Favourites, startlist and how to watch in the USA and UK - Flamanville Cyclocross World Cup round 2

The Cyclocross World Cup began last week in Tabor and this weekend we've got another international race. It is round 2, which will take place in the town of Flamanville, in France. We take a look at its course, the startlists, favourites, how and when to watch it - including information on the United States and United Kingdom.

The course is a more traditional one, outside Belgium and the Netherlands it isn't exactly the same format that the riders are used to, but overall it is very technical. It is also placed close to the sea and so the weather can end up playing an important role on the day's outcome.

The event will consist of five events, with the men's junior, women's junior and men's under-23 races taking place in the morning as well. In the beginning of the afternoon, the women's elite race will start at 13:40CET and should end at approximately 14:30CET. The men's race begins at 15:10CET and should end at around 16:15CET. 

The race will be broadcast on Eurosport and HBO Max/Discover+ as is usual, as well as the UCI's Youtube channel live. Furthermore this race will be broadcast in:

Belgium - Sporza & Pickx+ Sports
United States & Canada - FloBikes
France - L'ÉquipeTV
Netherlands - NOS
Czech Republic - Ceská Televise
Italy - RaiPlay
Denmark - TV2 Danmark
Slovakia - RTV: Sport Slovakia
Spain - RTVE Spain

The United Kingdom does not appear to have live broadcast of the event.

The men's race will have Thibau Nys at the start as he looks to start his World Cup defense. It will be a tricky race, and he will have all his main rivals at the start. Mathieu van der Poel and Wout van Aert are of course absent, but plenty of quality figures can take the win and even the lead of the cup. Joris Nieuwenhuis is the clear threat, with the form he's been showing throughout the past few weeks.

The Dutch have Lars van der Haar, Pim Ronhaar and Ryan Kamp at hand whilst the luxurious Belgian field includes Michael Vanthourenhout, Toon Aerts, second place Laurens Sweeeck, Niels Vandeputte, Joran Wyseure, Emiel Verstrynge, Jenthe Michels and Toon Vandebosch all as contenders for a top result. Cameron Mason, Andrew Strohmeyer and Kevin Kuhn lead the 'international' pack whilst the French could also have a say in this special race to them, with Rémi Lelandais and David Menut as the most important figures at the start.

Lucinda Brand is missing from the startlist, meaning she will most likely hand over her World Cup lead. A conscious choice so as to prepare for other races, Brand will lose points but not he favouritism to win the cup however. But it won't be to Sara Casasola, who is equally skipping this race, meaning that third place Inge van der Heijden could be the rider taking over the lead of the cup and is perhaps also the main favourite.

Marie Schreiber, Leonie Bentveld, Manon Bakker and Marion Norbert Riberolle should be amongst her rivals in a race with a very modest field. However this also presents an opportunity for interesting sub-plots in the race such as Ceylin del Carmen Alvarado who makes her return to the discipline this Sunday after a long injury period; Shirin van Anrooij and Annemarie Worst who are also on the starting phase of their returns respectively.