Crowds lining the course and fans around the globe witnessed legendary action in Hulst (the Netherlands), host to the 2026 Rabobank UCI Cyclo-cross World Championships. The event started with a bang for the host nation on Friday 30 January, as the Dutch ruled the team relay. More Dutch success followed until Mathieu van der Poel capped off an exhilarating three days of competition with a historic eighth Men Elite title on Sunday.
Van der Poel surpasses the dream
The expectations were extremely high ahead of a potentially historic weekend, and the action was on par all the way to Van der Poel’s triumphant ride on home soil. Displaying his dominant skills through the mud, the ‘Flying Dutchman’ distanced his countryman Tibor Del Grosso and Belgium’s Thibau Nys early in the second lap and soloed his way to a record eighth UCI Men Elite Cyclo-cross World Champion title, after previous triumphs in 2015, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2023, 2024, and 2025. Del Grosso secured a Dutch 1-2 in Hulst while Nys settled for the bronze medal, as he did in 2025.
‘MVDP’ flies past Eric De Vlaeminck, who claimed seven Men Elite titles (in 1966, and then from 1968 until 1973), and matches the record of Marianne Vos, who ruled the Women Elite race on eight occasions between 2006 and 2022. Add in Van der Poel’s two victories in the discipline as a Junior, as well as his success on the road (2023) and in gravel (2024), and that makes twelve rainbow jerseys for the multi-disciplinary icon, ten of them at Elite level. He’s also up to ten Elite medals at the UCI Cyclo-cross Worlds, with a silver in 2017 and a bronze in 2018.
“When I started cycling, the dream was to become World Champion one day in the Elite category, and now to have the most titles of all times is incredible,” Van der Poel reflected. “I did what I had to do and I’m really happy that it all worked out.”
Brand means consistency and glory
Van der Poel’s masterclass came as the sublime cherry on a Dutch cake made of five titles in seven races. The host nation notably dominated the two Elite races, as Lucinda Brand took victory in the women’s event on Saturday ahead of her compatriots Ceylin Alvarado (2nd) and Puck Pieterse (3rd). At 36 years old, her consistency is crowned with a second UCI Women Elite World Champion title, matching the first in 2021 and reflecting her recent fourth overall victory in the UCI Cyclo-cross World Cup.
“It feels amazing,” Brand said after making the most of the Dutch atmosphere. “It’s really good after such a great season to also win on the most important day, and it’s just fantastic to do it in front of home crowds.”
The Dutch star has claimed an Elite medal every year since 2018 and has now beaten the record for most consecutive podiums – André Dufraisse had eight from 1951 until 1958 in the Men Elite race, and Vos achieved the same number in the Women Elite event between 2008 and 2015.
A collective triumph
The Dutch had already set the tone on Friday with their victory in the team relay (Guus van den Eijnden, Delano Heeren, Isis Versluis, Leonie Bentveld, Shirin van Anrooij, and Tibor Del Grosso). With a previous success in 2023, the Netherlands are the first nation with multiple wins in the team relay. This time, they got the better of Italy (Filippo Grigolini, Stefano Viezzi, Sara Casasola, Elisa Ferri, Giorgia Pellizotti, Filippo Fontana), also second in 2025, and the Belgian sextet (Fleur Moors, Kay De Bruyckere, Julie Brouwers, Jari Van Lee, Zita Peeters, Niels Vandeputte).
Heeren and Bentveld both went on to claim home rainbow jerseys in their individual events. On Saturday, it was Heeren who achieved a stunning performance as he got the better of more experienced riders like Italian Grigolini (3rd last year in Liévin) and Belgium’s Giel Lejeune to triumph in his first year as a Junior. On Sunday, Bentveld tamed Slovakia’s Viktória Chladonová (silver medallist) and France’s Célia Gery (bronze) in the Women Under 23 race.
The Netherlands also took a bronze medal in the Men Under 23 race, with Keije Solen coming third behind Belgium’s Aaron Dockx and France’s Aubin Sparfel. The Women Junior podium was the only one not to feature any Dutch talent as Czechia’s Barbora Bukovská edged out France’s Lise Revol and another Czech youngster in Lucie Grohová.