In the puzzle for the Cyclo-cross World Championships, two Dutch women compete for the last spot

National coach Gerben de Knegt wants to release the World Cup selections for the Netherlands after the Benidorm World Cup. After the Spanish cross next weekend he will make the decision. There are few surprises among the men, especially after the good National Championship performance of Joris Nieuwenhuis, but among the women the places are expensive. There are (probably) nine women allowed to go to the World Cup and there are currently ten contenders.

For the elite men and elite women, the Netherlands may send the maximum number of riders to the world championships in Liévin (France). That’s seven riders in total. As current world champions, Mathieu van der Poel and Fem van Empel have an individual starting spot. This means that the Netherlands can start with eight men and eight women.

And for women there will even be nine. “We can count on the world champion and the winner of the World Cup. Lucinda Brand will win that, without any nonsense,” the national coach expects. “That leaves us with nine starting positions, but the sum results in ten candidates. Assuming that Marianne Vos still has World Cup ambitions, and she does, and that Annemarie Worst is fit in time. That is still a question mark, because she has two broken metacarpals.”

Betsema or Van Alphen?
“Then the last place will be between Denise Betsema and Aniek van Alphen,” De Knegt acknowledges. “I told them both that the next two weeks are going to be important. I have to be honest and say that Denise did a good job at the National Championships. […] She had already been on an upward trend in recent weeks and was also good with a third place at the Dutch championship.”

“Waiting until Hoogerheide (the last Sunday before the World Cup, ed.) is not the plan, because I also want to give those who go to the World Cup a quiet preparation. So that decision must be made after Benidorm, and that is what I will do,” said the selector.

Self-critical Van Alphen understands that she is a doubtful case
It is no surprise for Aniek van Alphen that she may miss the World Cup. “I’m still trying to make the best of my season. I think I can do better and I want to show that, but I don’t have many chances anymore and I would still like to go to the World Cup. It is between Denise and me for that last spot,” confirms the number five of the National Championships.

“I understand that I am one of the inferior ones in the selection, and you have to earn it. You don’t go there because it’s fun. I will do everything I can to be at my best if I can participate,” said Van Alphen. “The National Championships and Benidorm are leading competitions. At the beginning of the season I was a little better, and now Denise is riding a little better. It is also not an easy decision for Gerben.”

In conclusion: Fem van Empel and Lucinda Brand seem to have secured an individual spot for the World Cup, allowing national coach Gerben de Knegt to appoint seven riders. These will certainly be Ceylin del Carmen Alvarado, Puck Pieterse, Manon Bakker, Inge van der Heijden, Annemarie Worst (if fit) and Marianne Vos. The last place goes to Betsema or Van Alphen. A withdrawal from the recovering Worst could also offer hope to the dropout.