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The last three rounds of the cyclocross World Cup ’24-25 came thick and fast: from the dusty brightness of Benidorm on the Costa Blanca to the grimy sincerity of an overcast weekend in the low countries, including a visit to the old mining village of Maasmechelen, Belgium, then concluding in Hoogerheide, the home of the GP Adrie van der Poel.
With only the World Championships to come – but for a handful of smaller races whose significance is pretty obscure for their position in the calendar – everyone has been on or near their very best form. Mathieu van der Poel is one of them, back to racing after breaking a rib in late December, and Wout van Aert too is peaking at a good time, his performance at Maasmechelen helping the Belgian national team and his Visma-Lease a Bike coach with the late decision to send a motivated Van Aert to Worlds.
The elite women, meanwhile, have continued to provide reliably the best drama each weekend, with the big prizes being shared among some of the top names, though Lucinda Brand’s consistency puts the series champion in the spotlight at the conclusion of the World Cup. The elite women’s is one race not to miss in Liévin next weekend.
World Cup Benidorm (Sunday 19th Jan) – Fem van Empel and Thibau Nys
World Cup Maasmechelen (Saturday 25th Jan) – Blanka Vas and Mathieu van der Poel
World Cup Hoogerheide (Sunday 26th Jan) – Lucinda Brand and Mathieu van der Poel
This will be our last CX gallery of the ’24-25 season, so it’s extra bright and shiny thanks to Kristof Ramon and Cor Vos.
The Benidorm World Cup’s position in the training Mecca of the Costa Blanca meant that the likes of Visma-Lease a Bike, holding a training camp nearby at the time, could really lay on the luxury for their riders who might settle for more simple provisions elsewhere in the CX season. Here Marianne Vos, new signings Imogen Wolff (a stagiare in 2024) and Viktória Chladoňová, and world champion Fem van Empel warm up by the team’s mechanic van.World champion Van Empel was running on a terrific foundation of nine wins so far in the ’24-25 season, the last of them at the GP Sven Nys on New Year’s Day. After that, she’d gathered up two third-place finishes at the end of the Kerstperiode, before taking a short break from racing, and joined her road teammates at training camp in Alicante.Eight-time world champion Marianne Vos was making her third appearance of the season after kicking things off in Besançon, France, then finishing just off the podium at the Dutch national champs – won by Puck Pieterse.The short road climb is a key feature of the Benidorm course, providing a valuable platform for wearing down the competition or as a launchpad for a punchy attack. Fem van Empel and Marie Schreiber showed they were among the better climbers in the field, but the climb wasn’t as decisive as it might have been.Schreiber and teammate Blanka Vas had the luxury of two additional helpers in Lotte Kopecky and Barbara Guarischi, taking a break from SD Work-ProTime training camp to help out in the pits. Many of their other teammates were also visible cheering out on course.The world champion was flying, very much at home on the Benidorm track where she’s won every edition since its inception in 2023, but there was still an elite group of more than six contenders pretty convincingly glued together going into the final lap, with World Cup leader Lucinda Brand setting a fierce pace.Brand was on some searing form, her pace through much of the closing lap trimming the lead group to just herself, Van Empel, Schreiber, Vos and Vas, the latter three visibly struggling with the pace.Brand led the group into the planks, but by the time she’d remounted, she was already chasing Van Empel who accelerated hard.Her late increase in pace dispatched Schreiber, then Vos and Vas, and the world champion carried speed through the corner into the finishing straight with only Brand on her wheel. The veteran pushed her young compatriot to the line, but Van Empel held on to extend her 24-25 win tally to a nice round 10 (so far) …… the 22-year-old also confirmed her dominance in Benidorm by sustaining her clean sweep; three from three. Note the Visma-Lease a Bike bus nosing into the right of this image: another perk – besides the weather – of the Benidorm round, being just 40 minutes up the coast from the team’s training camp.Speaking of Visma-Lease a Bike, also ready to race in Benidorm was Wout van Aert, whose fourth CX appearance of the winter was his last chance to show his stuff without Mathieu van der Poel getting in the way.European champion Thibau Nys and World Cup-leader Michael Vanthourenhout, along with Eli Iserbyt and Lars van der Haar behind them, were also highly motivated to make something of the day in the world champion’s absence, and for once white shorts did not seem out of place on the start line.This season’s champion of hearts and minds, Felipe Orts, was a popular figure at his home race.The hill was a tantalising prospect again, and while it was more erosive than decisive in the women’s race, it was a different story when it came to the final lap of the men’s …It was a course that perfectly suited the powerful punchy styles of both Nys and Van Aert …… but Van Aert didn’t appear to be firing on all cylinders, even drawing questions as to the intensity of the previous week’s road-centric training camp, but he was able to remain with or close to the leading group throughout after moving up from starting a few rows back, even making one