Tom Pidcock has made it clear that he intends to surpass Wout Van Aert and Mathieu Van Der Pol at least once in the next few weeks to expand the "Big 2" to the "Big 3" in cyclocross this season.

That moment will not come this weekend. Van Aert and Van der Poel, who have shared the last seven world titles, will miss Saturday's World Cup race in Lucfen, the Netherlands, and Sunday's World Cup race in Namur, Belgium.

Their absences mean that Pidcock will first carve another major milestone, his first World Cup win at the elite level, before taking on his two biggest rivals over the Christmas break.

Pidcock won world titles at the junior level in 2017 and at the U23 level in 2019, and made a huge leap forward with his first silver medal at the Elite World Championships in 2020.In his first full season at Elite in 2020-2021, in a field including Van der Pol Gavere, he won the Superprestige and quickly established himself as one of the top players in the field.

After battling Van Aert and Van der Poel on the road this season and leading Van der Poel to Olympic mountain bike gold, Pidcock hopes to be in the same frame in cyclocross.

"I am really looking forward to competing with Wout and Mathieu. They have been even better than me the last few years, but it's no secret that I want to get close to their level this year," Pidcock told the Belgian newspaper Het Nieuwsblad (opens in new tab).

"To be named with Wout and Mathieu gives me a lot of confidence. Cross is the hardest of the three disciplines for me, but I believe I can be as strong as them. I don't want to finish third every time. To beat them, that's my main goal for this season."

Pidcock started his cyclo-cross season with the Superprestige race in Boom, where he finished 7th despite multiple crashes in the mud, and last weekend's snowy Val di Sole World Cup, where he finished 3rd despite starting near the back of the pack due to poor positioning. In both races, however, Van Aert, who had not spent much time on the road at all since the off-season to get up to speed, dominated the top spots.

"At the moment Wout is performing at a higher level, but that was to be expected. I think my peak will be around the World Championships (in January)," Pidcock said, but he hinted that he is ahead of schedule: "At the moment, my level is above expectations."

In any case, he will feel a great chance on Sunday in Namur, where he has stepped up even more than last season, has already experienced victories at the junior and U23 level, and finished third last year, behind Van der Pol and Van Aert.

"It's one of my favorite races of the year, and not just because I always do well," he said.

"The climbing and technical challenges are a little more extreme than other races, which appeals to me. It's just a little bit more like mountain biking. And the setting is nice. I can compare it to the forests of England, and the mud is a little bit English."