Wout van Aert (Jumbo-Visma) will compete in the Superprestige in Boom on Sunday, but admitted that Belgian rival Mathieu van der Poel is building form by late December, when the cyclocross season begins ...

The Superprestige in Boom will be Van Aert's third cyclocross event this winter. Last weekend he finished third in both the X²O Badkamers Trofee in Kortrijk and the World Cup opener in Tabor.

"I think I have already gained a few percent more points in the last few weeks. In principle, I should have improved a bit more," Van Aert told Sporza (opens in new tab). 'I'd like to have more than a third-place finish in Boom. I want to finish higher than third in Boom.

After Sunday's race, Van Aert will head to Spain for a 10-day cyclo-cross bike-free training camp and hopes to be ready for his first showdown this winter with Van der Pol at the Namur World Cup on December 20.

Van der Poel and Van Aert have shared the elite men's world title six times in the past, and their rivalry has shifted to the road in recent years: after Van Aert won his first monument in Milan-San Remo in August, Van der Poel won the Tour de Flanders in October, van der Pol beat the Belgian in a two-man sprint.

"I hope to be part of the duel," Van Aert said of the Namur World Cup. It's been a long time since I've been at the top level in cyclocross."

"Mathieu is technically very strong, which is a big advantage in cyclocross. But I have been able to beat him in the past.

Over the Christmas period, Van Aert has his sights set on both the Belgian championships in Mœrbeke on January 9 and the world championships in Ostend on January 31.

Van Aert has won two stages in the 2020 road season, the Strade Bianche and Milan-San Remo, and the Tour de France. At the World Championships, he won silver medals in both the time trial and the road race, and finished second in the Ronde behind Van der Pol.

"I see the cyclocross season as preparation for the road season, but I'm not riding without ambition," Van Aert said. I'm not running without ambition," Van Aat said. It's a win-win for me."