Wout van Aert confirmed for Maasmechelen World Cup - Visma rider takes on his final cyclocross race of the season
Cyclocross
The Maasmechelen World Cup will be the final round of the competition in Belgium. The competition ends this weekend with this and the Hoogerheide events, but the previous will be Wout van Aert's final race of the cyclocross season.
Initially he planned on racing six, but it turned out to be only five events for the Team Visma | Lease a Bike rider. It is still not known if he will face Mathieu van der Poel this Saturday but if so, it will only be the second duel between the two throughout the whole cyclocross winter. One spot remains open for the Belgians at the World Championships, so it is not impossible that van Aert will prolong his season by one week, but it remains very unlikely.
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With two rounds to go, two of Belgium's best - Michael Vanthourenhout and Toon Aerts - will also be present and fighting in what can be Vanthourenhout's decisive day to seal the competition. The entire Top6 is made of Belgians and they are all present actually.
Thibau Nys, the European and Belgian champion, has just won the Benidorm World Cup and will be a prime contender for victory. Niels Vandeputte, Joran Wyseure, Emiel Verstrynge, Laurens Sweeck and Eli Iserbyt all form part of the Belgian block for this race.
Belgium for men's World Cup Maasmechelen:
Thibau Nys
Wout van Aert
Niels Vandeputte
Joran Wyseure
Toon Aerts
Emiel Verstrynge
Jens Adams
Jente Michels
Victor Van de Putte
Anton Ferdinande
Michael Vanthourenhout
Laurens Sweeck
Sil de Brauwere
Eli Iserbyt
Wout van Aert
Niels Vandeputte
Joran Wyseure
Toon Aerts
Emiel Verstrynge
Jens Adams
Jente Michels
Victor Van de Putte
Anton Ferdinande
Michael Vanthourenhout
Laurens Sweeck
Sil de Brauwere
Eli Iserbyt
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For the women's race, the nation packs a large amount of riders, but it's hopes will lie on national champion Marion Norbert Riberolle and her veteran teammate Sanne Cant to try and finish within the Top10.
Belgium for women's World Cup Maasmechelen:
Julie Brouwers
Alicia Franck
Jinse Peeters
Xaydee van Sinaey
Kiona Crabbé
Nette Coppens
Alexe de Raedemaeker
Xenna de Bruyckere
Febe de Smedt
Floor van Elsacker
Marion Norbert Riberolle
Sanne Cant
Lotte Baele
Julie Brouwers
Alicia Franck
Jinse Peeters
Xaydee van Sinaey
Kiona Crabbé
Nette Coppens
Alexe de Raedemaeker
Xenna de Bruyckere
Febe de Smedt
Floor van Elsacker
Marion Norbert Riberolle
Sanne Cant
Lotte Baele
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Thibau Nys 🫡
— UCI Cyclocross (@UCI_CX) January 20, 2025
Victory in Benidorm for the European and National Belgium Champ! 👏#CXWorldCup pic.twitter.com/rSc3Ux9G1x

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.
Beyond editorial work, he has been closely involved in the expansion and coordination of CyclingUpToDate’s wider network, helping establish and support sister platforms across multiple languages. This includes ongoing collaboration with CiclismoAlDia (Spanish), CiclismoAtual (Portuguese), WielrennenUpToDate (Dutch), and RadsportAktuell (German), contributing to a shared editorial vision and consistent international coverage.
He also helps oversee editorial governance across the network, setting standards for accuracy and consistency and coordinating updates or corrections when needed.
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)...
Within 18 months of launch, he helped grow CyclingUpToDate’s English-language platform into one of the most-read cycling news websites, built entirely from the ground up. As both a professional journalist and lifelong cycling enthusiast, his focus remains on delivering accurate, timely, and well-contextualized coverage.
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- He is boring
leedorney08-11-2026 - To Twoje przemyślenia te bla, bla :)
Dariusz08-11-2026 - Uwielbiam patrzeć, jak wyjeżdża na czoło peletonu i zaczyna się rzeź...
Dariusz08-11-2026 - Yeah, unreal.
parisbound0008-11-2026 - there needs to be space in life for pointless comments!Ketterechts08-11-2026
- That is a very lazy way of putting it but so far on this website it seems like everyone is happy to look at everything lazily, even things that annoy them intensely. All they want to do is state their feeling and position but ask most to analyse a problem or come up with solutions or improvements and you’re stunned by silence. Nobody even really knows how this all happens. It’s very simple and quick to just say the UCI did it but I bet you they didn’t, I bet you not more than 2 people were involved, more likely just 1. The UCI may be ultimately responsible but it is not their decision, this is about hierarchy, power and delegation. The fact that protest is possible also means it isn’t over and that MORE people could get involved for a thorough review which could throw up anything. It is highly likely it was a sole commissar who decided and has that power in a first round. Therein might lie the problem the UCI has to consider, is it acceptable to give so much authority to one single person when it is quite possible for them to have a natural bias or be too easily susceptible to imposed bias. Who is to say an individual in this position isn’t susceptible to collaboration with outside players with interests in the results, nations, families, teams, betting companies, etc. On the one hand we have sports where these problems have been worked on way more to reduce such problems, on the other hand we have sports with far stricter and more draconian rules not even concerning safety or obstruction that nobody really questions like false starts or stepping out of lane or zones in athletics. If cycling hastowork on itself, it would be good if protagonists (all kinds) would start doing a little more than just moaning over outcomes.Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- Yes, so why not make comments less pointless?Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
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Rafionain-Glas08-11-2026 - There really was nothing in it. Schreiber was so much faster, and Brand was fighting to stay in the wheel in the sprint. Schreiber did move a bit, but to say she closed the door doesn't make sense because Brand couldn't enter it anyway, abd she wasn't impeded.
Rafionain-Glas08-11-2026 - He should have been allowed to go to Movistar. Right now both arent a good fit for each other and are just wasting each other's time and effortabstractengineer08-11-2026
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