2022 Walmart UCI Cyclo-cross World Championships: Vos, a living legend in Fayetteville

Backstedt, Wyseure and Vos claim the first titles at the 2022 Walmart UCI Cyclo-cross World Championships.

History has already been written as the first medals were awarded in the 2022 Walmart UCI Cyclo-cross World Championships, being held this weekend in Fayetteville, Arkansas (USA). Rising talent Zoe Backstedt set high standards with an impressive one-woman show to take her second rainbow jersey in a few months, after that for the road race in Leuven, Flanders (Belgium).

Belgian riders went on to produce a masterclass in the Men Under 23. And Marianne Vos capped the day with a phenomenal eighth Women Elite UCI World Champion title, 16 years after her first!

Three more gold medals will be awarded on Sunday with the Men Junior event, followed by the Women Under 23 and the Men Elite.

Women Junior: unstoppable Backstedt

Young talents – 24 riders, representing nine nations – got the action going in sunny conditions as Leonie Bentveld (NED), overall Junior winner of the 2021-2022 UCI World Cup, set a hard pace from the start with the United Kingdom’s Zoe Backstedt following her closely.

The Brit, already Junior UCI World Champion on the road (also a strong performer on the track), accelerated on the first main hill and immediately opened gaps to her rivals. At the end of the first lap, she already had a lead of 18’’ over a five-woman chasing group featuring Bentveld and another British rider, Ella Maclean-Howell.

Backstedt, who won the first three rounds of the UCI World Cup before Covid-19 put her on the sidelines earlier in January, kept her one-woman show going until victory. Bentveld dropped the rest of the chasers on the second lap to secure the silver medal (+32’’). Her Dutch compatriot Lauren Molengraaf took the final spot on the podium (+57’’) ahead of Maclean-Howell (+1’06’’).

“If I’m honest, I’m just shocked”, Backstedt said with a beaming smile. “I’ve had a pretty good season and I was unlucky with the World Cup and the Nationals to have Covid and miss both, but I think ultimately it made me fight back stronger and come here today and put that extra bit of fire into my race.”

Men Under 23: Belgians upset the Dutch talents

The 41-rider field (with 15 nations represented) tackling the second race of the day featured impressive talents, including the last two riders to claim the rainbow jersey in this category, the Netherlands’ Ryan Kamp and Pim Ronhaar, set out aiming to join Belgians Sven Nys, Bart Wellens, and Eli Iserbyt, the Czech Republic's Zdenek Stybar, and Dutchman Lars van der Haar as two-time UCI World Champions in the category.

After a fast first lap driven by Dutch riders, Belgium’s Joran Wyseure went on the move on the second lap, forcing the Oranje riders to work behind him. With four laps to go, he enjoyed a 14’’ gap to the first chasing group led by Mees Hendrikx (NED), winner of the Men Under 23 2021-2022 UCI World Cup.

Hendrikx kept on chasing, with only Belgians Emiel Verstrynge and Thibau Nys matching his pace in the fifth lap. Verstrynge even managed to go solo behind Wyseure in the sixth lap, while Kamp came back to Nys and Hendrikx.

Wyseure managed to stay alone at the front all the way to victory, 13’’ ahead of Verstrynge. Nys dominated the sprint for third (+33’’), making it a full Belgian podium, ahead of Hendrikx and Cameron Mason (GBR), who came back at the end, while Kamp took 6th after giving his all for Hendrikx.

“On the 2nd lap, I thought ‘I ride full gas on the climb’ and we will see what I get,” Wyseure explained. “I had a few metres, and then I wanted to ride the whole race at my own tempo and it was enough for the win today. I’m really happy with my performance. It’s really nice that we are three Belgian guys on the podium today, especially with Emiel. In the Belgian Championships, he was the best, and today I win and he was second. That’s phenomenal.”

Only once before did a nation put three riders on the podium of the Men Under 23 event at the UCI Cyclo-cross Worlds: in 2000, when Belgium’s Bart Wellens took his second rainbow jersey. He is now Sports Director of Tormans Cyclo Cross Team, home of Wyseure and Verstrynge, as well as Backstedt.

Women Elite: eternal Vos

Established stars were ready to battle in the final race of the day, with a handful of UCI World Champions among the 30 starters (11 nations): defending champion Lucinda Brand (NED), who also dominated the UCI World Cup this season; seven-time winner Marianne Vos (NED); three-time winner Sanne Cant (BEL); and the 2020 winner Ceylin del Carmen Alvarado (NED).

As Brand immediately powered to the front, only Vos and Alvarado could match her pace on the first lap. Italy’s Silvia Persico, winner of the team relay test event on Friday, had to make a big effort to bridge the gap in the second lap.

Brand kept pushing and shaped a stellar duel for gold against Vos. After four laps, the leading duo had a 28’’ advantage on Persico and Alvarado, set to battle for bronze.

Despite several attacks in the final two laps, the two Oranje stars came together for the final stretch, where Vos dominated the sprint. Alvarado suffered a crash in the final lap and Persico took the bronze medal (+51’’).

“It’s incredible,” Vos acknowledged. “You don’t look back that much, you try to focus on the race itself, and I just can’t believe it. It was such a difficult race. I knew Lucinda would be very hard to beat. I had to stay calm, try to do the right things in the last lap and focus on the sprint.”