Wout van Aert and Mathieu van der Poel 2018 U.S. World Cup Watch

After Mathieu van der Poel skipped the two U.S. World Cups in 2016, it was big news when Mathieu van der Poel announced he would be heading to the U.S. for the 2017 American World Cup rounds.

The excitement was understandable. Even though Van der Poel won most of the matchups between the two young stars the previous season, they still had some memorable 2016/17 battles.

The great rivalry, however, did not materialize in the U.S. last year, foreshadowing a year of dominance for Van der Poel.

Van Aert was off his game early in the season—he finished 14th at Jingle Cross and 7th at World Cup Waterloo—and Van der Poel started his 32-win season (save Worlds) with a U.S. World Cup sweep.

Mathieu van der Poel dominated the U.S. World Cups last year. And pretty much the entire season. 2017 World Cup Waterloo Men. © D. Mable / Cyclocross Magazine

This year, 50 percent of the young duo will be in the U.S. for the Jingle Cross and Waterloo World Cups.

After his head-turning third-place finish at Mountain Bike Worlds last weekend, Van der Poel is taking a much-deserved break. According to this report, Van der Poel will likely make his season debut October 6 and 7 at Brico Cross Meulbeke and Ronse.

Van Aert will be in Wisconsin and Iowa. The three-time defending world champion recently released his 2018/19 cyclocross schedule. It includes all the World Cups, Euro Champs, Belgian Champs and Worlds as well as a mix of the Brico Cross, DVV Trofee and Superprestige series.

Van Aert’s full schedule is below.

Wout van Aert is looking for some U.S. redemption after a tough tour of the 2017 U.S. World Cups. 2017 World Cup Waterloo © J. Curtes / Cyclocross Magazine

We will be seeing Van Aert at the two U.S. World Cups, and Cyclocross Magazine will be covering the DVV Trofee, Superprestige and World Cup races headlined by Van Aert and Van der Poel all season.

Wout van Aert's 2018 Schedule