2023 UCI Cyclo-cross World Championships: cream of the cross head to Hoogerheide

Seven titles are up for grabs at the 2023 UCI Cyclo-cross World Championships, which are to be held in the Netherlands for the ninth time.

The UCI Cyclo-cross World Championships are back in Hoogerheide (February 3-5). After 2009 and 2014, the iconic Dutch venue (home of the GP Adrie Van der Poel) hosts the event for the third time. The previous editions have featured historic moments, with rainbow jerseys for the likes of Marianne Vos, Zdeněk Štybar and Wout van Aert… but what do the 74th UCI Worlds have in store for the fans and athletes?

Seven titles are up for grabs as the mixed team relay becomes an integral part of the UCI Cyclo-cross World Championships (it was a test event in 2022). On Friday, this first race will be a test of collective strength and depth with national selections featuring six riders (three men and three women from the different categories).

The intense format will bring everyone up to speed on the 3.2km Hoogerheide course. Then, it will be time for the individual events, with three races on Saturday (Women Junior, Men Under 23, Women Elite) and the same number on Sunday (Men Junior, Women Under 23 and Men Elite).

Men Elite: Van der Poel and Van Aert back on top?

The 2022 UCI Worlds unveiled a new Men Elite UCI World Champion in Tom Pidcock (GBR), the first rider to claim the rainbow jersey since Mathieu Van der Poel and Wout van Aert took over in 2015. Could it be a repeat or will one of the two superstars of cyclo-cross reclaim gold?

MVDP and WVA have impressed in the UCI Cyclo-cross World Cup 2022-2023 and they’ve both said the UCI Worlds were their main ambition of the season. But they will face intense competition, led by the three Belgians who dominated the UCI World Cup: Laurens Sweeck, Michael Vanthourenhout and Eli Iserbyt.

Silver medallist in 2022, Lars van der Haar will also be determined to step up on to the podium again in front of his Dutch supporters. He won the GP Adrie Van der Poel in 2017, and Mathieu Van der Poel won his home race on five occasions. But when the UCI World Championships were in Hoogerheide in 2014, Van Aert dominated the Under 23 race and MVDP had to settle for bronze. The two of them are eager for more battles.

Women Elite: watch out for the young Dutch generation

From the Under 23 to the Elite, the new generation of Dutch super talents appears ready to take over the UCI Worlds. After they claimed the rainbow jersey in the Under 23 races at the last two Worlds, Fem van Empel (crowned in 2021) and Puck Pieterse (2022) have shone at the highest level this season, racking up successes in the UCI Cyclo-cross World Cup.

The eight-time UCI Women Elite Cyclo-cross World Champion Marianne Vos won’t defend her title due to health issues (“a constriction of her pelvic artery”, according to a press release at the end of January). The Dutch icon, who recently signed a two-year contract extension with Jumbo-Visma, is “hoping the rainbow jersey will remain with the team and be worn by Fem van Empel the next season”.

Bronze medallist last year, Italy’s Silvia Persico is set to lead the non-Dutch contenders with Hungary’s wonderkid Kata Blanka Vas. Riders from the Netherlands have claimed the Women Elite rainbow jersey in the last three editions.

Youngsters: the ones to watch

Along with Van Empel and Pieterse, Shirin van Anrooij is another Dutch youngster quickly rising through the ranks. She’s won three Women Elite UCI World Cup rounds this season but will be chasing the rainbow jersey in the Under 23 race, where she lines up as the hot favourite.

The 2020 Women Junior UCI World Champion will notably battle against Great Britain’s versatile Zoe Bäckstedt, who succeeded her in 2022 (there was no Junior race at the UCI World Championships in 2021 due to the Covid-19 pandemic). Luxembourg’s Marie Schreiber and France’s Line Burquier are other promising young athletes who have already had the opportunity to compete with the best in the UCI Cyclo-cross World Cup.

Last year’s Men Under 23 podium was filled with Belgian talent as Jordan Wyseure led a spectacular 1-2-3 ahead of Emiel Verstrynge and Thibau Nys. The trio return this season looking to claim more glory.

Thibau Nys dominated the UCI Cyclo-cross World Cup this season with four victories in the first four rounds, before he skipped the last round in Besançon (France), where Tibor del Grosso (NED) rose to victory. Already Junior UCI World Champion in 2020, Nys could emulate his father Sven, who won the Under 23 title in 1997 and 1998 before conquering the Elite UCI Worlds (2005, 2013).

Young Belgians also dominated the last two Men Junior rounds of the UCI Cyclo-cross World Cup (Yordi Corsus won in Benidorm, Spain, and Seppe Van den Boer in Besançon). But France’s Léo Bisiaux topped the overall standings and eyes the rainbow jersey after he won the UEC Men Junior European Championships.

Lauren Molengraaf (NED) won the Women Junior race at the Euros and dominated the UCI Cyclo-cross World Cup in her category with four victories. The last round went to Canada’s Ava Holmgren, whose twin sister Isabelle also shone during the season.

The battles have been exhilarating. The last challenge awaits, with the brightest prize on the line: the rainbow jersey.