The 2025-2026 UCI Cyclo-cross World Cup is underway, with the first two rounds held in Tábor (Czechia) on 23 November, and Flamanville (France) a week later. Ten more rounds await the stars of the discipline, including six in December, ahead of an exhilarating rush to kick start 2026.
Thibau Nys (Baloise Glowi Lions) was the only rider who managed back-to-back successes in the first two events. Meanwhile, in France, new winners emerged in the Women Elite, Men Junior, Women Junior and Men Under 23 competitions.
Women Elite: Van Alphen takes over
Dutch talents still rule the Women Elite battles. In Tábor, it was Lucinda Brand (Baloise Glowi Lions) who took the victory, in line with her overall success last season. The Dutch rider escaped with Italy’s Sara Casasola (Crelan-Corendon) and eventually dominated the two-woman sprint to take the early lead in the overall standings.
Last season, Brand rose to power in the second round and never relinquished the leader’s jersey. But this time, she missed the Flamanville round and saw her young countrywoman Aniek van Alphen (Seven Racing) step up brilliantly. Bronze medallist at the European Championships, the 26-year-old put the pressure on early in France and soloed her way to victory ahead of home French rider Amandine Fouquenet, delighting the crowds with her first podium in a UCI Cyclo-cross World Cup event.
“I can’t believe it that I did almost all the race on my own, at my own pace. It was amazing, really fun,” Van Alphen rejoiced. And not only did she cross the line first, but she also took the lead of the overall standings, with 61 points. Fouquenet has 49 and Brand dropped down to 5th with the 40 points she claimed in Czechia.
Men Elite: Nys doubles up
Turning 23 years old just before the beginning of the 2025-2026 UCI Cyclo-cross World Cup, is Thibau Nys about to show us the best version of himself? The Belgian has been impressing for years, but the start of this new campaign suggests he’s taken further steps to establish himself as a reference among the Elite after ruling the UCI Cyclo-cross World Cup in the Junior (2019-2020) and Under 23 (2022-2023) categories.
Nys took his first Elite victory in the UCI Cyclo-cross World Cup last January in Benidorm (Spain), the penultimate round of the 2024-2025 campaign. And he went on to distance all his rivals in the first two rounds of this edition, getting the better of Laurens Sweeck (Crelan-Corendon) and Joris Nieuwenhuis (Ridley Racing Team) in Tábor, and then Lars van der Haar (Baloise Glowi Lions) and Cameron Mason (Seven Racing) in Flamanville. Great Britain’s National Champion Mason is snapping at the heels of the Belgian and Dutch stars, and after 9th place in the first round and his podium in Flamanville, he lies fifth in the overall standings. He is certainly one to watch out for as the season progresses.
“I was feeling really good and I’m super happy to be, the whole race, in front with Lars van der Haar, understanding each other so well,” Nys said. “It’s a bit of a team victory today.”
Nys extends his lead in the overall standings, with a tally up to 81 points while Sweeck has 51 and Van der Haar 49.
Youth classes: French three out of four
Six of the 12 rounds of the 2025-2026 UCI Cyclo-cross World Cup feature dedicated races for young talents, along with the Elite events. Such was the case in Tábor and Flamanville to get the competition going ahead of the races in Koksijde (Belgium), Dendermonde (Belgium), Benidorm and Hoogerheide (the Netherlands).
Coming out of their home round, French talents rule the overall standings in the Men Junior, Women Junior and Men Under 23 rankings, with some dominant performances in Flamanville.
Sunday began with the Men Junior race, where Soren Bruyère Joumard had to settle for second behind Italy’s Filippo Grigolini. But since the French youngster had won the first round in Czechia, while Grigolini came 3rd, he maintains his lead in the overall standings with 70 points.
It was the opposite story in the Women Junior ranks - after finishing second to local hero Barbora Bukovská in Tábor, France’s Lise Revol dominated the field in Flamanville, taking herself to the top of the overall standings. Soon after, she was emulated by her countryman Aubin Sparfel, who was also a runner-up (to the Netherlands’ David Haverdings) in Czechia before storming to the Men Under 23 win at home.
However, the Netherlands dominate the Women Under 23 competition so far, with Leonie Bentveld (Pauwels Sauzen - Altez Industriebouw Cycling Team) providing stiff competition for the fastest Elite riders to finish 4th and 5th in the mixed-category (Women Elite – Women Under 23) races in Tábor and Flamanville. Her performances put her at the top of the Women Under 23 ranking ahead of Belgium’s Fleur Moors (Baloise Glowi Lions) and French athlete Célia Gery (AS Bike Racing / France Literie).