Laatste Nieuws, he’ll compete in a really selective five-race schedule between December 22 and January 1. And all 5 races will function his longtime rival, Mathieu Van der Poel.
Velo reported that, “van Aert and Van der Poel’s rivalry has pushed the cyclocross narrative for greater than a decade. The 2 have been racing one another since they had been juniors and share a complete of 11 elite, U23, and junior titles between them.”
In accordance with We Love Cycling, Van Aert’s schedule options races the place he has beforehand excelled, “together with two Precise Cross races in Mol and Loenhout on December 22 and 29, respectively, and the Superprestige occasion in Diegem on December 28. He’s additionally anticipated to trip within the World Cup of Antwerp and the X2O Trofee in Baal.”
Right here’s the entire record of the races the 2 cyclocross superstars can be battling it out on this season:
- Dec 22, 2023: Precise ‘Cross Mol
- Dec 23, 2023: World Cup Antwerp
- Dec 28, 2023: Superprestige Diegem
- Dec 29, 2023: Precise ‘Cross Loenhout
- Jan 1, 2024: X2O Trofee Baal / GP Sven Nys
One can solely hope that if van Aert pulls off some wins, there can be much more dancing in his future.
Author
Micah Ling is a contract author who lives within the mountains of Colorado. She splits her free time between mountain biking and path working.
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