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Dani Ostanek

'Pretty much unbeatable' – Have Belgium already conceded defeat to Mathieu van der Poel at the Cyclo-cross World Championships?

GAVERE, BELGIUM - DECEMBER 26: (L-R) Thibau Nys of Belgium and Team Baloise Glowi Lions and Mathieu Van Der Poel of Netherlands and Team Alpecin-Deceuninck compete during the 4th UCI Cyclo-cross World Cup Gavere 2025 - Men's Elite on December 26, 2025 in Gavere, Belgium. (Photo by Luc Claessen/Getty Images).

Belgian national cyclo-cross coach Angelo De Clercq has admitted that his riders will likely be hoping to at best fill out the podium behind Mathieu van der Poel in the elite men's race at the UCI Cyclo-cross World Championships on Sunday.

De Clercq will turn to the likes of Thibau Nys, Niels Vandeputte, and Michael Vanthourenhout for a performance in Hulst, with usual leader Wout van Aert absent after fracturing his ankle earlier this month.

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