Mathieu Van der Poel mania in Herentals amid Wout Van Aert's absence: "It's a disappointment, but we don't have any private jets"

Mathieu van der Poel's return to cyclo-cross has certainly caught attention. The Dutch rider from Alpecin-Deceuninck made his comeback in the X2O Trophy of Herentals on Saturday, his first appearance since the World Championships in Hoogerheide in early February. Organizer Erwin Vervecken was more than happy with his participation, as he shared with IDLProCycling.com.

We caught up with Vervecken alongside the course while he was still posing with a few fans. It’s clear: cycling is a big deal in this town, as the native of Herentals indicates. The area also boasts cycling greats like Bart Wellens, Paul Herygers, the Roodhooft brothers, and of course Wout van Aert, who were born there, while Sanne Cant and Rik Van Looy also live there

When this winter's cyclo-cross calendar was made public, it was notable that the Herentals cross had been moved from early January to mid-December. Quick thinkers might have assumed this was due to the potential schedule of Van Aert, but this was not the case. "If we had stayed in early January, we would have been between Baal and Koksijde. That would have been too much, overkill," explains Vervecken, who last year saw a great duel between the two giants in his hometown.

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Nonetheless, he had hoped for the arrival of the Jumbo-Visma star, who made his return to the cyclo-cross on December 9th in Essen. "Yes, we had thought that Wout would definitely participate," admits Vervecken. "But the training camp is this week, and the one in December was just a bit more practical than in January. Clothing sessions, interviews, and whatnot... a bit less training than in January. According to his manager, he couldn't come."

So, insisting further was pointless, states the three-time world champion. "We've accepted it, so we didn't consider private jets or anything like that. We have to respect that," says Vervecken, who also understands Wout van Aert's bigger picture for the coming year. "His goals are at the beginning of April, with the Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix. For someone of his stature, those are the two most important races, and he will continue to pursue them throughout his career."

Van der Poel provided Vervecken and Herentals a much needed surprise

Assessing the impact of Van Aert's absence is hard, according to Vervecken. "There are other factors that contribute, like the weather and so on. So, it's hard to say what exactly the Wout and Mathieu impact entails. For example, last year the cross here was during the Christmas holidays, now students are in the middle of their exam period. All these things can play a role."

For Vervecken and company, it was a pleasant surprise that Van der Poel decided to make his debut in Herentals. The Dutchman himself explained before the start how this came about. "I have trained a lot in the past two months, so I was also up for it," he said after arriving in his Lamborghini with longer hair. "It was at my own request, otherwise I would have had to bridge another week here. These cyclo-cross races won't hurt my base."

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The fact that Alpecin-Deceuninck (and the Roodhooft brothers) are based in Herentals did not directly influence Van der Poel's decision, according to him. For Vervecken, the specific reason didn't matter; with the Mathieu-mania that the Dutchman brought, it was already a success. "There was definitely a 'yes' moment within the organization. Wout's absence was a disappointment. The race goes on without him, but we would have really liked to have him. And then Sanne Cant was also injured, so it was nice that Mathieu came despite the absence of those two top riders from Herentals. That was important for us.

Vervecken surprised by arrival of Alpecin-Deceuninck riders

And it wasn't just Van der Poel making a comeback: Tom Pidcock, Quinten Hermans, and Gianni Vermeersch also made their cyclo-cross debut in Herentals, to Vervecken's own surprise. "I had Gianni on the line, who along with Quinten suddenly appeared on the start list even though there had been no request," he shares that anecdote.

"Gianni said: yeah, we were doing some cyclo-cross and then decided to start here. They were kind of convincing each other that they were ready, even though they were actually supposed to train at home for another week after returning," Vervecken explains. This story was confirmed by Vermeersch. "That's right. We had some fun on the beach in Spain and then we really felt like getting back into cyclo-cross," said the eventual eighth place finisher in Herentals, who along with his Alpecin-Deceuninck teammates definitely gave Vervecken and company an enjoyable day.