{"id":235814,"date":"2025-10-31T11:36:27","date_gmt":"2025-10-31T11:36:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/235814\/"},"modified":"2025-10-31T11:36:27","modified_gmt":"2025-10-31T11:36:27","slug":"eurotrash-our-cyclocross-season-primer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/235814\/","title":{"rendered":"EUROTRASH: Our Cyclocross Season Primer"},"content":{"rendered":"

PEZ\u2019 cycling news roundup \u2014 with a special cyclocross flavor (with road spice, of course). Plus a look at rising star Paul Seixas\u2019 social media; does it tell us whether he\u2019ll race the Tour next year?<\/p>\n

TOP STORY:\u00a0<\/p>\n

What to Expect this Cyclocross Season<\/p>\n

RACE NEWS<\/p>\n

Poga\u010dar & Ferrand-Pr\u00e9vot Scheduled for BEKING 2025
\nVuelta Route Presentation Coming in December<\/p>\n

RIDER & TEAM NEWS<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
\nLidl Acquires Majority Stake in Lidl-Trek
\nBrazilian Rider Sanctioned by UCD
\nWhat Can We Learn from\u2026Paul Seixas\u2019 Instagram?<\/p>\n

\"TOP<\/p>\n

What to Expect this Cyclocross Season<\/p>\n

A pattern has emerged in the cyclocross world: A coterie of pure crossers spends the first several races battling for podiums, and thus for world cup points \u2014 until the Triumverate of Doom shows up.<\/p>\n

We came up with that moniker because we already used \u201cBig Three\u201d to describe the trio of dominant riders during the road season. But really that Triumverate is now the Duo of Doom, as Tom Pidcock has \u2014 improbably \u2014 committed himself largely to the road, with a sprinkling of mountain bike races.<\/p>\n

Yes, guys hailing almost exclusively from Belgium and the Netherlands will once again trade blows weekend after weekend \u2014 until their countrymen Wout van Aert and Mathieu van der Poel, respectively, show up and deliver knockout punches.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a> <\/p>\n

As most of our responding readers requested that PEZ continue to cover cyclocross, we thought we\u2019d offer a primer on this just-started season:<\/p>\n

As ever, the UCI World Cup calendar, spread over 12 rounds from November into January, will host classic venues like Tabor, Namur, Koksijde, Gavere, Zonhoven and Hoogerheide.\u00a0 From one weekend to the next, you can follow contenders for the overall World Cup title, including Michael Vanthourenhout (Pauwels Sauzen\u2013Bingoal), who is off to a strong start. Others include perennial contender Eli Iserbyt (Pauwels Sauzen\u2013Bingoal), veteran Laurens Sweeck (Crelan\u2013Corendon), Toon Aerts (Lotto), and Joris Nieuwenhuis (Baloise Trek Lions), who won the first race of the season, Exact Cross Heerderstrand.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Fan favorites include \u2018cross scion Thibau Nys (Lidl\u2013Trek), whom you\u2019ll recognize from the road; Felipe Orts Lloret, whose gutsy, aggressive riding (and the fact that he\u2019s neither Belgian nor Dutch) has won many aficionados\u2019 hearts; and Niels Vandeputte (Alpecin\u2013Deceuninck), whom a lot of people like because they mistake him for Mathieu van der Poel.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Niels Vandeputte <\/p>\n

The UK\u2019s Cameron Mason (Seven Racing) often features highly, while the U.S. really fields no contending riders at all this year. Road racing fans will also recognize sprinter Tim Merlier (Soudal Quick-Step), who started his career on \u2018cross courses.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a> <\/p>\n

\"\"Cameron Mason<\/p>\n

Again, though, all of this changes when the Duo of Doom shows up. MVDP has been utterly dominant, winning six of the last seven world titles, failing to win only in 2022 \u2014 when he didn\u2019t show up, leaving the top podium step to Pidcock, who won on a very strange course in Fayetteville, AR.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Van der Poel winning 2025 Worlds<\/p>\n

Sticking with our motto \u2014\u00a0What\u2019s cool in\u00a0road cycling \u2014\u00a0we\u2019ll abide by your guidance with a bit of \u2018cross coverage \u2014 and we\u2019ll ramp it up when Wout and MVDP show up. Stay tuned!<\/p>\n

