Startlist men's Cyclocross European Championships 2025 - No van der Poel or van Aert, but a dozen hungry sharks looking for a big win
Cyclocross
The 2025-2026 Cyclocross European Championships take place this weekend in Middelkerke, Belgium, and the men's elite race is the highlight of this Sunday. In the startlist are lacking big names such as Mathieu van der Poel, Wout van Aert and Eli Iserbyt; but we have defending champion Thibau Nys at the start.
The absentees van der Poel and van Aert are much due to their long road season, which gave way to a large holiday period before they make the move to Belgium where they are expected to start their campaign in December.
Eli Iserbyt in the meantime is still dealing with a lingering injury that is not only threatening his season but career. The Belgians will still have the grand majority of the big favourites for the day however, including defending champion Thibau Nys who won the title in Pontevedra, Spain, last winter.
The traditional figures, and the men who have been winning so far this season will all be present though. Belgium comes in with Michael Vanthourenhout - perhaps the main favourite to recover the title, Toon Aerts, Jente Michels, sand specialist Laurens Sweeck, Niels Vandeputte, Emiel Verstrynge and Joran Wyseure.
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The Netherlands have Joris Nieuwenhuis as their best weapon, having won the Lokeren Rapencross this past Sunday and coming in with stellar form. The other nations will also have cards to play however.
Spain has last year's runner-up Felipe Orts at the start with number 9, Great Britain's Cameron Mason had a stellar second place at the Koppenbergcross and will be having number 26, and Switzerland's Kevin Kuhn will be number 20.
Startlist Men's Elite Cyclocross European Championships 2025-2026
Number | Name | Nation | Year of Birth
1 | NYS Thibau | BEL | 2002
2 | AERTS Toon | BEL | 1993
3 | MICHELS Jente | BEL | 2003
4 | SWEECK Laurens | BEL | 1993
5 | VANDEPUTTE Niels | BEL | 2000
6 | VANTHOURENHOUT Michael | BEL | 1993
7 | VERSTRYNGE Emiel | BEL | 2002
8 | WYSEURE Joran | BEL | 2001
9 | ORTS LLORET Felipe | ESP | 1995
10 | SUAREZ FERNANDEZ Kevin | ESP | 1994
11 | HENDRIKX Mees | NED | 2000
12 | KAMP Ryan | NED | 2000
13 | NIEUWENHUIS Joris | NED | 1996
15 | VAN DER HAAR Lars | NED | 1991
16 | VAN LIEROP Danny | NED | 2003
17 | MENUT David | FRA | 1992
18 | THOMAS Théo | FRA | 2001
19 | BOROŠ Michael | CZE | 1992
20 | KUHN Kevin | SUI | 1998
21 | CEOLIN Federico | ITA | 2000
22 | FONTANA Filippo | ITA | 2000
23 | RISBERG David | SWE | 1999
24 | JOVE RIART Xavier | AND | 1994
25 | HARTER Luca | GER | 2002
26 | MASON Cameron | GBR | 2000
27 | LUKŠAS Dovydas | LTU | 2002 |

Thibau Nys will be defending his title in Middelkerke. @Imago

Rúben SilvaEditor-in-Chief
A founding contributor to CyclingUpToDate since its launch in January 2022, Ruben Silva has played a central role in shaping the site’s editorial direction and long-term growth. Before joining the project, he built his experience through independent blogging at Echelons Hub and by producing race previews for Ciclismo Internacional, developing a strong analytical voice rooted in daily engagement with professional cycling.
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Originally from the Porto metropolitan area in Portugal, he holds a bachelor’s degree in Geography. His path into cycling journalism was shaped not through formal media training, but through independent reporting, community engagement, and sustained on-the-ground involvement in the sport.
Over the course of his career, he has conducted approximately 100 interviews across road cycling and cyclocross, ranging from one-to-one conversations and online formats to press conferences and on-site pre- and post-race coverage. His interviews include leading riders, team managers, and prominent figures within cycling media: Tadej Pogacar, Jonas Vingegaard, Mathieu van der Poel, Primoz Roglic, Wout van Aert, Joao Almeida and Tom Pidcock; managers like Patrick Lefevere and Joxean Matxin; and YouTube personality Bryan Kennedy (BKXC)...
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