optimistic all-out acceleration in the final lap – in vain. (Note the gnarly scarring on his knee, a souvenir of his Vuelta crash.)There were already gaps opening on the final ascent of the road climb, and with everyone else on their knees, Nys accelerated hard to leave Eli Iserbyt behind and take a few seconds into the sun-dappled woodland.The European champion chose his moment to make a move perfectly, and though his gap was never huge, he had all he needed to stay clear and win his first elite World Cup on European soil.From Benidorm to Belgium, where persistent rain and temperatures in the mid- to high-single digits left Maasmechelen submerged in sloppy mud.Blanka Vas was hot out of the blocks, getting a head start on the course that wound around, and through, the now-iconic pit towers of the old Eisden mine that stand as a monument to the area’s coal mining history in what is now Belgium’s only national park.Fem van Empel was one of the many who could not escape Bad Luck in the Belgian mud – the world champion ultimately finished 6th, 1:23 down, at the end of an off day.After a good start, Ceylin del Carmen Alvarado also fell away as the laps wore on.Marianne Vos was back for more in the penultimate round of the World Cup.Lucinda Brand, meanwhile, had multiple objectives at Maasmechelen. Of course, victory on the day was up there, but the Dutch veteran (relatively speaking) could also wrap up the World Cup series title with a decent finish – Brand was running on a 33-race streak of podium finishes so her odds were good.Blanka Vas appeared to be almost unstoppable in the grimy landscape of mud and steel.That said, it was touch and go in the final lap as Zoe Backstedt, Puck Pieterse and Lucinda Brand re-entered the fray. However, a bike swap proved a gamble that didn’t pay off for Backstedt, and though the young Brit was in touching distance of her rival’s rear wheel going into the finishing straight, Vas had the punch to finish it off.For Vas, it was her first World Cup win since Overijse in October 2021, and the first time she’s raised her arms at all since opening her 23-24 season at the third-tier GP Oisterwijk.Brand’s third place not only extended her podium sweep to 34, but the 35-year-old was also able to mathematically secure the World Cup series title with 56 points now separating herself and Van Empel ahead of the finale at Sunday’s Hoogerheide.A muddy thousand-yard stare for Vos at the finish, the multiple world champion grinding home in 13th.After sickness ruled Pieterse out of Benidorm, the newly minted Dutch national champion was motivated to perform in Maasmechelen, but though she landed fourth on the day, the usually sharp young rider suffered more than her share of misfortune, including a face plant in the mud between the planks in the final lap.First Belgian was new national champion Marion Norbert Riberolle – in her first Belgian tricolore after Sanne Cant’s 15-year domination – in 11th.Maasmechelen played host to the last showdown* between Mathieu van der Poel and Wout van Aert, and their fans – including Obelix – were appropriately inspired.
*’Last showdown’ at time of writing. Visma-Lease a Bike announced on Sunday afternoon, after Hoogerheide, that Van Aert will in fact race the World Champs.
It was Van der Poel’s first race since World Cup Besançon (29th December) after his early-January appointments were cancelled due to rib pain following his Loenhout crash (27th December). It transpires that the world champion had in fact broken a rib: “it is still not completely connected so that still causes some discomfort,” Van der Poel told media between recon and race at Maasmechelen.Rather you than me.Joris Nieuwenhuis was back in action at the World Cup for only the second time this season, and from early in the first lap, the Dutchman was determined to make his mark.At first, it seemed like everyone was waiting to see who would move first as an elite group gradually formed at the front, Van der Poel among the first few wheels but as yet unwilling to put his nose into clean air in front.Nieuwenhuis was firing on all cylinders, and Van der Poel was wise to choose his compatriot’s wheel as the Ridley Racing rider put some of his fellow full-timers in difficulty behind what was about to become a leading trio.There was a handful of moments, mere seconds, in which the longed-for duel looked like it was about to happen as Van Aert hit the front and threw his familiar aggressive side at the race, with only Nieuwenhuis joining Van der Poel on his wheel. Finally, this was it. The rivalry re-ignited.But it took less than a minute for hopes to be snuffed out, as Van Aert lost the wheels from beneath him on a technical steep downward ramp into a muddy lefthander, in his own words, “a stupid mistake” – to add insult to injury, he had to reposition his wonky bars before remounting. It was the Belgian’s second mishap in as many laps, having snagged his upper arm on a post in the first while moving up, leading him into an additional chase he could have done without, especially after the requisite climb through the field forced by his low starting position.It was up to Nieuwenhuis who was racing only his third event of the ’24-25 season. The former Dutch national champion’s winter was spoiled by shingles that left his body “completely out of whack for a while.” His return to racing, and his debut with the Ridley Racing Team, was postponed more than once, with the day finally arriving at the national champs in Oisterwijk where the 28-year-old finished third, then he was