"Surprisingly large and interesting": Flanders Classics CEO optimistic about Cyclocross World Cup expansion for the 26-27 season

As the 2025-26 UCI Cyclocross World Cup has just ended, organizers are already looking ahead with significant optimism. Flanders Classics CEO Tomas Van Den Spiegel has revealed that interest in hosting future rounds has surged, hinting at a potential expansion of the series for the 2026-27 season.

With the final doubleheader that took place in Maasmechelen on Saturday and Hoogerheide on Sunday, both of them won by Mathieu van der Poel and Puck Pieterse, the focus is shifting to how the sport capitalizes on its current momentum. Van Den Spiegel confirmed that the organization has received a "surprisingly large" number of applications from potential host cities.

"We're ambitious for the future. The number of applications received, for the upcoming edition and beyond, is surprisingly large and interesting," Van Den Spiegel told Het Laatste Nieuws.

While the 2025-26 calendar remained largely European - featuring rounds in the Czech Republic, France, Italy, Belgium, Spain, and the Netherlands - management remains open to returning to international waters. The series last visited the United States in 2023 (Waterloo), and Van Den Spiegel said that non-European locations are on the table, as long as they make sense for the teams.

"It's up to us to determine what is logistically and financially feasible," he explained. "We're open to everything, including non-European locations, but we're careful not to put an extra burden on the teams, riders, and calendar."

This season marked the second year of a "compact" World Cup schedule, reduced to twelve rounds between late November and late January. The revised points system was designed specifically to keep multi-discipline stars competitive even if they miss early events. This change mostly benefited one man: Mathieu van der Poel. Despite missing the opening rounds, the World Champion finished on top of the classification, claiming his first World Cup overall title since the 2017-18 season.

"Gratitude is the right word," Van Den Spiegel noted regarding Van der Poel’s participation in eight of the twelve rounds. "It adds cachet to the overall standings and helps us further develop the World Cup."

“Some established events are now performing very well. First and foremost, I would mention the Belgian cyclocross series during the busy end-of-year period, but also international events such as Tabor and Benidorm. Spectator numbers there remain stable or are even growing,” he added.

While Van der Poel has been unbeatable this season (once again), and Lucinda Brand already mathematically secured the women's overall title following the Benidorm round one week ago, organizers are encouraged by the depth of young talent emerging.

"We were pleased to see that, with Thibau Nys, Emiel Verstrynge, Tibor Del Grosso, and co, there's definitely life after Mathieu and Wout van Aert," Van Den Spiegel said.

Looking forward, Flanders Classics aims to refine the calendar further based on rider feedback. Van Den Spiegel admitted that the scheduling of some races earlier this season was not the best.

"We're also learning, to be clear. The date of Terralba (in Italy), for example, isn't ideal. And we're listening to riders and teams, trying to take their training camps into account. But we are now resting on strong foundations," he concluded.