Inside Cyclocross #29

Three more weekends of cyclocross racing! This week some background on post-worlds racing, the 2025-26 World Cup schedule and a refection on the Belgian performance in Lievin.

The World Championships may be over, but the cyclocross season continues for three more weekends! While the February races are getting creative to attract spectators, the schedule for the 2025-26 season is slowly taking form as well. We cover the release of the World Cup schedule and the position of Kortrijk.

We've also received questions about the future of Inside Cyclocross beyond the season's end. We plan to continue with between 2 and 4 updates per month, though the format may be altered a bit. Depending on how much news there is, we will temporarily shift toward long read articles, each providing in depth analysis of a single topic.

---

Cyclocross World Cup Calendar Announced

The UCI has announced the complete schedule of the 2025-26 Cyclocross World Cup. While the calendar has no surprises, it’s disappointing to see even more Belgian races on the schedule.

By Noah van Putten

The final round of this years World Cup - BeyondHorizonMedia

The schedule for the 2025-26 Cyclocross World Cup largely aligns with what we reported in early December. As expected, Tábor returns to the calendar, replacing Hulst, which will host the World Championships next year. Cabras, after this year’s canceled edition, is back as previously announced, while Flamanville takes over Besançon’s slot. The only real surprise is Koksijde’s return to the World Cup, replacing Dublin.

Dublin’s departure isn’t unexpected. As we reported after race in December, there were already doubts about its viability in 2024. Spectator attendance had declined after its first edition, making it difficult for organizers to break even.

Koksijde’s return, however, is more unexpected. The venue left the World Cup a few years ago to gain more control over its event. They complained about the high costs and restrictive scheduling and sponsorship conditions imposed by the series. Its inclusion also violates UCI regulations, which state that no country may host more than half of the World Cup events. With seven of the twelve rounds now in Belgium, that rule has been ignored.

Fem van Empel in Hoogerheide - BeyondHorizonMedia

This isn’t the first time the regulation has been disregarded, and in the grand scheme, swapping Hulst for Koksijde makes little difference. While Hulst has a Dutch flag to its name, it sits just across the Belgian border and attracts mostly Belgian spectators.

Dublin’s disappearance is a significant setback for Flanders Classics. Since the World Cup reform, they have taken pride in their mission to internationalize cyclocross, aiming to bring the sport back to its core countries one step at a time. Their further ambitions to expand into new markets like the UK, US, and Asia have stalled.

While the World Cup has made some progress in re-establishing itself in traditional cyclocross nations with events in Cabras and Benidorm, its continued reliance on Belgian races highlights the sport’s ongoing struggles with international expansion. Organizers outside Belgium often face financial challenges in meeting the high costs of hosting a World Cup event.

Once, there was supposed to be a Canadian World Cup - BeyondHorizonMedia

Flanders Classics maintains that interest in the World Cup remains strong beyond Belgium. This winter, their CEO told HLN that multiple venues are eager to join the calendar, but they are waiting for the sport to be "ready." However, given that their current schedule already ignores UCI guidelines, it’s hard to believe this statement applies to European venues.

The World Cup has seen worse calendars in the past and can bounce back from this. However, the initial optimism about slowly regrowing the sport has vanished.

Cyclocross World Cup 2025-26

Sunday, November 23: Tabor (Czechia)

Sunday, November 30: Flamanville (France)

Sunday, December 7: Cabras (Italy)

Sunday, December 14: Namur (Belgium)

Saturday, December 20: Antwerp (Belgium)

Sunday, December 21: Koksijde (Belgium)

Friday, December 26: Gavere (Belgium)

Sunday, December 28: Dendermonde (Belgium)

Sunday, January 4: Zonhoven (Belgium)

Sunday, January 18: Benidorm (Spain)

Saturday, January 24: Maasmechelen (Belgium)

Sunday, January 25: Hoogerheide (Netherlands)

---

Urban Cross Kortijk Negotiating Future With Golazo

Last week, the first concept of the 2025-26 Cyclocross calendar was published on the UCI website. As there are still many gaps on the schedule, we will cover the calendar more extensively in a few weeks' time. For now, the most interesting thing to note is the absence of the Urban Cross Kortrijk from the schedule.

By Noah van Putten

Urban Cross Kortrijk - YefriFotos

Founded in 2019, the Urban Cross Kortrijk is one of a kind. The race takes place on an atypical course, right in the city center of Kortrijk. The race, praised for its ability to allow spectators to combine shopping with cyclocross, drew large crowds in its first edition.

The number of 10,000 spectators, however, steadily declined over the years. Following a move from the X2O Trophy to the Exact Cross Series, just 3,000 people attended the race. Still, the city wants to retain the race for city marketing purposes. Sports alderman Wouter Allijns told Het Nieuwsblad: “Kortrijk is 'cycling-minded.' We proved that with the Urban Cross and the start of Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne, which we have organized on the Grote Markt since last year.”

To revitalize the event, the city is “keeping all options open.” Allijns speculated that the race could become a night race, with several artists performing, to create a festival atmosphere like in Diegem. At the core of his argument, however, was a new date for his race, preferably one in the Christmas period.

Van Aert’s personal sponsor Caps is one of the drivers behind the race - YefriFotos

What Allijns didn’t mention was that his race will need to find a new date regardless of his own wishes. The traditional dates of Kortrijk, the final or penultimate Saturday of November, have become protected UCI World Cup weekends. On these weekends, the UCI holds jurisdiction over which other races will take place on the calendar. As this regulation was implemented to reduce the power of Belgian races, it’s hard to imagine Kortrijk being granted one of these dates.

The remaining options for Kortrijk are scarce. A move to early or late in the season is unlikely in the context of reducing spectator numbers. The Christmas schedule in Belgium is already packed, but there are a few remaining spaces for them. Friday, the second of January, between Baal and Gullegem, is still free. The 24th of December is also free, but Belgian organizers typically don’t like this date as it conflicts with Christmas Eve.

The venue of the Urban Cross - YefriFotos

Finally, if the race opts for the night race option, any Friday in the season would become available. In football, Friday nights are often used for matches. If Kortrijk wants to try a completely new concept, this could be an option.

In our opinion, if Kortrijk continues as a race organizer, the second of January is the most likely option. With Koksijde moving to the World Cup, there is at least one open slot in the X2O Trophy. A move back to this classification could further help revitalize this event.

---

Belgian Cycling Not Concerned About Future After 2025 World Championships

Belgium’s performance at the 2025 Cyclocross World Championships in Liévin was far from triumphant for Belgian standards. For Belgium, a country that prides itself on its deep-rooted cyclocross tradition, left France without a world title and “just” two medals in the youth categories. The fifth place in the medal standings resulted in some panic in the Belgian media, but the federation insisted there was no reason to panic.

By Noah van Putten

The Belgian team in action - BeyondHorizonMedia

For the second year in a row, Belgium didn’t win a world title at the Cyclocross World Championships. While this outcome was somewhat expected, TV pundits Paul Herygers and Ruben van Gucht placed critical remarks about the Belgian future: “Thibau Nys graduated from the cyclocross university here, but another conclusion is that we again don’t win a gold medal. In the youth categories, we don’t have a top tier striker, like Del Grosso or Agostinacchio, to win the races. We don’t have many riders ready to make the step, especially in the women’s category.

Despite the critique, Belgian Cycling refuses to wallow in disappointment. High-Performance Director Arne Wallays dismisses the idea that the event was a debacle. “We still took home four medals—two in the professional ranks and two in the U23 category. Calling that a weak championship is a stretch.”