World Cup, Superprestige and X2O Badkamers Trofee - How do all 3 cyclocross cups' standings look like into December?

We're reaching the end of November and we've got the cyclocross season well and truly settled. All 3 cups (World Cup; Superprestige and X2O Badkamers Trofee) have begun and we have got a very good sense of the form within the main riders. We take a look at the men's and women's standings in all cups and what to expect.

This is of course taking into account the absence of the likes of Mathieu van der Poel, Wout van Aert and Tom Pidcock who will only have temporary stints in the CX season as usual (alongside other specialists who prioritize the road such as Tim Merlier, Quinten Hermans, etc.) but also the injured Joris Nieuwhenhuis who suffered from shingles in the summer and is still yet to begin his season.

This weekend the cup began in Antwerpen. Now more compact and with less races, the organizers hope to have most riders focus on it. Defending champion Eli Iserbyt struck right from the base, winning round 1 with a strong performance in the sandy course and taking the lead. He is followed by Laurens Sweeck and Michael Vanthourenhout, a surprising position which is lacking all Baloise - Trek Lions and also the very consistent Niels Vandeputte.

In the women's side Fem van Empel gave no chance to her rivals on the opening round, and issued a statement regarding her ambitions. She won 19 points over Ceylin del Carmen Alvarado on the opening round which is a meaningful result. She leads Lucinda Brand who will be her other big rival in the cup likely, and Marie Schreiber.

The tightest competition. The points system awards consistency above everything and after 4 races (Ruddervoorde, Overijse, Niels and Merksplas) we've got three rider that stand out. But more may come up the standings soon. Joran Wyseure took a surprise win on round 1 in Ruddervoorde and took over the lead, on round 2 Niels Vandeputte took the lead after Thibau Nys (who is not focusing on the standings) won the race. On round 4 Lars van der Haar closed the gap to Vandeputte as both remain super consistent.

After 4 races van der Haar and Vandeputte are literally tied with 49 points, but closely followed by Michael Vanthourenhout who has 44 after finishing high on all races. Felipe Orts follows with 37 and Wyseure has 35, the same as Eli Iserbyt who was forced to miss the opening round as he had been suspended, but is coming up the standings and is now 14 points away from the lead halfway through the cup. Each win awards 15 points, but it will be very difficult for Iserbyt to go through to the lead as the points system really harms his absence on race 1.

On the women's side we also have a clear battle between Ceylin del Carmen Alvarado and Lucinda Brand. Round 1 saw Alvarado win and take the lead, round 2 saw Brand win and take the lead; round 3 saw Alvarado beat Brand directly and the duo was tied... And in round 4 Alvarado won again and is now 1 point ahead of Brand. In the absence of Fem van Empel from the last two races, the Dutchwomen are literally battling for every single point that can decide the cup.

Sara Casasola follows them not far away after three 4th places and a 3rd spot, she has 49 points against the 57 of Alvarado and 56 of Brand and could take advantage of mishaps later in the year. Inge van der Heijden and Laura Verdonschot come after but already quite distant from the podium.

The X2O Badkamers is perhaps the most demanding cup, because every minute and second count over all races, which gives it a different dynamic, focused on time and not the individual results for those who see the positions. Last year we had Lars van der Haar take the win and thus far after three races (Koppenbergcross, Lokeren and Hamme) the Dutchman is in the lead. But he holds it by a mere 2 seconds, virtually nothing over Eli Iserbyt who was his main rival next year.

With five races to go, it's as open as it could be. Toon Aerts and Michael Vanthourenhout follow behind, whilst Thibau Nys is unlikely to aim for the win.

There is still very valid criticism over the fact that a rider who loses over 5 minutes (or does not race at all) will just lose 5 minutes in the standings, which effectively leads to a lack of purpose for the riders lower in the standings to participate in the tougher races where gaps are bigger.

Also, the entrance of riders such as Mathieu van der Poel can seriously influence the races later in the season because: If van der Poel wins, Iserbyt does not race and van der Haar finishes 4 minutes behind van der Poel, then Iserbyt will only lose 1 minute to van der Haar whilst not competing in the first place.

In the women's side we do not have such a tight battle. Both Fem van Empel (2) and Ceylin del Carmen Alvarado (1) have skipped one of the first three races and so their intent on fighting for the classification is rightly questioned. This leaves Lucinda Brand with a very modest competition and after three races she leads Sara Casasola with over 2 minutes lead and Annemarie Worst by over 4. If she manages to remain consistent and not miss races, it will likely give her a strong triumph in the cup.