PREVIEW | Cyclocross World Championships Hoogerheide Women's under-23 - Favourites, Track, TV Guide & Poll

This 4th and 5th of February 2023 will see the Cyclocross World Championships in the track of Hoogerheide. It will be the climax of the season as riders of several different categories battle for their respective rainbow jerseys.

Grey skies will cover the Netherlands this weekend but rain is unlikely. The traditional track of Hoogerheide will be on display this weekend with it's grassy fields, several bridges and fast sections. It isn't a selective course which means that tactics will with no doubt be important and the first few laps are certainly going to see some mutual studying between the riders.

The second half features in quick succession the planks, an up and down bank section, a long stairs drag and an off-camber descent into the finishing straight. It is possible that some of the races will be decided only on the final lap and on this section. The finishing straight section features small uphill gradients but it is rather long and throughout the race will provide room for tactics to be played.

Overall it will be fast and explosive races surely. With dry conditions there is only one running section in the course and no true climbing or descending features that can create meaningful gaps. With no mud or sand in the mix, it will be up to the riders' form and technical abilities to keep the momentum all throughout the race.

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The women's under-23 race has a very clear contender in Shirin van Anrooij. The Dutch rider has been competing with the Elites all year long and won several races including World Cup races, but has chosen to ride the under-23 race in the Worlds and will be the woman to beat. However the competition is by no means of modest level, as some of the other riders she's faced will be here - although Fem van Empel and Puck Pieterse will ride the Elite ranks.

Zoe Bäckstedt is perhaps the biggest name to feature behind van Anrooij in the list, and will be a strong contender for the win despite her young age. Marie Schreiber has also been performing strongly this winter in the Elites and will be a strong favourite for a podium place. Leonie Bentveld, Line Burquier, Amandine Fouquenet, Madigan Munro and Katarzyna Zemanová should also be towards the front.

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The race will start this Sunday 5th February at 13:00 local time (13:00CET) and is estimated to finish at 13:50 local time (13:50CET).

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 (Belgium), NOS (Netherlands), Ceská Televize (Czech Republic), TV2/Play Danmark (Denmark) and TV2 Norge (Norway).

PREDICTIONS:

Women's Elite
*** Shirin van Anrooij
** Zoe Bäckstedt, Marie Schreiber
* Katarzyna Zemanová, Line Burquier, Leonie Bentveld