'It will be a walkover'- Van der Poel favourite over Pidcock in 'cross debut

Van der Poel and Van Aert during the World Cup in Dendermonde
Van der Poel and Van Aert during the World Cup in Dendermonde (Image credit: Getty Images)

Mathieu van der Poel is expected to make a successful return to cyclocross in Herentals on Saturday, with the current world champion likely to be better than major rivals Tom Pidcock and the rest of the field for the X²O Badkamers Trofee race.

"It was a piece of cake for Wout, it will be a walkover for Mathieu," former world champion turned pundit Niels Albert told Het Laatste Nieuws.

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.