Netherlands announces its lineup for the upcoming World Cups including the return of cyclocross king Mathieu van der Poel!
Cyclocross
This second half of December is loaded with Cyclocross World Cup races. Next Saturday 21 will be the Hulst World Cup, on Sunday 22 the Zonhonven World Cup and on Thursday 26 it will be the turn of the Gavere Cross. The first two races will be open to all categories, while the last one is reserved for the elites. In the second of the three races, seven-time world champion Mathieu van der Poel will make his return to cyclo-cross and will be present in the Belgian combo.
National coach Gerben de Knegt talked about all this for knwu.nl: "Not only as a national coach, but also as a fan, I'm looking forward to it. It's great to see that Mathieu still has so much heart for cross country, that he will rider 11 races and that he also wants to go for the title at the World Championships. He has chosen a good program and the fans will be able to see him in action quite a bit this winter, starting in Zonhoven."
De Knegt also spoke about the addition of under-23 riders Remon Delnoije (Hulst and Zonhoven) and Klaas Groenen (Hulst) to the national team: "These are guys who also invest in their sport and who, in terms of results, are (still) too short to be among the best at the moment, but they certainly deserve a starting spot in my eyes. Especially since we have room for it now."
Among the women, Jamie de Beer and Larissa Hartog will alternate opportunities to show themselves among the best cyclocross riders in the world, something they already do regularly: "It's certainly to be applauded that there continues to be growth of new names in the field, although of course we don't have to complain about the breadth of the top in the Netherlands. In this respect, I also found Puck Pieterse's start in Namen convincing, where she immediately climbed to the third step of the podium. She will be ready to compete for victory in the coming races."
All in all, De Knegt has a busy weekend ahead of him and his coaching staff. "Some of our staff is already leaving for Zonhoven after the junior races in Hulst to do some reconnaissance. The possibilities to do that on Sunday are very limited before the races start. And especially on the Zonhoven course, with the famous Kuil, it's important to do a good reconnaissance."
Hulst (December 21)
Elite Men
Lars van der Haar
Pim Ronhaar
Ryan Kamp
Mees Hendrikx
Corné van Kessel
Remon Delnoije
Klaas Groenen
Female Elite
Lucinda Brand
Fem van Empel
Ceylin Alvarado
Puck Pieterse
Inge van der Heijden
Manon Bakker
Annemarie Worst
Leonie Bentveld
Aniek van Alphen
Denise Betsema
Iris Offerein
Jamie de Beer
Sara Sonnemans
Bloeme Kalis
U23 Men
Tibor del Grosso
Danny van Lierop
David Haverdings
Guus van den Eijnden
Bailey Groenendaal
Keije Solen
Jelte Jochems
Senna Remijn
Floris Haverdings
Rens Teunissen van Manen
Junior Men
Cas Timmermans
Rick Versloot
Finn Bastiaanssen
Nick Wisse
Noël Goijert
Mads Teunissen van Manen
Michiel Mouris
Junior Women
Mae Cabaca
Noï Moes
Bente Jochems
Rianne Nieuwenhuis
Elena van der Veken
Zonhoven (December 22)
Elite Men
Mathieu van der Poel
Lars van der Haar
Pim Ronhaar
Ryan Kamp
Mees Hendrikx
Corné van Kessel
Remon Delnoije
Female Elite
Lucinda Brand
Fem van Empel
Ceylin Alvarado
Puck Pieterse
Inge van der Heijden
Manon Bakker
Annemarie Worst
Leonie Bentveld
Aniek van Alphen
Denise Betsema
Larissa Hartog
Lauren Molengraaf
Puck Langenbarg
U23 Men
Tibor del Grosso
Danny van Lierop
David Haverdings
Guus van den Eijnden
Bailey Groenendaal
Keije Solen
Senna Remijn
Junior Men
Cas Timmermans
Rick Versloot
Finn Bastiaanssen
Nick Wisse
Mads Teunissen van Manen
Michiel Mouris
Junior Women
Mae Cabaca
Noï Moes
Bente Jochems
Rianne Nieuwenhuis
Elena van der Veken
Gavere (December 26)
Elite Men
Mathieu van der Poel
Lars van der Haar
Pim Ronhaar
Ryan Kamp
Tibor del Grosso
Mees Hendrikx
Corné van Kessel
David Haverdings
Guus van den Eijnden
Senna Remijn
Female Elite
Lucinda Brand
Fem van Empel
Ceylin Alvarado
Puck Pieterse
Inge van der Heijden
Manon Bakker
Annemarie Worst
Leonie Bentveld
Aniek van Alphen
Denise Betsema
Jamie de Beer
Iris Offerein
Sara Sonnemans
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