On Wednesday night, Mathieu Van Der Pol (Alpecin Phoenix) and Wout Van Art (Yumbo Visma) will resume their eternal rivalry. [The Container Cup] is a 21-part series in which Belgian sports stars and celebrities will take on each other in a heptathlon showdown that will take place inside a container.

This is a novel idea, and already Greg Van Avermaert, Victor Campenaerts, and Jolien Doll have participated, with 1500m walking, monkey bars, golf, 1km rowing, shooting competition, bench press, and 3000m cycling on the The menu includes. All while respecting the rules of social distance.

That's what Van der Pol and Van Art will face tonight, but before resuming their rivalry, the two men were interviewed by Het Nieuwsblad (opens in new tab) and faced questions about each other, the blockade of COVID-19, and the possibility of a winter cyclocross revival. We faced.

"When I saw our two names at the very end of the list of participants, I knew it couldn't be a coincidence," Van Aert said. It would be a good final for the Container Cup."

"Ever since I got on the bike, Mathieu has always given me a hard time. Mathieu has always made it difficult for me, ever since I got on the bike.

The two are aiming not only to beat each other, but also to beat Van Avermaert's top time of 9:20.

Van der Pol said he did not miss his rival, but agreed with Van Avermaert's idea of improving each other.

"I wouldn't go that far," he said. 'But I do miss our competition and being with my colleagues. I've raced with Wout for a long time and we've certainly pushed each other to a higher level over the years."

Earlier this year, the two were scheduled to open the classic season at Omloop Het Nieuwsblad, but Van der Pol came down with the flu and was forced to retire a few days earlier. Van Art finished 11th, with compatriot Yasper Steiven taking the win.

The two last competed together at the World Cyclocross Championships in Dübendorf in early February. If Europe's response to the COVID-19 pandemic goes as planned, the two are expected to return to road racing in the fall and will meet in the "spring" classics.

Spectator availability is another matter, and so is cyclocross for the 2020-21 season.

"Cyclocross without spectators is stranger than (road) racing without spectators.

"For me, cross equals having a lot of spectators around. That's what makes the sport so beautiful, I can't imagine it without the fans. But if I had to race without them, I wouldn't say no."

Van der Pol has a similar outlook, accepting that while he cannot enjoy racing during the cyclocross season without spectators, it may be necessary.

"It would make cross less attractive," he said. If it turns out to be necessary, then it should be done." But I don't think it needs to go that far."

The final match of the Container Cup will be broadcast in Belgium on the satellite channels Play Sports and VIER at 8 p.m. Japan time.

If you live outside the broadcast area or happen to be in a country other than the one you normally live in, you will find that your usual live stream is regionally restricted. To get around this, you can use a "virtual private network" (VPN) for your laptop, tablet, or mobile to simulate being in your home country and access your usual in-country stream.

TechRadar has tested hundreds of VPNs and recommends Express VPN as the number one VPN available today. With ExpressVPN (opens in a new tab), you can watch on many devices at once, including Smart TV, Fire TV Stick, PC, Mac, iPhone, Android phone, iPad, and tablets.