Preview. On the 12th of November the Cyclocross field will tackle the third World Cup round. This will be in Dendermonde, a track which has in the past witnessed epic racing.
Dendermonde, or as it was nicknamed by some after the 2021 race, the 'Dendermonster'. Why? Because of the insane mudfest that the riders found that year. In fact when looking at the track it becomes a bit clear why, although the riders find a few steep banks, most of the course is on a flat and grassy field. Now in the depths of winter, and with riders passing through every single section before the main races, the course will have seen wheels go by thousands of times. The rain that has fallen recently in Belgium will lead to mud as the water pools in the fields and we can expect another mudfest - even if not likely as dramatic as the previous one.
It's a race that is quite interesting, not one for tactics. The track isn't slow but the riding conditions will be muddy, but what is key about it is it's many banks. Uphill, downhill, a whale tail-like feature, a couple of off-camber sections, a couple of steep ramps and a very long stairs section will make for a very difficult track. It will require many brutal accelerations in those zones and fatigue will settle in quite a lot into the race I am certain. A strong start will be key as gaps will open up from very early on, any sort of resting can only come when the race is split enough to not lose several positions with a slowing of the pace.
Fem van Empel and Puck Pieterse are not present. This opens up the race quite a lot. On the races where van Empel was not present this year Ceylin del Carmen Alvarado as the big favourite and took the wins - also in predictable and dominant fashion. However can that happen here as well? It will not be easy, Alvarado took on a very difficult and fatiguing race today in Niel and could definitely feel the impact tomorrow. She wasn't the only one however, the likes of Inge van der Heijden and Marie Schreiber were present but struggled in the very treacherous conditions. Aniek van Alphen and Annemarie Worst completed the podium whilst Manon Bakker, Sanne Cant and Marion Norbert Riberolle were close.
This will be a special race for Lucinda Brand who makes her comeback to cyclocross. It will be difficult for her to have her best form right from her debut but, with her quality and experience, it can absolutely be expected that the Dutch woman would be targeting a podium. I would attribute the same objective for Zoe Bäckstedt. The 19-year old is in strong form and with the absence of others she can certainly break through with a win. She has recently won the under-23 World Championships and joining her are Schreiber as previously mentioned, Kristyna Zemanová and Leonie Bentveld who were among on that best. Hélene Clauzel and Maghalie Rochette may also be outsiders for this race.
An explosive and relatively muddy race, not too different from Niel actually. It makes complete sense to look at Eli Iserbyt perhaps as a big favourite to take the win, maybe having gotten his confidence back today. The accelerations and technical features suit his style and not the big engines such as Lars van der Haar, Michael Vanthourenhout and Cameron Mason - both (the Belgians) of which did not finish in Niel and seemed quite affected by the complicated conditions. Joris Nieuwenhuis put on a brilliant ride today into second, he sits fourth in the World Cup but as both van der Haar and Thibau Nys (who isn't present) will not be racing the whole cup, he will be very eager to score big and stay within reach of Iserbyt in the fight for the lead of the cup - not immediate, but in the medium-term.
I think Baloise - Trek Lions hold good chances, Pim Ronhaar looked very comfortable in the mud last week at the Europeans where he finished fourth and he absolutely has the legs to also be in the fight for the win. Technically speaking I'd say Niels Vandeputte and Felipe Orts will enjoy these conditions and type of track specifically, but a lot can happen on the day and there are still many riders that I can't fit into a particular position. Feeling on the day and confidence on the technical sections will be key, as well as a good start which I can't predict. Add to the mix Laurens Sweeck, Ryan Kamp, Gerben Kuypers, Toon Vandebosch, Witse Meeussen and Kevin Kuhn and we'll have an interesting race.
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; GCN+/Eurosport Player internationally. The channels which will broadcast the race will include Proximus (Belgium), Flobikes (Canada), NOS.nl (Netherlands), L'Équipe (France), Ceská Televize (Czech Republic), TV2 Danmark (Denmark) and TV2 Norge (Norway).
PREDICTIONS:
Women's Elite
*** Ceylin del Carmen Alvarado
** Zoe Bäckstedt, Aniek van Alphen
* Annemarie Worst, Inge van der Heijden, Manon Bakker
Men's Elite
*** Eli Iserbyt
** Joris Nieuwenhuis, Pim Ronhaar
* Michael Vanthourenhout, Lars van der Haar, Laurens Sweeck
Preview written by Rúben Silva.
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