Pidcock’s one-man show closes 2022 Walmart UCI Cyclo-Cross World Championships

Christen, Pieterse and Pidcock take the final laurels in Fayetteville, Arkansas (USA).

The 2022 Walmart UCI Cyclo-cross World Championships ended with a handful of bangs in Fayetteville, Arkansas (USA). The young Jan Christen brought the Swiss expertise back to the top of the podiums, before Puck Pieterse (NED) rose to victory in a spectacular Women Under 23 race dominated by Dutch talents.

Finally, Tom Pidcock (GBR) wrapped up the weekend with a historic win, making him the first British Elite UCI Cyclo-cross World Champion a few months after he became a Mountain Bike Olympic Champion.

Men Junior: Christen’s power

The first race of the day featured 34 riders from 15 nations, and one big favourite: David Haverdings, winner of all rounds of the 2021-2022 Junior Men UCI Cyclo-cross World Cup. The young Dutchman came to Fayetteville with the hope of following the tracks of his compatriot Mathieu Van der Poel, a two time winner of the event. The racing didn’t go according to Haverdings’ plans as he suffered a crash while his Belgian rival Aaron Dockx was pushing the pace on a downhill. Four riders were in the lead at the end of the second lap: Dockx, Nathan Smith (GBR), Corentin Lequet (FRA) and Andrew August (USA).

More contenders came back on the third lap but Dockx put in another dig at the front while Haverdings was trailing by half a minute. Only Smith and Jan Christen (SUI) joined the Belgian into the fourth lap.

After an intense couple of laps, it all came down to a three-man sprint. Dockx opened up, but Christen unleashed impressive power to become the seventh Swiss rider to claim the rainbow stripes in the Men Junior event of the UCI Cyclo-cross Worlds, the first since 1998. Dockx took silver, centimetres ahead of Smith.

“It was really hard”, Christen said. “I was thinking Aaron is strong in the sprint, and I focused on the last lap. I went all in and I won, I’m really happy. I had one goal in the season, the Worlds, this is amazing.”

Women Under 23: Pieterse wins an Oranje thriller

One of the most anticipated races of the winter brought together 23 talented young riders (representing 12 nations), including the three Dutchwomen who have dominated the season: Fem van Empel (the defending champion in the category), Puck Pieterse, and Shirin van Anrooij.

France’s Amandine Fouquenet set the pace early in the race and a front group quickly emerged, until Van Anrooij put the hammer down on the second lap. Pieterse was right on her wheel, but Van Empel was forced to chase with Line Burquier (FRA).

Van Empel bridged the gap on the fourth lap but lost contact again when she had to put her foot down on a steep section followed by a tight turn. She still managed to make her way back again on the 38 steps that characterise the Fayetteville circuit!

Tension was running high as the three Dutch rising stars went together into the final lap. Pieterse found herself alone in the lead when Van Empel hit her back wheel on the same tricky slopes where she had previously stepped down, this time with Van Anrooij blocked behind her. Van Empel’s chain was dropped, forcing her out of the battle for gold.

Although Van Anrooij made an impressive comeback ahead of the final stretch, Pieterse managed to narrowly hold her off on the line! Fem van Empel took the bronze medal with a gap of 13’’.

“It was such a weird race”, Pieterse described. “We kept overtaking each other but no one could really get away. There was a really tricky corner, and I heard my team shout that I had a gap, so I just went from there. Just before the last pit zone, Shirin came into my wheel, and I knew it would be a sprint. I just went all out. I didn’t know if I had it at first, because it was so close but I’m really happy to take it. It’s really cool to be on the podium with two other Dutch girls.”

Men Elite: Pidcock goes solo

Excitement was maintained at the highest level for the final event of the UCI Worlds, with 36 riders from 14 nations battling for gold. Many eyes were on Belgium’s Eli Iserbyt, dominant across the whole 2021-2022 UCI Cyclo-cross World Cup, and the versatile Tom Pidcock (GBR), chasing another rainbow jersey after he already conquered the cyclo-cross stripes as a Junior (2017) and an Under 23 (2019) rider.

A race of attrition gradually brought nine strong men to the front after three laps: Pidcock, Iserbyt and four more Belgian riders (Michael Vanthourenhout, Laurens Sweeck, Toon Aerts and Daan Soete), Dutchmen Lars van der Haar and Corné van Kessel, and France’s Clément Venturini.

The British star made the most of his skills and explosivity to open up a gap on the fourth lap. Iserbyt set off in pursuit, but the gap was up to 22’’ at the end of the fifth lap, with Venturini, Sweeck, Vanthourenhout and Van der Haar back with the Belgian star.

European Champion Van der Haar upped the pace on the seventh lap. Only Iserbyt could follow the Dutchman, but Pidcock’s stellar ride - leading to a spectacular ‘Superman’ celebration - meant the chasing duo would have to battle for the silver medal.

Van der Haar eventually crossed the line in second position, 30’’ behind Pidcock, and Iserbyt made sure Belgium put a rider on the podium of the Men Elite race for the 25th year in a row.

“The Belgians were trying to ride a tactical race”, Pidcock observed. “I found my opportunity and I made it stick. With Mathieu (Van der Poel) and Wout (van Aert) not being here, I think it became even harder to win the race. Everyone expects the race to be easier, but you can’t go in with that mentality. It’s gonna be super hard, no matter who’s in the race. We came here with a plan, we stuck to the process and it turned out good in the end.”