eighth in Benidorm last weekend.Van der Poel was already putting several bike lengths between himself and Nieuwenhuis in the moments after Van Aert’s incident, when, desperate to get on terms, Nieuwenhuis had a mishap of his own.The world champion on his way.It was a grin-and-bear-it sort of day in the sloppy mud of Maasmechelen.Van Aert was digging deep for one last time before bowing out of CX for another season and finding some form as the best of the rest behind Van der Poel, which would ultimately prompt the Belgian to sign up for *ahem* one last showdown at the World Champs.Van der Poel had almost a minute’s advantage at the halfway point, and give or take a few seconds here and there, his lead trended in the upward direction.Not that it was easy for the world champion, who managed to look weary at times, especially in the later laps.And at the finish, the world champion gritted his teeth as he celebrated his sixth consecutive victory from six starts.The fabled Hoogerheide course marked the final destination for the World Cup, home to the GP Adrie van der Poel.The under-23 men got the afternoon underway, and it was another win for Alpecin-Deceuninck’s heir apparent Tibor Del Grosso.One of the most distinctive features of the Hoogerheide course, formulated in 1999 and still tweaked by Adrie van der Poel who calls the area home, is the grassy slope down straight into the ‘stairway to heaven’ up to the final top section that brings the lap to a close.Reigning champion Fem van Empel was in a vengeful mood after only managing sixth place behind Blanka Vas in Maasmechelen.Marianne Vos, five-time winner at Hoogerheide, also hoped for a better day to end the weekend, but after multiple crashes on Saturday, the Dutch superstar was forced to withdraw with a calf injury.Up front, Puck Pieterse had a great start, taking over from Hélène Clauzel who faded fast after leading for the first half lap, and was soon joined by Lucinda Brand, with no one else able to hang on.Freed of the pressure to defend her World Cup lead, Brand bounced and glided over the cloying mud while others were brought thumping down to earth.Pieterse fell victim more than once, crucially sliding out in a fast corner and never regaining contact as Brand pushed on in the second lap of five.Zoe Backstedt didn’t have the easiest day, but sixth in the end also saw the Brit seal the U23 World Cup series win as she looks ahead to defend her under-23 world title in France.Blanka Vas made it a near-perfect weekend with second behind the untouchable Brand, a cherry on the cake that was victory at Maasmechelen.Brand looked a little emotional as she celebrated her third World Cup win of the season, turning consistency into winning form just in time for the World Championships: “all the pieces of the puzzle are falling into place at the moment, so I’m definitely going to the World Champs with confidence.”Sanne Cant had a quiet final World Cup appearance as she closes in on the last races of her professional career.Van der Poel had a friendly chinwag with European champion Thibau Nys before the start, the latter returning after cold symptoms kept him from competing at Maasmechelen. Alas, Nys would DNF early in the race.The lights turned green for the last time this World Cup season …… and within a few minutes, Mathieu van der Poel was already sailing clear.A sizeable group formed behind, desperate to keep the world champion within reach, then resigned to racing for second.It was a frantic first lap for everyone, with moving up through the groups always a reliable cause of crashes.The claggy mud after the flyover caused problems for all but a select few; Nieuwenhuis was one of a very small handful of riders who were able to ride through this section, putting him on the front of the group racing for second behind Van der Poel who had long ago let fly.By the end of the third lap (of seven), Van der Poel’s lead was approaching a minute, but he was not letting up, using the finishing stretch up the road as an opportunity to harness his power and put even more time into his rivals.Van der Poel logged the top five fastest lap times on the day, with the third lap his fastest at 7 minutes 57 seconds.Former winner Lars van der Haar – one of only two active riders not called Van der Poel to have won at Hoogerheide since 2014 – logged the next-fastest lap time at 8:07.Nieuwenhuis looked to be on another brilliant day 24 hours after finishing third at Maasmechelen, pacing the chase group through the first couple of laps, but then a couple of spills put the Ridley racer on the back foot.After a few quiet weeks away from the podium, Michael Vanthourenhout came to the fore once more, attacking the group in the second lap and wedging himself roughly halfway between the world champion and his rivals for the podium.Ever a showman.Van der Poel’s lead grew at a fairly consistent pace throughout the race, only easing off as he pedalled up the finishing straight, and winning by a minute 42 seconds.Vanthourenhout’s second-place finish secured the World Cup series title. It would have taken a minor miracle for Toon Aerts to unseat his compatriot in the top spot, but the fortune landed on Vanthourenhout’s side of the scales.Van der Poel’s favourite status could hardly be improved, but with such a convincing margin of victory here, surely only absolute disaster can keep the world champion from defending his title, and rather ominously, he clearly believes he’s got more in him: “I hope to ride my best cross of the season next week.” Brace yourselves.
