National coach on first duel Mathieu van der Poel vs. Wout van Aert

With the Christmas period in sight, it is a busy time for cyclocross riders and their entourage. Next weekend a real double in the World Cup is scheduled, with the races in Antwerp and Koksijde. Dutch national coach Gerben de Knegt looks ahead and announces his selections.

'A lot of riders are really looking forward to these cyclo-crosses,' says De Knegt referring to Antwerp and Koksijde, two cyclo-cross events in which the sand technique is central. 'And for the public it is, of course, great that Mathieu van der Poel and Wout van Aert are at the start in Antwerp on Saturday.'

'It is hard to say which of the two will come out on top, but in any case Van der Poel's comeback in Namur gave confidence for the series of races to come,' De Knegt said of Van der Poel's victory on Sunday.

In addition to Van der Poel, Tibor Del Grosso and Puck Pieterse also started their cross season last weekend. 'You can see that they still have to find their feet in the field, but I am confident that the coming races will fall into place,' De Knegt continued on behalf of the KNWU.

'The period around Christmas is a bit of a period of truth for cyclo-cross riders. If you get through that period well, then you can build up to the rest of the season and the World Championships with confidence,' concluded the selector of the Dutch selection, which is sending many riders for Antwerp and Koksijde.

Thus, Joris Nieuwenhuis (in contrast to previously reported only in Antwerp), Lars van der Haar, Pim Ronhaar and Ryan Kamp are present, while in the women, Shirin van Anrooij also returns.