Just for fun, I decided to dig back into the archives and see what I wrote in my 2021 Elite Men’s World Championships preview. That season, Van Aert showed some ability to knock Van der Poel off his dominant game, and Van der Poel came into Worlds with a 5-3 lead in the head-to-head, with the two living legends going 1-2 in every race.
First the title: …