🎥 "Van der Poel and Van Aert mainly did not want to let each other win": what does the 2016 European Championship teach us about this edition?

Due to the bad weather this weekend, several parts of the European Cyclocross Championships have been postponed by a day. That gives us plenty of time to once again preview the race, which is now scheduled for Sunday. Or, in this case, we'll be previewing by looking back. Let's take a flight back in time to 2016, when a young Toon Aerts surprisingly crowned himself the winner on the French course. Afterwards, the then 23-year-old Aerts was moved to tears on the podium, flanked by second and third place finishers Mathieu van der Poel and Wout Van Aert.

Anyone who looks back at the footage of the 2016 European Championships will notice the Belgian contingent's overall superiority. Time and again, a rider clad in blue was able to launch an attack. Because Lars van der Haar was not at his best that day, Van der Poel, who was of course one of the top favorites along with Van Aert, had to fend off all the Belgian attacks by himself. And yes, that can only last so long. The gap Aerts made was decisive. Tactics can truly go a long way on the French circuit, given that the course is perfectly suitable in that way.

Aerts: "I had to ride a strong time trial to win"

The circuit has been used in almost the same form for thirty years. The barriers, both on the flat and in the climb, offer a choice to dismount or to continue riding. Furthermore, the road is wide, the corners are spacious, and the climbs are fair. Those who have power can push through on these sections and easily overtake opponents. In short, you can make your opponents work by opening the attack one by one as a team. So, is the key to success purely tactical in Pontchateau?

If we are to believe the winner from back then, not entirely. At that time, Aerts made his move as the third Belgian, after Laurens Sweeck and Michael Vanthourenhout had been caught by the Dutch. "Van Aert and Van der Poel mainly did not want to let each other win," Aerts is quoted by Sporza. "That was lucky for me, although it wasn't a purely tactical cross. I had to ride a strong time trial myself to win."

Pontchateau resistant to severe weather?

Then there's the influence of the weather. It's been rainy all week in Western Europe. It's no coincidence that the races were moved from Saturday to Sunday. However, if we are to believe Aerts, the impact of the weather will remain limited. "The course is on a sloping meadow. Just like in Overijse. There too, a mud pool was expected, but it was actually quite dry," observed Aerts. "It's not a course like the Koppenberg. You won't get deep mud there."

The Dutch national coach Gerben de Knegt also does not expect the circuit in Pontchateau to be completely rained out, but he is clear about the consequences in case of a mud fest: "The result of that is that you will have a fair race, in which the best will win. That naturally ranks the riders, so to speak." In short: whoever forms a strong block has several cards to play. But power and endurance will ultimately determine who can call themselves the European Champion on Sunday.