The Iowa football game on Saturday afternoon forced the Jingle Cross World Cup to move from Saturday to Sunday. If Mathieu van der Poel and Wout van Aert were upset about the change in schedule, they definitely have not shown it thus far this weekend. On Friday, we caught Van der Poel hanging out at his team tent sporting an Iowa Hawkeyes hat to get in the spirit for the big football game on Saturday.
Mathieu van der Poel supports the local Iowa Hawkeyes at the 2017 Jingle Cross Festival. © Z. Schuster / cxmagazine.com
Perhaps looking to one-up his rival, Van Aert went to Kinnick Stadium to get the Hawkeye Football Saturday experience. He even embraced trading his rainbow stripes for Iowa’s black and gold. The game was a “yellow out,” so Van Aert had to change into a yellow Iowa Wrestling shirt for the game itself. You can never go wrong supporting Iowa wrestling around these parts. When in Rome …
Wout van Aert traded his rainbow stripes for Iowa’s gold and black on Saturday. photo: Instagram Story.
Van Aert and his teammates attended a tailgate before the game and then went on the field during one of the timeouts. Van Aert said even though he did not fully understand the game of football, he enjoyed the experience.
Van Aert enjoyed his afternoon at Kinnick Stadium. photo: Instagram Story.
Stay tuned to Cyclocross Magazine for our continuing coverage of the 2017 Jingle Cross Festival in Iowa City.
