"Cyclocross has never experienced a crisis - it's the contrary": UEC president enthusiastic ahead of the European CX Championships
Cyclocross
The European Cyclocross Championships are just around the corner. This weekend, Middelkerke will host the 11th edition of the race to crown the best cyclocrosser of Europe. Among main favourites are the defending champion Thibau Nys in men's race while the flying Lucinda Brand's odds to win the women's race have grown enormously after the first races of this winter.
Although the list of absentees in men's event is notable with the (former) world champions Mathieu van der Poel, Wout Van Aert, Tom Pidcock enjoying their share of time off competition after exhaustive road campaign. The 2020 european champion Eli Iserbyt won't race this weekend either as the Belgian is recovering from prolonger period marked by health issues.
The event in Middelkerke will take off on Saturday morning with women junior race, followed by men under-23 and the main dish of Saturday's schedule will be the battle among elite women. On Sunday, the programme will be the same as day earlier, except with opposite genders. Once again, the final spectacle of the day will take off at 15:00 CET with men's elite race.
Thibau Nys won't be the only favourite at the start line on Sunday. Lokeren X2O Trophy winner Joris Nieuwenhuis confirmed to be in just as good shape. Former two-time European champion Michael Vanthourenhout didn't finish the X2O Trophy round in Oudenaarde, but otherwise also showed a great form at the start of this winter and is not to be underestimated. In women's race, it's hard to look past Lucinda Brand with four victories in five starts so far this winter.
President of the European Cycling Union (UEC), Enrico Dalla Casa, sounded optimstic about the event on many levels. Course was one of them: "Middelkerke is a historic location for cyclo-cross and represents the ideal setting for this year's European Championships. The course will be spectacular and technical, as this discipline deserves."
Some experts spoke about a crisis of cyclocross in recent years with the main events retracting back to the sport's homelands - Belgium and the Netherlands. The main blow has been the cancellation of traditional North American, or Irish World Cup rounds.
But Dalla Casa's view is far more optimistic, citing the diversity of participants, and even medal contenders, coming from more and more countries:
"Cyclocross has never experienced a crisis; on the contrary, it continues to grow steadily, including in terms of participating countries, some of which are making their debut on the international stage: the record participation of 25 countries is clear proof of this."
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Ondrej ZhasilCycling Journalist
Ondřej Zhasil is a cycling journalist at CyclingUpToDate and has been part of the team since 2023. He is based in Ostrava, the third-largest city in the Czech Republic, and covers professional cycling across the main UCI competitions, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España. A key focus of his work is startlist analysis and pre-race coverage, where he examines team selections, rider line-ups, and tactical scenarios ahead of major events.
Alongside WorldTour coverage, Ondřej has developed specific expertise in junior cycling and in racing across East Asia, including competitions in China and Japan. He also maintains a broad working knowledge of other disciplines and levels, including cyclocross, while continuing to expand his understanding of mountain bike racing.
Ondřej holds a bachelor’s degree in Mathematics and Physics, which supports his analytical, data-driven approach to performance and race analysis. In his reporting, he regularly uses ProCyclingStats for results, statistics, and historical context. He places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles promptly when new, verified information becomes available.
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