Lucinda Brand and Mathieu van der Poel are very much in control as the Kerstperiode gets underway.
Kristof Ramon, Cor Vos
The Kerstperiode is here, at long last. The festive fortnight of cyclocross this year spans from 20th December to 4th January; it’s the pinnacle of the ‘cross season with 12 races across 16 days, many of them among the most distinctive and iconic courses on the calendar.
This weekend kicked things off with a World Cup doubleheader at the port city of Antwerp, up near the Dutch border, and the seaside town of Koksijde on the West Flemish coast, about two hours’ drive away. Both are notable for their sand, particularly Sunday’s race that is known as ‘Duinencross’, i.e. cyclocross of the dunes. Both are awash with CX history.
Another page was to be written this weekend as world champion Mathieu van der Poel was joined by lifetime rival Wout van Aert a week on from the Dutchman’s own victorious – but close-run – debut at Namur. And in the women’s field, remarkably, both events provided an opportunity for a first-time win for Lucinda Brand, rider of the season so far and World Cup leader in waiting.
At the top of the series standings before Antwerp were Aniek van Alphen, built on a consistent season including victory at Flamanville, and Belgian national champion Thibau Nys who won the first two rounds but sacrificed a slew of points by skipping the third. Neither one’s lead was large, Van Alphen least of all with just a single point separating her from Brand who had won all three rounds she started. In short, though the results may have been a foregone conclusion, it was an important weekend for all sorts of reasons.
This weekend’s World Cup results:Antwerp ‘Scheldecross’ (Saturday 20 Dec) – Lucinda Brand and Mathieu van der PoelKoksijde ‘Duinencross’ (Sunday 21 Dec) – Lucinda Brand and Mathieu van der PoelYou always have to keep believing … It’s a bit like me racing against Tadej Pogačar on the road.”
– Van der Poel tried to offer a bit of hope to his rivals after taking ownership of Antwerp on Saturday
Coming up this Kerstperiode:Monday December 22 – X2O Hofstade ‘Plage Cross’Tuesday December 23 – Superprestige Heusden-ZolderFriday December 26 – World Cup GavereSunday December 28 – World Cup DendermondeMonday December 29 – X2O Loenhout AzencrossTuesday December 30 – Superprestige Diegem (night!)Thursday January 1 – X2O Baal ‘GP Sven Nys’Friday January 2 – Exact Cross Mol ‘Zilvermeercross’Saturday January 3 – Superprestige GullegemSunday January 4 – World Cup Zonhoven
We’ll have two more bumper Kerstperiode galleries on December 28 and January 4.
First things first: World Cup Antwerp, or ‘Scheldecross’, as in the river beside which the course sits, which has been on the calendar since 2005 (as Belgian National Champs in January 2020 and cancelled due to Covid-19 in ’21). This weekend saw the return of age-group categories to the World Cup, with the juniors getting an outing at both Antwerp and Koksijde, and the under-23 men racing their own race on Sunday (round three of six).
Niels Albert won on the Scheldecross course three times, twice during the regular season, and one national championship. Particularly notably – for the purpose of this gallery – was his final victory on the River Scheldt in December 2013. He came up against an 18-year-old Dutchman by the name of Mathieu van der Poel who was racing his very first elite ‘cross event, and with whom Albert was so impressed as to applaud the runner-up as he crossed the line. Albert was forced to retire just six months later at the age of 28 due to a heart problem.
Van der Poel went on to win the U23 World Cup series ahead of Wout van Aert, the pair of them winning four and two of the seven rounds, Michael Vanthourenhout clinching round 1 in Valkenburg. Van der Poel only finished off the podium in three of 28 appearances, winning 12.
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