Adrie van der Poel predicted Van Aert’s successful cyclo-cross debut after spying on his Strava data

BOOM BELGIUM DECEMBER 04 Wout Van Aert of Belgium and Team Jumbo Visma celebrates at podium as race winner after the 7th Superprestige Cyclocross Boom 2021 Mens Elite SPBoom Superprestige2022 on December 04 2021 in Boom Belgium Photo by Luc ClaessenGetty Images
Wout Van Aert (Image credit: Getty Images Sport)

Adrie van der Poel has admitted he was impressed with Wout van Aert’s victory at the Boom Superprestige cyclocross on Saturday but warned about his son being on form to challenge him when they clash on December 26 after Mathieu van der Poel enjoyed a long off season. 

Van Aert dominated the Boom race in the deep mud, soon distancing his rivals in the extreme conditions and finishing 1:42 ahead of Toon Aerts (Baloise Trek) despite falling in the mud late in the race. 

Stephen Farrand
Head of News

Stephen is the most experienced member of the Cyclingnews team, having reported on professional cycling since 1994. He has been Head of News at Cyclingnews since 2022, before which he held the position of European editor since 2012 and previously worked for Reuters, Shift Active Media, and CyclingWeekly, among other publications.