Mathieu van der Pol (Alpecin Phoenix), accustomed to being mentioned in the same breath as Wout Van Aert, warned that he may not be able to match his old rival in his return to cyclocross on Sunday.

The four-time world champion Dutchman has a lot of catching up to do in the 2021-22 season.

However, van der Pol suffered another knee injury in late November, forcing him to postpone his debut fight to the Boxing Day round of the World Cup in Dendermonde starting last weekend.

The back problems that plagued him later this year have not yet been fully resolved, he said.

"I'm pretty much okay. My knee is finally healing. The problem was that the wound still hadn't closed up, but now I can do everything again.

"My back is also holding up so far. But it's holding up somehow. I've done everything I can to prepare for Sunday."

In an online press conference before his excursion to Dendermonde this weekend, Van der Pol explained his injury in detail, revealing that it was a "stupid crash" but one that could have derailed his entire season.

"I wasn't training, I was just cruising through the woods with a friend, and I lost my front wheel on an unexpectedly slippery spot and hit my knee on a piece of gravel first. I knew right away it wasn't good," he explained.

"After the crash they cleaned the knee and cut out the dead flesh. The first two days when I resumed training it was fine, but then it started hurting to pedal and I had to stop for five or six days."

Van der Pol was forced to postpone his participation in the December team training camp and cancel his return on December 18 in Lucfen. This cost him 12 days of crucial preparation time, and he initially feared that the entire season would be derailed.

"I was afraid it would take too long. My cyclocross season was already really short, so if I had missed this whole [Christmas] period, maybe I wouldn't have done a cyclocross season. But now I'm back on the bike for a few weeks and my knee is fine."

Van der Pol was unsure where his chances of success lay in Dendermonde. He has proven over the past few years that he doesn't need much time to get up to speed, but he seems to have fallen behind his longtime rival Van Aert.

Van der Pol, a Belgian who has shared the last seven world titles, has made a remarkable comeback, winning three races from three appearances, winning in Essen and the World Cup in snowy Val di Sole.

"Wout is really on a roll. We expected him to win, but not like that," van der Pol said.

"It was actually very impressive.

"Probably, yes. The level behind Wout is one I can usually keep up with. When I get back into cyclocross and see how far he's going, I don't know if I have the legs to keep up with him, but I should be able to get into the pack behind him. I hope I can surprise myself."