No Wout van Aert-Mathieu van der Poel showdown at Super 8 Classic as Belgian withdraws

Wout van Aert and Mathieu van der Poel
Wout van Aert and Mathieu van der Poel (Image credit: Getty Images)

The mooted late-season showdown between Mathieu van der Poel and Wout van Aert at Saturday's Super 8 Classic won't be taking place after the Belgian pulled out of the race.

After winning a stage and the overall at the recent Tour of Britain, Van Aert was slated to start the 203.6km race in Brakel to continue his build-up to the UEC Road European Championships and UCI Gravel World Championships.

Dani Ostanek
Senior News Writer

Dani Ostanek is Senior News Writer at Cyclingnews, joining in 2017 as a freelance contributor and later being hired full-time. Before joining the team, they had written for numerous major publications in the cycling world, including CyclingWeekly and Rouleur.

Dani has reported from the world's top races, including the Tour de France, Road World Championships, and the spring Classics. They have interviewed many of the sport's biggest stars, including Mathieu van der Poel, Demi Vollering, and Remco Evenepoel. Their favourite races are the Giro d'Italia, Strade Bianche and Paris-Roubaix.

Season highlights from the 2024 season include reporting from Paris-Roubaix –  'Unless I'm in an ambulance, I'm finishing this race' – Cyrus Monk, the last man home at Paris-Roubaix – and the Tour de France – 'Disbelief', gratitude, and family – Mark Cavendish celebrates a record-breaking Tour de France sprint win.