Wout van Aert will be competing in the 2023 UCI Cyclocross World Championships, hoping to win, and according to an interview with Het Laatste Nieuws (opens in new tab), that is his only goal for the cyclocross season. He will start his buildup to the World Cup in Antwerp on December 4 and the World Championships in Vogelheide in February.

"I like to show my ambition. I plan to do so from now on. The World Championships is close to home, and it's also the course where I was World Champion in the U23s. The World Championships is my only big goal this winter."

Van Aert has had great success as a road athlete after winning three world titles between 2016 and 2018. However, he continues to step into the cyclocross scene with a limited racing calendar.

Last year, Van Aert entered the cyclocross season at the same time as this year. He started off with a win in Boom and then went on to win six straight races to capture his fifth Belgian national title. He remained reticent about the world championships until he announced he would not be going to Arkansas for the championships in Fayetteville in January.

Defending champion Mathieu van der Poel, who was suffering from a knee injury that sidelined him for most of the cyclocross season, was also absent. Tom Pidcock won the rainbow jersey in Fayetteville.

This year, Van Art expects van der Poel to return more motivated than ever to win his fifth elite world title.

"It's home-cross for him. It's a home cross for him as well. For me, the season hasn't started yet. 'We don't know yet how we compare to the other teams. Until then, I can't say anything."

Jumbo Visma revealed yesterday Van Aert's schedule, which includes the World Cup in Antwerp and Dublin in early January and the full menu of five races in eight days for the Christmas "Koestoperoide" race.

"I know I can do a lot of cross races in a short time. We want to get back into the rhythm of the crosses. Over the Christmas period I want to prepare as much as possible for January."