On the 26th of December the cyclocross field will take on the World Cup in Gavere, the race which will serve as the 11th of 14 rounds, and where meaningful absences can mean big differences created in the race, besides the expected battle between Mathieu van der Poel, Wout van Aert and Tom Pidcock.
Rain has been falling in Gavere, and a muddy course is expected. The start straight is relatively road-friendly and it will take a while until the riders hit the dirt, however aswell in a wide and fast field section. Although there are a couple of difficult sections, they are not long and there is no running expected in the first half of the race, which features another long straight flat section in a gravel road.
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That is then followed by another long in-the-saddle climb, before a more explosive section of the course with some sketchy descending and steep pitches which should see some running, and a possibility for someone to power away and create gaps. Another hard climbing section comes before the second pit area.
The final minutes of the lap feature some more rolling terrain before a long flat grass section that leads way to the finish section. It's a mixed race, it features a very slipstreaming-prone first half of the race, but grinding difficult climbs in the second. With the presence of the 'big three' however I don't expect the race to be bunched up as was the case in some earlier races, but tactics will need to be taken into account as it is possible to create alliances here.
Fem van Empel will be absent, and the women's race should see an interesting battle. Youngsters Puck Pieterse and Shirin van Anrooij are the two biggest names to consider taking into consideration their current form, and the first will be looking to take the win as that would put her only 25 points behind van Empel in the World Cup. Lucinda Brand could be eyeing a strong result on a suiting course, Blanka Kata Vas should also like the large amount of climbing.
North American riders Clara Honsinger and Maghalie Rochette could also be suited to this course but they'll face tough competition. Aniek van Alphen, Pauline Ferrand-Prévot, Manon Bakker, Inge van der Heijden, Hélène Clauzel, Marion Norbert Riberolle, Zoe Bäckstedt, Marie Schreiber and Sara Casasola are all outsiders, and realistically speaking all of them can be contenders for a Top5 result or even a podium if they find themselves on a great day.
The men's race should be up to those riders exactly, seeing how Wout van Aert returned to competition and is showing great form, with a dominant win in Mol. I'd say Tom Pidcock stands a good chance as the gaps will be created on the climbs here and they will suit his style. I'd say it doesn't as much for Mathieu van der Poel, who would likely prefer the more explosive and sharp efforts, but that's not what he'll find here.
With Eli Iserbyt out for Gavere due to the injuries suffered in Val di Sole, the World Cup battle is now between current leader Laurens Sweeck and last week's winner Michael Vanthourenhout, now separated by 23 points, the latter stands a chance of closing it down. Lars van der Haar and Joris Nieuwenhuis return to competition and can play a meaningful role. The race is planned to feature a whole 97 riders, an incredible number by any standards, and most of the big figures will be going head-to-head here. Niels Vandeputte, Kevin Kuhn and Timon Ruegg rode brilliantly last week and could try to keep the momentum going. Jens Adams, Thibau Nys, Pim Ronhaar, Toon Vandebosch, Corné van Kessel will all be present, whilst we also see the return to the main field of Felipe Orts, Eric Brunner and Tim Merlier.
The women's race will start at 13:40 local time (13:40CET) and is estimated to finish at 14:30 local time (14:30CET). The men's race is set to start at 15:10 local time (15:10CET) and is estimated to finish at around 16:15 local time (16:15CET).
You can watch the broadcast of the race at the UCI website; GCN+/Eurosport Player internationally. The channels which will broadcast the race will be Flobikes (Canada/USA), Sporza and Proximus (Belgium), L'Équipe (France), Ceská Televize (Czech Republic), Rai Sport (Italy), TV2/Play Danmark (Denmark) and TV2 Norge (Norway).
PREDICTIONS:
Women's Elite
*** Shirin van Anrooij
** Puck Pieterse, Lucinda Brand
* Blanka Kata Vas, Zoe Bäckstedt, Inge van der Heijden
Men's Elite
*** Wout van Aert
** Tom Pidcock, Mathieu van der Poel
* Michael Vanthourenhout, Lars van der Haar, Laurens Sweeck
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