Cyclocross World Cup preview
The Cyclocross World Cup kicks off Sunday and will attract names from Eli Iserbyt to Fem van Empel
The cyclocross season is already well underway, but the discipline’s premiere circuit kicks off Sunday in Antwerp, Belgium. That’s right, the UCI Cyclocross World Cup is about to commence.
The course in Antwerp features a mix of grass and sand, with an iconic section on the banks of the Scheldt River. At last year’s contest (held in December), the ‘Big Three’ elite men were in attendance with Mathieu van der Poel winning 29-seconds ahead of Wout van Aert. The third member of the trio—Tom Pidcock—struggled for an 8th-place finish. The elite women’s race was won by Fem van Empel, who went on to win a second rainbow jersey in early 2024. Lucinda Brand and Puck Pieterse rounded out the top-3.
This year, the UCI has implemented new rules surrounding the World Cup designed to incentivize top riders and teams to race the World Cup rather than other lower-level races. Spurred on by drama in previous years, the rules state that the top-20 ranked elite men and women must be in attendance at World Cup rounds, and top teams must send riders to the World Cup. Additionally, about half of the World Cup rounds are considered “protected,” meaning other races can’t schedule events the same weekend.
The intent behind the rules is to create more competitive fields with all the big stars, but we’ll have to see how that plays out in practice.
As usual, the series is Belgium-based, with races also happening in The Netherlands, France, Spain, Italy, and Ireland; one week after Antwerp, the World Cup heads to Dublin and then Cabras-Sardinia the following week.
Whose riding well this season? In the Belgian Superprestige series, Lars van der Haar and Niels van de Putte are tied in the overall points battle after four races. Neither have won, but consistent finishes have earned them points and fitness. The individual races have been won by Laurens Sweeck, Thibau Nys, and Joran Wyseure. Sweeck was dominant at the first two rounds, and Nys narrowly beat Eli Iserbyt in Overijse. Most recently, Wyseure took his first major win ahead of Van der Putte.
In the women’s Superprestige standings, Ceylin Del Carmen Alvarado has been a dominant force, winning three quarters of the rounds. Lucinda Brand has been hot on her heels on the podiums, and winning the third round. Van Empel also placed second in Ruddervoorde.
The other big Euro series is the X2O Trofee, where Van Empel and Brand have taken wins in the first two rounds. At both of those races, Sara Casasola hsa been third. In the men’s races, the top three has consisted of Van der Haar, Iserbyt, Toon Aerts, Van de Putte, Nys, and Jente Michels.
In the World Cup overall last season, Iserbyt took the title ahead of Joris Nieuwenhuis and Pim Ronhaar. On the women’s side, Alvarado won the overall followed by Pieterse and Brand.
Those three women are likely to be at the top in the World Cup again this season (in addition to Van Empel of course). On the men’s side, it’s always a question of when the Big Three roadies will show up.
Van der Poel has not announced his calendar yet but is anticipated to do so soon. Van Aert has been recovering from injury and has said that he’ll decide on his cross season in December after a winter training camp with Visma Lease a Bike. Pidcock has also been opaque about his plans, saying that he could “possibly" race cross this winter.
No matter what those guys get up to though, cyclocross is worth watching on its own, and Antwerp will deliver incredible racing.
Check out the broadcasters list here to watch live. In the United States, it appears that the races will be streamed live on the UCI YouTube channel. The elite women kick off at 7:30 am EST with the elite men’s race following at 9:00 am EST.