Men Elite: Van der Poel’s rainbow jersey shines bright
The highly anticipated battles between Mathieu Van der Poel (Alpecin-Deceuninck), Wout van Aert (Jumbo-Visma) and Tom Pidcock (Ineos Grenadiers) - winners of the nine Men Elite UCI Cyclo-cross World Champion titles awarded since 2015 - delivered an extraordinary show.
Among the three stars, Pidcock was the first to take a UCI Cyclo-cross World Cup victory this season, in Namur, Belgium, on 17 December. It was also his maiden victory around the Citadelle. A week later, Van der Poel (MVDP) and Van Aert got in the mix in Antwerpen, immediately taking over at the forefront.
With the rainbow jersey on his shoulders, MVDP showed his strength, physically and technically, to tame a sandy circuit and fly to victory, his seventh by the Schelde River.
The end-of-year season didn’t halt Van der Poel’s triumphant march, with a spectacular one-man show in Gavere on December 26. “It was super hard to win today,” the flying Dutchman said. “The course was really sticky and it was harder and harder to control the bike.”
On both occasions, Van Aert came second, building his form for later goals. And Pidcock rounded the podium in Gavere after an intense battle against Dutchman Joris Nieuwenhuis (Baloise Trek Lions).
Eli Iserbyt (Pauwels Sauzen-Bingoal) finished 6th in Gavere (his first result outside of the top-5 this season). The Belgian retains the overall lead with 275 points, ahead of three Dutchmen from Baloise Trek Lions: Pim Ronhaar (216 pts), Lars van der Haar (212) and Nieuwenhuis (210).
Women Elite: three Dutch parties in Belgium
Ceylin Alvarado (Alpecin-Deceuninck), Fem van Empel (Jumbo-Visma) and then Puck Pieterse (Fenix-Deceuninck): the three rounds held in Belgium over the holiday period crowned three Oranje stars.
A strong leader of the overall standings with her consistent results since October, Alvarado took her third UCI Cyclo-cross World Cup victory of the season in Namur, after earlier successes in Dendermonde (Belgium) and Troyes (France).
The next week, she just missed the podium (4th) for the first time this season, while the reigning UCI World Champion Van Empel returned to her winning ways. The two Dutch champions battled again on the muddy circuit of Gavere, with Van Empel edging Alvarado in the final lap… but their battle was for second place.
Pieterse had already left all her rivals behind to claim her first victory of the year in the UCI Cyclo-cross World Cup, after five top-3 results in previous rounds.
“It feels great to be back on top, especially on such a tough course,” the young star rejoiced. “I really wanted to win. When it works out, it’s always amazing.”
“I started the race quite strong but I hit a wall somewhere in the middle of the race and I was really tired,” Alvarado explained. Her tally is up to 282 points, 70 more than Lucinda Brand (Baloise Trek Lions), 4th in Gavere. Pieterse follows with 180.
Full gas towards the end of season
The end-of-year celebrations are not over, as the UCI Cyclo-cross World Cup heads to the Netherlands for Hulst’s Vestingcross on December 30. And 2024 will start with a bang in Zonhoven (Belgium) on January 8.
The final races will illuminate Benidorm (Spain, January 22) and Hoogerheide (the Netherlands, January 29), where rising stars will also battle for glory in the youth classes.
Tibor Del Grosso (NED) leads the Men Under 23 standings with a narrow margin - 4 points - from Emiel Verstrynge (BEL). In the Men Junior racing, Stefano Viezzi (ITA) won the first two races and now tries to resist the surge from France’s Aubin Sparfel (132 pts vs 126).
An even tighter battle has shaped up among the Women Junior talents. Cat Ferguson (GBR) and Célia Géry (FRA) have two victories each, with the young Briton leading the standings just ahead of her French rival (131 pts vs 130).
The final races of the UCI Cyclo-cross World Cup will decide the overall winners and set the stage for the UCI Cyclo-cross World Championships in Tábor (Czechia) from 2 to 4 February.