The last round of 2023 and the first battles of the new year delivered fireworks ahead of the season’s final events.
Women Elite: Pieterse lights up the festive season
There is little doubt as to who’s the woman in form at the turn of the year. Puck Pieterse, the young and versatile Dutch rider from Fenix-Deceuninck has won the last three rounds of the UCI Cyclo-cross World Cup: in Gavere (Belgium) on 26 December, Hulst (the Netherlands) on 30 December and Zonhoven (Belgium) on 7 January. Each time the racing was watched by tens of thousands of spectators – 22,000 in Hulst and 16,000 in Zonhoven.
Pieterse’s most recent victory was also marked by “a bit of bad luck and a bit of luck”, as she put it after she powered to success ahead of Inge van der Heijden (Crelan-Corendon), who claimed her best result ever in the UCI Cyclo-cross World Cup, and Zoe Bäckstedt (Canyon-Sram), who steps on the Elite podium for the third time this season, at 19 years old.
“I had a flat on the first uphill and the chase took a bit of energy out of me”, Pieterse explained. “Lucinda [Brand] had a gap. And suddenly I saw her standing on a corner. I thought she had a mechanical or something and a few corners later she wasn’t there anymore, so it was a bit of luck on my side but I hope everything is fine with Lucinda.”
The winner in Dublin (Ireland) and Flamanville (France) earlier this season, Brand was leading the way before she crashed with her head hitting the muddy ground. She quickly got back up but had to withdraw, as Pieterse moved past her in the overall rankings, with a tally of 260 points against 237. Second in Hulst, Ceylin Alvarado (Alpecin-Deceuninck) still leads the way with 312 points.
Men Elite: Van der Poel “super happy”
Versatile Dutch talents are once again proving to be successful, with Mathieu Van der Poel (Alpecin-Deceuninck) also offering delightful masterclasses in the Men Elite races. After Pieterse, the reigning UCI World Champion in cyclo-cross and on the road tamed the Zonhoven circuit, extending his string of UCI Cyclo-cross World Cup successes after previous wins in Antwerpen (Belgium, December 23), Gavere and Hulst.
“I’m always happy to win of course and I felt quite ok,” the Dutchman reflected after another solo victory, in Zonhoven, ahead of his compatriot Joris Nieuwenhuis (Baloise Trek Lions), who had already finished second in Hulst, and Laurens Sweeck (Crelan-Corendon), who steps onto the podium again a couple of months after his last top-3 in the UCI Cyclo-cross World Cup, in Dendermonde (Belgium). “I’m super happy with how this part of the cyclo-cross season went. I can go to Spain now and work on my shape,” Van der Poel added.
MVDP has won the ten cyclo-cross races he’s competed in this season. And he finished the last season with three victories, including his fifth – and fourth consecutive - Men Elite rainbow jersey in the discipline.
In the overall standings, Nieuwenhuis moves closer to Eli Iserbyt (Pauwels Sauzen-Bingoal), 6th in Zonhoven where he was still recovering from illness that saw him pull out of the Hulst round. The Belgian leader is up to 295 points. Nieuwenhuis has 275 and Pim Ronhaar (Baloise Trek Lions) follows with 260.
The last battles of the season
After an intense festive season, the UCI Cyclo-cross World Cup takes a two-week break between Zonhoven and Benidorm (Spain), where the season’s penultimate round promises exhilarating battles. Adrenaline will be coursing, with high stakes on a modern circuit that witnessed shows of pure class last year from the likes of Van der Poel, Fem van Empel, Wout van Aert, Pieterse, Thibau Nys, Lauren Molengraaf…
The stars of the youth classes will also resume UCI Cyclo-cross World Cup action in Spain, after they last battled in Antwerpen. With extremely tight standings and two rounds out of six (riders are then classified based on their five best results) still to be raced, everything is still at play.
Men Under 23: winner in Troyes (France), Dublin (Ireland) and Antwerpen (Belgium), Tibor del Grosso (NED) has 120 points after he skipped the Namur round. Emiel Vestrynge (BEL), who powered to victory on that occasion, trails by 4 points.
Women Junior: Great Britain’s Cat Ferguson has racked up two victories and a total of 131 points, while France’s Célia Géry has two victories and 130 points.
Men Junior: winner of the last two rounds, Aubin Sparfel (FRA) is up to 126 points, just behind Italy’s Stefano Viezzi (132 pts), winner of the first two rounds.
The final round of the 2023-2024 UCI Cyclo-cross World Cup will take place in Hoogerheide (the Netherlands) on 28 January before riders head to Tábor (Czechia) to battle for the rainbow jerseys at the 2024 UCI Cyclo-cross World Championships (2-4 February).