World Cup Antwerp Cyclocross: Startlist, Map, Favorites, how to watch Mathieu van der Poel and Wout van Aert in the USA and UK

Round 4 of the cyclocross World Cup will take place this Saturday, December 20th, in Antwerp. It is the first race of the 'Christmas Block' and will feature a massive amount of riders, including the returning Mathieu van der Poel, Wout van Aert, and cup leader Thibau Nys. We take a look at the startlist of the Antwerp race, and where to watch it online, on TV, in the USA and UK.

The race is one that does not feature much climbing and instead, it is a sandy cross, very focused on its technical features and explosivity. It is not a race for major gaps and it is quite possible that it becomes tactical, with positioning battles also frequent taking into consideration the obstacles at hand.

In the morning, there will be junior races for the women (start at 10:00CET) and men (start at 12:00CET). In the beginning of the afternoon, the women's elite race will start at 13:40CET and should end at approximately 14:30CET. The men's race begins at 15:10CET and should end at around 16:15CET.

The race will be broadcast on Eurosport and HBO Max/Discover+ as is usual, as well as the UCI's Youtube channel live. Furthermore this race will be broadcast in:

The Christmas block begins here and almost 100 riders will be at the start line in Antwerp, it will be a different race and spectacle for the spectators. Mathieu van der Poel won in Namur last week with a strong yet not dominant display, but will be the man to beat here in the sand. Wout van Aert makes his return to cyclocross today, and both may still suffer from their lack of racing in a course that is very technical.

Thibau Nys is in the lead of the World Cup; in a close fight for second place are Michael Vanthourenhout, Joris Niewenhuis, Laurens Sweeck, Niels Vandeputte and Lars van der Haar. All will be present.

The Dutch also have Tibor del Grosso, Pim Ronhaar and Ryan Kamp to feature near the front; the Belgian have Toon Aerts, Emiel Verstrynge, Joran Wyseure, Jente Michels and Toon Vandebosch...

From the other nations we've got Felipe Orts for Spain, Kevin Kuhn for Switzerland, no Cameron Mason but instead Thomas Mein for Great Britain, Andrew Strohmeyer headlining USA's large team, Filippo Agostinacchio for Italy, Michael Boros for the Czech Republic, and many more...

The women's race will still miss Fem van Empel, who has this Friday announced a pause on her career. The World Champion may have ended her season, and with this, it's clear track for Lucinda Brand to continue to dominate. After she skipped the Flamanville World Cup she lost the lead of the World Cup but will be the main favourite to win and has only one point disadvantage over Aniek van Alphen. Van Alphen has been racing a stupendous season and should be up there.

The Dutch have Inge van der Heijden, Manon Bakker, Leonie Bentveld, Ceylin del Carmen Alvarado, Shirin van Anrooij, Annemarie Worst and Puck Pieterse (the last four with late starts to the season); The French will have two incredibly talented riders in Célia Gery and Amandie Fouquenet (second in Koppenbergcross and fourth at World Cup respectively). Belgium has Marion Norbert Riberolle as its headliner, Italy has Sara Casasola, the USA sees its national champion Lizzy Gunsalus make her European debut this winter whilst the British have Xan Crees and Anna Kay at the start.

Kristyna Zemanová of the Czech Republic is a woman to watch, Jolanda Neff of Switzerland is an absolute wildcard and interesting rider to follow in a less mountainous course, and Luxembourg has the youngster Marie Schreiber. Over 80 riders will be at the start.