“Van der Poel’s return in Namur definitely gave us confidence for the upcoming races. The Christmas period is a kind of test for cyclocross riders. If you come through it well, you can move forward with confidence for the rest of the season and the Worlds,” De Knegt began.
Alongside Mathieu van der Poel’s season debut, Tibor del Grosso (14th) and Puck Pieterse (5th) also returned to the mud, two other Dutch stars. “You can tell they still need to settle back into cyclocross, but I’m confident the next races will get them going,” added the coach, already looking ahead to the Antwerp World Cup.
The race in Antwerp will be held this Saturday, featuring the first clash Mathieu van der Poel and Wout van Aert of this season. “Many riders are really looking forward to this race. And for the spectators, it’s fantastic to have Van der Poel and Van Aert on the start line,” De Knegt continued.
“It’s hard to predict which of the two will come out on top,” he concluded, before confirming the Netherlands selection for the upcoming World Cup round.
Netherlands men for the World Cup Antwerpen:
- Joris Nieuwenhuis
- Mathieu van der Poel
- Lars van der Haar
- Pim Ronhaar
- Tibor Del Grosso
- Ryan Kamp
- Mees Hendrikx
- Danny van Lierop
- Remon Del Noije
- Jelte Jochems
- Max Rijver
Netherlands women for the World Cup Antwerp:
- Lucinda Brand
- Inge van der Heijden
- Manon Bakker
- Puck Pieterse
- Aniek van Alphen
- Ceylin Alvarado
- Leonie Bentveld
- Denise Betsema
- Annemarie Worst
- Larissa Hartog
- Lauren Molengraaf
- Shirin van Anrooij
- Bloeme Kalis