Wout Van Aert will temporarily escape the Belgian cold with a short trip to Spain to join Jumbo Visma's training camp. The Belgian cyclocross champion, who won the Zilvermeercross on Saturday, said he will return to compete in the World Cup in Overijse on January 24 and the UCI Cyclocross World Championships in Ostend, Belgium, on January 30-31.

"I think I'll mainly be doing team photos there," Van Aert told Sporza. 'I'll say hello to the road team and I'll have some good training on the road. Next Saturday we go back to Belgium. I can run many kilometers in the sun."

Van Aert, who won the Belgian cyclo-cross title last weekend, will wear the champion's jersey at the Zilvermeercross in Mole, ahead of Laurens Sweeck (Pauwels Sauzen-Bingoal) and Lars Van Der Haar ( Baloise Trek Lions) to win the race.

It was the fourth time he had won the elite men's national championship title, but the first time he was able to wear the jersey, as these victories coincided with the three world titles he won in 2016, 2017, and 2018.

"It's great to win the Belgian tricolor," Van Aert said after the race in Mole. I've been national champion in the pros a couple of times, but I've never worn the jersey until today. It's very special. It wasn't an easy race. It was windy, so it was ideal that Sweck stayed with me that long. I put a lot of pressure on him, but he managed to stay with me. When I finally saw the gap, I went full speed ahead."

Jumbo-Visma is currently in Alicante, Spain, for a 10-day preseason training camp. Juan Art's contract with Jumbo-Visma expires at the end of this season, but he has reportedly signed an extension with the team. However, Juan Art told the Sporza newspaper, "I haven't signed yet. They [the media] have made up things that are still not true."

After a quick visit to the Jumbo-Visma training camp, Van Aert will return to cyclocross racing at the X2O Trofee Hamme - Flandriencross on January 23 and the World Cup cyclocross race in Overijse on January 24, and the World Championships Eyes on the road.

Due to COVID-19 health restrictions, the World Championships will only be held in the U23 and Elite categories: the U23 men and Elite women will race on Saturday, January 30, and the U23 women and Elite men on Sunday, January 31. Fans will not be allowed to watch the races.