Pedal Punditry #13 - The Cyclocross season is starting. Here's what to expect of 2024/2025

The 2024-2025 Cyclocross season has officially begun; In Mechelen, The Netherlands, we have had the first big professional race on the 15th of September. From October until February we will have high-octane action in the off-road discipline and we run through what you can expect as well as the noteworthy changes.

On the 15th of September, the race in Mechelen saw a few strong riders in the field, with the men's race being won by Jens Adams; whilst the women's race was won by Inge van der Heijden just ahead of Aniek van Alphen. On the 12th of October in Beringen we will have the first big cross of the year in Beringen where many of the stars are expected; whilst the first cup race will take place on the 20th of October with the Superprestige Ruddervoorde.

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The Calendar

You can see the entire 2024/2025 Cyclocross calendar on CyclingUpToDate and we will bring you coverage from the entire season - including previews of all World Cups, European and World Championships. As the road season begins to fade in mid-October, the Cyclocross stars come to the fore and by the time we reach Christmas; the names of Tadej Pogacar and Remco Evenepoel will only be secondary when comparing to the action that is taking place mostly in Belgium and the Netherlands.

The calendar is one of the biggest changes to highlight for this upcoming winter and in my opinion, a very positive one. The organizers have listened to the riders and have created a calendar where the three cups are not evenly spread throughout the year; making it impossible for the regular riders to focus on all three at their best level. Instead, there has been a bigger focus on grouping the races of the individual cups together so as to allow the riders to have specific periods where they will aim for their best form - without wrecking their season.

Last season it was very notable the absence of Baloise - Trek Lions in the fight for the World Cup. Despite the natural talent of all of them; neither Lars van der Haar, Joris Nieuwenhuis, Pim Ronhaar or Thibau Nys start the season with this goal and all of them had missed a World Cup by the time the riders entered the Christmas period. And this is after the entire quartet finished inside the Top5 on round 1 in the USA.

Lars van der Haar was very vocal about his concerns on the cyclocross calendar. @Proshots

Van der Haar had the loudest voice. "You cannot live on your condition from the summer for six months. Especially not if you will soon have three top riders (Mathieu van der Poel, Wout van Aert and Tom Pidcock, ed.) who are in good health. And we will already be half dead," he said when explaining why he only focused on the X2O Badkamers Trofee last season. Regarding the World Cup, van der Haar went as far all calling the scoring system "rotten". The 14 races (a number that grew exponencially in the 2021-2022 season were raced between the 15th of October and 28th January. Eli Iserbyt was the only rider from the top who focused on winning it from the start, but not even he managed to score in all races (crashing out and opting out of races does not elude him). Only one rider managed to score in all: Toon Vandebosch.

Van der Haar won the X20 cup, whilst Eli Iserbyt focused on winning the World Cup and Superprestige. An outlier, but the Belgian managed to be rather consistent throughout the winter and determined to race all races in these two (alongside X2O, but there he settled for second). Whilst the likes of Mathieu van der Poel, Wout van Aert and Tom Pidcock only start their season later and usually aim for the World Championships and winter training; they find themselves much fresher and in better condition than the seasoned pros who have to be active and in strong form since October if they want to contest for at least one of the competitions. 

Hence, we have changes. The X2O Badkamers is the one that we see the least; starting again on the 1st of November with the Koppenbergcross, but remaining relatively spread throughout the year. It is perhaps the one least riders will focus on. Superprestige will have 2 races in late October; 2 in mid-November, 2 in late December and 2 in early February. Can't say they aren't evenly spread throughout the season but there are sizeable breaks between groups of races.

The World Cup is where this is most important. Last season the 14 races were spread throughout 3 months and 2 weeks. This time around, 2 months and 2 days only. Last season the first race was on the 15th of October and in the USA (a big trip) whilst this year it's only on the 24th November (by that time last season, the riders already had 4 races under the belt). The amount of races was lowered down to a more manageable 12 races instead of 14 and there will be at least 1 every week except for the national championships weekend in mid-December. This means that the riders who want to fight for the World Cup can afford to enter the season more slowly or skip races in October and November with no pressure, before putting in their focus on what matters the most. Furthermore, this actually increases the chances that the riders who race a full road season also have the chance to fight for the top spots here.

However Sven Nys was actually displeased with this situation, "the closer you bring it all together, the more riders will make choices and cancel races. You can't do them all," he argued. His words in my opinion have a point, but the reduction of the World Cup makes it more realistic and likely that riders will actually aim for a result in the World Cup standings.

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The Men's field

I expect a two-front battle for the dominating teams, as was the case last year. On one side Pauwels Sauzen - Bingoal with Eli Iserbyt and Michael Vanthourenhout in the lead; and on the other Baloise - Trek Lions with Lars van der Haar, Pim Ronhaar and Thibau Nys. Baloise lost Joris Nieuwenhuis however, a very valuable asset, who is rumoured to be leading a new team sponsored by Ridley.

We have Toon Aerts racing for the Deschacht - Hens - FSP team. The Belgian returned to racing in mid-February. He only managed to start three races but the two he finished had fourth place results; and over the summer he proved strong in a few gravel and road events. He will be a man to take into consideration, he has not lost his level after the two-year suspension. Laurens Sweeck (Crelan - Corendon) did not have the best of seasons last year and will have pressure on his shoulders to once again be competitive against the very best. 

