The Christmas period on the ground will soon be over. It started on Saturday December 21 in Hulst, the Netherlands, with a World Cup and will also end with a cross in this regularity classification, but in Dendermonde. Who and what can we expect there on Sunday January 5? Under the leader’s jersey discover!
The Dendermonde cross has only been on the calendar since 2020 and did not have an audience on site for the first two weeks due to the coronavirus. Organizer Jurgen Mettepenningen – also team leader of Pauwels Sauzen-Cibel – was naturally very keen on this idea, but he continued anyway. Fortunately, the riders were there to give the viewer what they needed, with Wout van Aert and Lucinda Brand winning the first two editions.
In the winter of 2022/2023, cross country took a year off, but by the end of 2023 it definitely had its place in the final cross season. We witnessed a real mud spectacle there, where Pim Ronhaar achieved a magnificent cross. Ceylin del Carmen Alvarado managed to win among the women.
Dendermonde, winner of the last World Cup
2023/2024 Pim Ronhaar / Ceylin del Carmen Alvarado
2021/2022 Wout van Aert / Marcus Lucinda
2020/2021 Wout van Aert / Marcus Lucinda
Route, weather and timetables World Cup Dendermonde 2025
The organization of the World Cup in Dendermonde has set up a beautiful technical course, which should provide the necessary spectacle. The approximately 2,600 meter long circuit actually contains a bit of everything: stairs, a washboard, a bridge, steeply ascending strips, a sandpit and cobblestones. A real cross.
The 2020 edition will still be remembered by many cycling fans. The race then turned into an apocalyptic mud fest and it’s not unlikely that something similar will happen this year, given recent weather conditions.
Weather report
The temperature on Sunday will be 10 degrees Celsius, which is slightly higher than in recent days. However, a lot of precipitation is expected overnight from Saturday to Sunday, which will also have an impact on the route. The wind will also be quite strong.
Times
Women’s departure: 1:40 p.m.
Arrival Women: around 2:30 p.m.
Men’s departure: 3:10 p.m.
Arrival for men: around 4:15 p.m.
Favorites Women’s World Cup Dendermonde 2025
The Big Four are present “normally” in the ladies, so we can once again prepare for a difficult cross-country match. F. seems to be one of themem d’Empel currently have the greatest chance of victory, as they have in recent weeks in roll East. Visma Dutch | Lease a Bike had to skip a few races at the end of December, but then came back very strongly.
Marcus Lucinda (Baloise Glowi Lions) and Ceylin del Carmen Alvarado (Fenix-Deceuninck) know what it means to win in Dendermonde and will therefore have Dendermonde in their sights, even if they will also have to pull out all the stops on Saturday in Gullegem to fight for first place in the Superprestige. Maybe Puck Pieterse (Fenix-Deceuninck), still looking for his first victory, therefore benefits from the freshness.
Zoé Backstedt (Canyon//SRAM) can certainly express its capabilities in the mud of Dendermonde, as it already showed last year with a second place. Additionally, we can use fixed values such as Marie Schreiber In Blanka Vas (SD Worx-Protime), Manon Bakker, Sanne Cant and Marion Norbert Riberolle (Crelan-Corendon).
Favorite: Fem van Empel (Visma | Rent a bike)
Foreigners: Lucinda Brand (Baloise Glowi Lions) and Ceylin del Carmen Alvarado (Fenix-Deceuninck)
Long shots: Puck Pieterse (Fenix-Deceuninck), Zoe Backstedt (Canyon//SRAM), Marie Schreiber et Blanka Vas (SD Worx-Protime)
Favorites Men’s World Cup Dendermonde 2025
No Mathieu van der Poel: the Dutchman still has too much pain in his ribs after his fall in Loenhout. Who will definitely be there is Wout van Aert. The Belgian from Visma | Lease a Bike won the first two editions in Dendermonde and, thanks to its characteristics, it is once again a major competitor. When it comes to abilities, we usually see it popping up somewhere in the forefront.
If there is a team that will start with a knife between its teeth, it will be Pauwels Sauzen-Cibel. Team leader Jurgen Mettepenningen is the organizer of the cyclocross in Dendermonde and therefore hopes in his wildest dreams for a victory. Michael Vanthourenhout of That is to say Iserbyt. While Vanthourenhout will race for the first time this calendar year due to illness, Iserbyt has already won the New Year’s cross in Baal.
The Baloise Glowi Lions also presents itself at the start with the necessary tenors. Pim Ronhaar as the outgoing winner, Lars van der Haar as last season’s number two and Thibau Nys as a man who, with his abilities on the road, should also be able to do his job on circuits like this.
There are others like that. Crelan-Corendon has with Laurens SweeckEmiel Verstrynge and Joran Wyseure are also three distinguished guests in the ranks, where Deschacht-Hens-FSP (Toon Aerts) and Ridley (Felipe Orts) would prefer to rely on a single driver to achieve a result. What a field of participants, in short! fem v
Favorite: Wout van Aert (Visma | Lease a Bike) and Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Deceuninck) participants
Foreigners: Michael Vanthourenhout (Pauwels Sauzen-Cibel) and Thibau Nys (Baloise Glowi Lions)
Long shots: Pim Ronhaar (Baloise Glowi Lions), Toon Aerts (Deschacht-Hens-FSP), Laurens Sweeck (Crelan-Corendon) et Eli Iserbyt (Pauwels Sauzen-Cibel)
TV World Cup Dendermonde 2025
The World Cup round in Dendermonde can be followed live on several channels. Sporzawill be on VRT1 from 1:30 p.m. The same goes for the international sports channel Eurosportwho appeared both on television (Eurosport1) and via online channels (HBO Max) provides live images.
