‘Cycling on Mud’ raises expectations in the face of rivalry between Mathieu van der Poel and Wut van Aert | Other sports | Sports

Cyclocross sparked global interest On the Mud Riding thanks long competition, Fierce and passionate, between two of the biggest specialized monsters, the Dutch Matthew van der Pol And the Belgian watt van air, Four and three times world champion in a row.

In case this duel is unattractive to the party British Olympic Champion Tom Bidcock joined. This weekend, in Dendermonde (Belgium), the three will meet in a fight without a quarter.

Van Airt (jumbo visma) and Pidcock (Eneos Grenadiers) They arrive with appointment feature. The former has been unruly, having recently won in Val de Sole, Baume and Essen, while the young Briton has just shown himself in Rucphen. However, Van der Poel (Alpecin-Phoenix), the ‘most anticipated man’, will make his debut after overcoming a knee injury and is not full of expectations.

“I’ll try to follow Van Aert, but the truth is I don’t know how I’m going to respond,” says Van der Poel., which in turn is clear that his decisive appointment is scheduled for January 30 in Fayetteville (USA). On that day and in that place he will defend the title of world champion.

the Three Kings way They will make a good gift for a fan the day after Christmas, with a hitherto unknown expectation in cyclocross.

As van der Poel explains, “Competing with Van Aert goes beyond sport, it’s a great story” Which allows both to strengthen and improve in relation to the others.” His great goal is to aspire to achieve 7 world titles with Belgian De Vlaeminck, but before that, with five titles he could equal Renato Longo, Andre Davries and Albert Zweville.

Both Van der Poel and Van Aert have many fans, but they also detract from them. They share that they’ve been stirring up emotions ever since In such a mechanical way, the failure of both brought a freshness to the races, more spectacle, the product of his offensive tactics, with attacks from afar.

Many fans have found attraction in this type of road racing, including within the WorldTour. in a The Tour de France left its stamp in 2021 with stage wins, as well as in the great classics.

Van der Poel and Van Aert have been racing since they were cadets, Both in cyclocross and on the road. The story comes from afar and now with 26 and 27 years old respectively, these Duels live in mud and asphalt for cycling fun. On the way, they have measured their forces since 2019.

for general performance, Van Aert outperforms Van der Poel and Asphalto, Being able to win the classics and stages in the tour in all colors, run, mountain, time trial … but The cyclocross Domina Van der Poel.

However, the victories between the two were in 2021, just as they had when they started racing the elite in motorcycle racing 6 years ago. The Dutchman did not show much on the road, focusing his best performance in the one-day tests.

Undoubtedly, These two phenomena break the discipline of robot cycling with strategies from another era, on any land, at any time, with the goal of blasting the race in search of victory.

The world of cyclocross welcomes the fight between the three kings as a blessing. The method is the religion in countries such as Belgium and the Netherlands which has already been exported all over Europe because it is an attractive offer to the public. It hardly takes an hour, technique and strength reign supreme, falls happen, and drastic changes in tempo… Also showcase the championship of real phenomena on the bike. (Dr)