The 2025 road season is well and truly wrapped up now, and the 2025-26 cyclocross campaign is already deep into its opening phase, with Exact Cross, Superprestige and the X2O Trofee all underway. Early form riders such as Lucinda Brand, Michael Vanthourenhout, and Thibau Nys have wasted no time in stamping their authority on the standings.
But, as ever, the discipline’s biggest question hangs over the three riders who have defined men’s cyclocross for more than a decade. Between them, Mathieu van der Poel, Wout van Aert and Tom Pidcock have claimed the last 11 world titles, yet none has raced a single ‘cross this winter.
Here’s where each superstar currently stands, and what we can realistically expect from their plans.
Mathieu van der Poel
The reigning world champion kept his schedule deliberately light last winter, contesting just eight races. He won all eight, including five World Cups and the Worlds in Liévin, only beginning his season on 12th December at Zonhoven.
This year, he once again looks set for a late start. He is currently training in Spain with Freddy Ovett, and there is no sign of an imminent return to the Belgian mud. Alpecin-Deceuninck are expected to confirm his schedule shortly after the Cycloross World Championships route is unveiled at the end of this month.
Given the pattern of his last two campaigns, a debut in mid-December is the most logical prediction.
Wout van Aert
Van Aert’s approach mirrors that of his great rival. He limited himself to nine cyclocross outings in 2023-24 and only six last season, each time launching his campaign deep into December.
This winter, however, there are hints he may appear earlier. Speaking to WielerFlits at Tim Declercq’s farewell criterium, he said he wanted “a few more weeks of training” before deciding when to return, emphasising that careful planning is needed ahead of a long 2026 road season.
He resumed training at the end of October after a family holiday and completed a sponsor trip to California on 7th November. Tentatively, an early December start feels realistic – potentially before Van der Poel.
Tom Pidcock
Of the big three, Pidcock is the least likely to race at all. The 2022 world champion skipped cyclocross entirely last winter, focusing instead on his road and off-road goals, and the signs point towards another absence this time around.
After ending his road season with 6th at Il Lombardia, Pidcock headed straight into the UCI Gravel World Championships, finishing 6th again, before switching to the Gravel Burn stage race in South Africa, where he won a stage. There has been no direct announcement from the rider or Q36.5.
His coach Kurt Bogaerts told Sporza last month that “there is very little chance that Tom will race this winter”, stressing the need for proper rest and long-term planning ahead of the Classics and Grand Tours in 2026. While not completely ruled out, a return to the mud looks highly unlikely.
The wait goes on
For now, the early-season battles belong to Nys, Vanthourenhout, Nieuwenhuis and the rising generation. But once December rolls around, the sport’s landscape can shift in a single weekend. Whether we see the full trio or just two of them, the arrival of Van der Poel and Van Aert – and the possibility, however slim, of Pidcock – remains the moment every ‘cross fan waits for each winter.
