Netherlands confirm lineups for Dublin World Cup: Can ladies from Netherlands continue their CX dominance? Will men take on Belgium?

Dust hasn't yet settled behind the first World Cup in Antwerpen and riders already need to ready themselves for another round. This time in Dublin. On the December 1, not only Elite categories will start in Ireland, but also Juniors and U23 men will have a shot at their share of glory.

The overwhelming favourites in women's race will be naturally the Dutch ladies. Led by World champion Fem van Empel, they left nothing but bits for the other competitors with Lucinda Brand underlining Van Empel's dominant victory and four more flags of Netherlands within the top-11.

Inge van der Heijden
Manon Bakker
Annemarie Worst
Aniek van Alphen
Ceylin del Carmen Alvarado
Fem van Empel
Lucinda Brand
Denise Betsema
Jamie de Beer
Leonie Bentveld

Dutch men are still somewhat overshadowed by their counterparts and its actually Belgium taking all the glory, sweeping the top-5 in Antwerpen. Across the La Manche, Lars van der Haar and Pim Ronhaar will try to get the better of their neighbours and at the very least sneak onto the podium.

Pim Ronhaar
Corné van Kessel
Mees Hendrikx
Lars van der Haar

Unlike the elite men's race where the chances of success for Netherlands are, bluntly put, bleak, the U23 category gives all the more reason for optimism with talented Guus Van Den Eijnden and Senna Remijn at the start: 

"We have the largest group of youngsters among the promises," national coach Gerben De Knegt says on the website of the KNWU. "With four riders who have already shown this season that they deserve this chance. And with Senna Remijn who, after his third place at the World Championship on the road among the juniors, now also gets a chance to measure himself against the competition among the promises. I am happy that such multidisciplinary talents want to continue cyclocross and that is why we encourage that."

Guus Van Den Eijnden
Senna Remijn
Keije Solen
David Haverdings
Danny van Lierop

Likewise among juniors, where both men and women will be represented with two starters, the Netherlands can look up to Dublin with a notch of rightfully deserved optimism:

"Cas Timmermans has already shown this season that he is certainly one of the strongest first-year juniors and Michiel Mouris – after being out of competition for a while due to a concussion – finds a nice course for him to pick up cyclocross again. In the junior women we ride with the two strongest women of the moment, Mae Cabaca and Noï Moes," De Kneght confirms the ambitions.

Mae Cabaca
Noï Moes

Cas Timmermans
Michiel Mouris