Results Parkcross Maldegem 2026 | Niels Vandeputte and Marie Schreiber win post-worlds mid-week cross

The Hulst World Championships are now behind and today the cyclocross field has taken on the first cross that follows. Without the big starts such as Mathieu van der Poel and Lucinda Brand, other riders were able to take the spotlight, and this has led to more open races, which saw Marie Schreiber and Nils Vadeputte take victories at the Parkcross Maldegem.

The women's race had a rather modest field in the absence of Lucinda Brand, Ceylin del Carmen Alvarado and Puck Pieterse who completed the worlds' podium. Today was a day where the purists were back in the spotlight and the victory was taken by Marie Schreiber, who has taken her first win outside the national championships this winter. She beat Inge van der Heijden and Amandine Fouquenet with a small gap in the race that is not part of any of the three cups.

In the men's race we've had a few big names present, however Mathieu van der Poel was not one of them, as he has ended his cyclocross season on Sunday and has already flown to Italy for a ski trip. His teammate Niels Vandeputte however took the reigns and proved to be the strongest in what was a very tactical and fast race, where the entire Top10 finished within 31 seconds.

Vandeputte is known for riding all winter long but this was only his third victory in the 'regular' cross season - after Kortrijk and Gullegem. Vandeputte, leader of the Superprestige Cup and third place at the World Cup and (currently) the X2O Badkamers, has taken here a meaningful win ahead of Joran Wyseure and Felipe Orts.