It will be interesting to see if Gerben Kuypers (Charles Liégeois Roastery CX) will be able to put on strong performances as was the case last year, with more consistency. We have got the weight of the 'international' riders on the shoulders of riders such as Felipe Orts (who will have the European Championships in Pontevedra, a race he won last season) and Briton Cameron Mason who battled for victory in the X20 Badkamers Trofee, who have become more and more prominent figures in the field; as well as Kevin Kuhn (Switzerland) and Michael Boros (Czech Republic).

Mathieu van der Poel won 13 out of 14 races in 2023-2024. @Proshots

When it comes to those who do not race the whole season but will headline, we know the following... Mathieu van der Poel has kept tight lips on the cyclocross season thus far, with good reason naturally as he is still fully focus on the World Championships on the road. The Dutchman has been on an incredibly run of health and form for the past year and a half and last season here he dominated all but 1 race he took part in. Often arriving in his own car, relaxed and without pressure to most events; he would wipe out the competition with comfort. He had only 1 goal: the World Championships, which he won - although not with the comfort some expected. There is no reason for him not to return to the discipline this winter, to pursue a 7th world title that would have him match Erick de Vlaeminck at the record.

Wout van Aert has also not said anything thus far, but he will not race anymore during the ongoing road season due to a crash at the Vuelta a España. An injury-ridden season; he will compete for the next time now in cyclocross with certainty - likely starting out in December. Whether he will focus on the World Championships or just use the discipline to prepare for the road season is not decided.

Tom Pidcock has once again become Olympic Champion in MTB and this seems to be the discipline where he is at his strongest level. On the road, he won Amstel Gold Race but there is little more to mention of his season, whilst last season in cyclocross an illness during the December derailed his form. He ultimately, like van Aert, decided to skip the World Championships as he did not believe he could compete with van der Poel.

Thibau Nys is the 'new star' in the field. Usually very inconsistent, last season was no exception but the son of the legend Sven Nys raced a full season (although not focusing on any cup) and looked to have good form towards the end. Consistency is something he still needs to work on, it is vital. But in terms of talent he has already proven himself, having won in Waterloo and the Koppenbergcross right at the start of last year. However his road season was nothing short of incredible, winning 9 races throughout the year (5 of them at World Tour level; besides having won in every single stage-race he started). He raced from late April to late August, 4 months at the highest level in a World Tour peloton and obtaining excellent results. That is the perfect spring/summer calendar for him and I believe that it will massively help towards the upcoming season.

We do not know yet if he will fight for any cup, but with the World Cup's calendar being reduced by almost month and a half in length, Nys is one of the few riders who can very realistically win it and challenge Eli Iserbyt. Recently in an interview he said that "first and foremost, I want to ride at a high level from start to finish – that didn’t work out last winter (because of back pain, ed.). And I want to continue cyclocross after that."

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The Women's field

In the World Cup we have had a similar situation to the men's side, where Ceylin del Carmen Alvarado focused on winning the World Cup and Superprestige and managed to return to her best level; achieving these two triumphs out of consistency and the objective of participating in all races, whereas her rivals did not. But the smaller World Cup calendar this winter may mean she will have tougher competition to repeat this big feat.

However it was Fem van Empel who has won the most. The Dutchwoman, only 22 years in age, won the European and World Championships alongside the X2O Trofee Badkamers. The Europeans, in early November, may be too early for her to have her best form specially after a full season on the road.

Puck Pieterse raced a reduced calendar last year, however being part of races both at the start and end of the season... But the multi-discipline talent - like Tom Pidcock - has stunned the most in Mountain Biking, winning both World and European XCO Championships. She also won a stage at the Tour de France Femmes, winning the youth classification on the way. With her extreme success away from cyclocross, she is unlikely to put the focus in a full CX season or one with long-ranging goals. Her current formula works well already.

Lucinda Brand, like the previous two riders, also had a long road season and also like Van Empel and Pieterse, may not focus on the cups. This would give Alvarado an advantage, but Brand did show a very good level towards the end of last season and if the pieces of the puzzle fall in the right place she may try to conquer the World Cup once again as she's done three and four seasons ago.

Shirin van Anrooij is likely missing the entire season due to an injury, unfortunately. Although Sanne Cant's dominance has faded, Belgian sees a new hopes emerging of at least contesting the Netherlands in some races as Laura Verdonschot and Marion Norbert Riberolle have won a few races last season; Annemarie Worst returned to a strong level last season and will be a contender for the cups as she usually races entire seasons; whilst young talents such as Zoe Bäckstedt, Leonie Bentvelt, Marie Schreiber and Kristyna Zemanová will be exciting to watch - and perhaps, one will take the leap to match the 'Top 4'. Blanka Kata Vas also looks to be close to taking the leap, but her priority is on the road and this plays an important role. It will be interesting also to see if Marianne Vos is able to return to her winning ways after a difficult season and if her new teammate Pauline Ferrand-Prévot will make a return to the discipline.

Fem van Empel and Puck Pieterse. @Imago