PREVIEW | Cyclocross Antwerp 2023 World Cup Men&Women - Favourites, Track, TV Guide & Poll

Preview. Round number 9 of the cyclocross World Cup will take place in Antwerp. This will be the long-awaited first battle between Mathieu van der Poel, Wout van Aert and Tom Pidcock.

Strong western wind and some rain leading up to it means we won't have a dry race, but it should not be a mud-fast. The start features a long flat section but quickly the riders find themselves in steep and tight bank areas, with the barriers also placed close to the start. It will be a course by a large body of water, there will be pockets of sand throughout the course where running will be necessary, and technique will certainly do no harm.

The very tough sandy sections can carve major gaps as mistakes are expected throughout the race. It's one where gaps are likely to appear from early on, despite lacking the climbs, these will definitely be the most important features of the race, which should be quite explosive and where gaps can be made from the start. A good start will be important, as little errors in the bunch can cause blockings more than a usual track.

It is a monstruous field both in terms of quality and quantity. The 'big four' - if I dare to create that term - is all present. All riders on form. We've got Ceylin del Carmen Alvarado, last week's winner in Namur who finds a very suiting course with some running and a lot of explosivity. She defeated both Puck Pieterse and Lucinda Brand last week, both put in very strong performances and can certainly contest for the win against any rider. Lastly Fem van Empel who won in Herentals last week despite having been ill. It was a very tight victory against Brand however, the four riders enter this race with a very even level.

Within those the win will surely come, but all of the best aside from them are also present. We've got Annemarie Worst, Inge van der Heijden, Manon Bakker, Shirin van Anrooij, Zoe Bäckstedt and Marie Schreiber. On their best day, each of these can be in the fight for the podium even in this field. Nevertheless, they will make sure that everyone in the podium has to be at a brilliant level, and will surely fill up most of the Top10.

Many quality riders will be left out of it, surely including some above, but other quality riders that will make their presence felt in the first World Cup of the Christmas block. Denise Betsema, Aniek van Alphen, Leonie Bentveld, Sara Casasola, Francesca Baroni, Blanka Kata Vas and Kristyna Zemanová will all be present.

This is Mathieu van der Poel's race to lose, I do not feel the need to further boost it. The form is great, the track suits him quite well, and the starting position is also good. After his two races so far there's little doubt that he's the man to beat, specially in the absence of mud or long climbs where Wout van Aert and Tom Pidcock could be closer to him. On this track Pidcock won't have much of an easy time, specially if he does not have a good start once again. It's an explosive race where a strong first lap is important.

A good one for Eli Iserbyt actually, the World Cup leader. He and Baloise - Trel Lions trio of Pim Ronhaar, Lars van der Haar and Joris Nieuwenhuis are in my opinion the best of the rest and will certainly play with their numbers. I recon no-one will be able to follow van der Poel and he should attack in the first lap, but van Aert and Pidcock are engines and so the chase might not ever be too far.

As in the women's race, the depth is amazing. But much will come down to the feeling on the day. Ryan Kamp, Laurens Sweeck, Niels Vandeputte and Michael Vanthourenhout are all riders to fight for a Top5 as well. Thibau Nys also makes a comeback, it would be interesting to see how he fares if he has his best level, but that is a big ask for the youngster after a tough few weeks.

Corné van Kessel, Gerben Kuypers, Joran Wyseure, Toon Vandebosch, Jens Adams, Witse Meeussen, Kevin Kuhn, Timon Ruegg and Felipe Orts form a fourth line of contenders in my book.

The women's race will start at 13:40 local time and is estimated to finish at 14:30 local time. The men's race is set to start at 15:10 local time and is estimated to finish at around 16:15 local time.

You can watch the broadcast of the race at the UCI website and Eurosport Player internationally, as well as the traditional outlets. The channels which will broadcast the race will include Sporza and Proximus (Belgium), Flobikes (Canada) and NOS.nl (Netherlands).

PREDICTIONS:

Women's Elite
*** Fem van Empel
** Ceylin del Carmen Alvarado, Puck Pieterse
* Lucinda Brand, Annemarie Worst, Zoe Bäckstedt

Men's Elite
*** Mathieu van der Poel
** Wout van Aert, Pim Ronhaar
* Tom Pidcock, Eli Iserbyt, Lars van der Haar