Wout van Aert unveils cyclocross calendar with December 4 start in Antwerp

The Belgian had been rumored to be starting in November but won't race until next month.

November 17, 2022 Sadhbh O'Shea

Photo: Luc Claessen/Getty Images

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Wout van Aert will start his cyclocross season on December 4 at the Antwerp World Cup.

Jumbo-Visma unveiled the first half of the Belgian’s race program for this season with seven races scheduled for December.

Following his debut in Antwerp, Van Aert will head to Ireland the following weekend for the first Dublin World Cup. He will then enjoy a two-week break before picking up racing again just before Christmas with the Mol round of the Exact Cross.

Van Aert’s post-Christmas period will be busy with four races packed into a week. He’ll race the Gavere World Cup on December 26, followed by back-to-back SuperPrestige events at Heusden-Zolder and Diegem on the 27th and 28th.

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The first half of his ‘cross campaign will come to a close on December 30 with the Loenhout Exact Cross.

It is a slightly later-than-expected start to the season for Van Aert, who wound up his road campaign in September with fourth in the worlds road race.

Rumors have been swirling in recent weeks about where he might kickstart his cyclocross season, with organizers of the Hulst World Cup on November 27 stating that he would be racing there. A recent schedule published by Belgian newspaper Het Laatste Nieuws indicated that he might start a day earlier and race the Kortrijk X20 Trofee.

Neither event is on his official calendar, with the Belgian choosing to push back his start until the final month of the year.

Jumbo-Visma has not yet released details of Van Aert’s calendar in the new year, but Het Laatste Nieuws wrote earlier this week that he could take on a further eight races with the world championships in Hoogerheide set to be his final event.

Spanish officials confirmed Van Aert will race an event in Benidorm in January.