Pieterse and Del Grosso join Van der Poel for CX debuts at Namur World Cup
The UCI Cyclocross World Cup's fourth round is shaping up to be a blockbuster affair this weekend (Sunday 14 December), as Puck Pieterse and Tibor del Grosso also confirm their participation at the event Mathieu van der Poel has picked for his season debut.
The popular venue of Namur, Belgium, with the course navigating around the historic Citadel, is one of the more distinct 'cross events of the season, complete with cobbles, climbs and its infamous off-camber section that makes just staying upright an ordeal, let alone racing at full pelt along the uneven rutted ground.
Puck Pieterse has good memories at Namur, with three consecutive elite podiums, but she's yet to take the top prize – it may be a tall order with the on-form Lucinda Brand looking for a fifth career win at the citadel. Tibor del Grosso, meanwhile, will be hoping to make his mark among the elites in his national champ's jersey, while his Alpecin-Deceuninck teammate Van der Poel will be outright favourite to take the men's race, though, having won no less than five times on this course between 2015 and 2020.
