Wout Van Aert finally has an answer as to whether he will compete in the UCI Cyclocross World Championships in Fayetteville, Arkansas later this month.

Speaking to Sporza (opens in new tab) after winning his home race, the X2O Trophy in Herentals, the three-time world champion said Sunday's Belgian championship will be his last cyclocross race. [His coach, Marc Lamberts, suggested to Het Laatste Nieuws in November that Van Aert wanted to skip the world championships to concentrate on the classics.

"At this point in my career I am focused on other things. I want to win Monument in the spring. With that in mind, I think it's better to finish the season on Sunday at Nationals and then focus on the road."

The news came hours after world champion Mathieu Van Der Pol (Alpecin-Phoenix) announced that he would end his cross season due to a back injury.

"Sunday's Belgian championships will be my last race this winter," Van der Pol said.

"We had planned not to compete in the World Championships. But we decided to stick to our original plan."

Van Aert won his eighth of nine races on Wednesday, and in the Hulst World Cup he had to come from last on the first lap to fourth due to mechanics.

If he and Van der Pol miss the World Championships, men's elite racing will lose its two most dominant riders, who have shared the last seven world titles together.

"Of course [the decision] wasn't easy, because I've had some good legs the last few weeks," van der Pol said. Missing such a great race is always a difficult choice, but my goal is the spring and that's what I'm focused on right now."

His main goals are the spring classics, the Tour de Flanders and Paris-Roubaix, but Van Aat added that "cyclocross remains my first love and that's why I've been focusing my energy on cyclocross the last few weeks."

"It takes a lot of special preparation for a world championship like this, and it wastes a lot of mental energy. And since it's held in the U.S., I'll be suffering from jet lag for a week afterwards. Now we have four weeks to calm down and prepare for the spring."

Van Aert reacted to Van der Pol's absence before Wednesday's race, saying he was "very disappointed" that his former rival had to end his 'cross season.

"I wish him the best and hope he can be back there again soon. Cyclocross has lost him, but the cycling world needs riders like Mathieu.