RACE NEWS<\/p>\n

Poga\u010dar & Ferrand-Pr\u00e9vot Scheduled for BEKING 2025<\/p>\n

Port Hercule, Monaco will once again host BEKING, now in its fifth edition. World Champion Tadej Poga\u010dar and multi-title winner Pauline Ferrand-Pr\u00e9vot will race through the streets of the Principality.<\/p>\n

The women\u2019s field features Ur\u0161ka \u017digart, Elena Cecchini, Anna Trevisi, and Ferrand-Pr\u00e9vot, winner of the Tour de France Femmes and world champion in several disciplines, including road cycling, mountain bike cross-country and cyclo-cross. Also competing will be Lorena Wiebes, one of the world\u2019s fastest sprinters; Anna van der Breggen, a living legend who has won multiple world titles; and Kasia Niewiadoma, who won the Tour de France Femmes 2024 and the Tour de Romandie.<\/p>\n

Alongside the host and tireless driving force behind the event, Matteo Trentin, the men\u2019s peloton will include World Champion and G.O.A.T. Tadej Poga\u010dar; 2025 Tour de France Green Jersey winner Jonathan Milan; and Italian climber Giulio Ciccone. The men\u2019s line-up also features stars such as Matej Mohori\u010d (winner of the 2022 Milano\u2013Sanremo race), Tim Wellens (stage winner in Carcassonne at the 2022 Tour de France), Steven Kruijswijk, Lennert Van Eetvelt, Nicolas Vinokurov, Robert Stannard, Jensen Plowright, Sam Welsford, Wout Poels, Jan Tratnik, Danny van Poppel, Kevin Vauquelin, Axel Zingle, Matt Dinham, Laurens De Plus, Michael Matthews, Oscar Chamberlain and Larry Warbasse.<\/p>\n

BEKING once again confirms its mission of bringing together sport and solidarity, transforming passion for cycling into powerful support for social and charitable projects and engaging the public in an experience that goes beyond the race itself.<\/p>\n

\"Beking<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"vuelta\"<\/p>\n

Vuelta Route Presentation Coming in December<\/p>\n

On December 17th at 7 pm, Unipublic will present the route of La Vuelta 26 from Monte Carlo. This will include host cities of all 21 stages of the August 22-September 13 edition.<\/p>\n

This is an invitation-only event, so watch PEZ for all the facts, figures and feelings on the Vuelta \u201926 curso!<\/p>\n

RIDER AND TEAM NEWS<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Lidl Acquires Majority Stake in Lidl-Trek<\/p>\n

German discount grocery chain Lidl has acquired a majority stake in Lidl-Trek. Trek Bicycle will retain a significant stake in this joint partnership. The parties have indicated that the investment is intended to enable development of the \u201cnumber one road cycling team.\u201d<\/p>\n

This announcment, coming on the heels of Lidl-Trek\u2019s annual October training camp, took place at the Lidl Germany headquarters in Bad Wimpfen. Over 160 Lidl-Trek employees, including the male and female riders of the men\u2019s, women\u2019s, and development teams, gathered there for the official start of the 2026 season preparations. The team camp, which ran from October 20-24, is the first gathering for Lidl-Trek\u2019s new roster, including athletes who will represent the team for the first time in January.<\/p>\n

Roger Gierhart, Vice President of Trek Bicycle, said: \u201cExpanding the partnership between Trek and Lidl is the perfect way to cap off an incredible season on the road for Lidl-Trek. Together, we have the resources, tools and expertise to take this team to the very top of the sport.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"
Brazilian Rider Sanctioned by UCD<\/p>\n

The Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) has santioned Brazilian rider Vinicius Rangel Costa has been sanctioned for violating its rule that riders be available for testing. Costa failed to disclose his location three times in a year, and will be ineligible to compete for 20. months.<\/p>\n

The UCI delegated its anti-doping program to the International Testing Agency (ITA) in January 2021, while retaining results management and the prosecution of anti-doping rules violations. Since then, cycling\u2019s clean sport efforts have been led by the ITA Cycling Unit, which is dedicated specifically to all disciplines of cycling.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

What Can We Learn from\u2026Paul Seixas\u2019 Instagram?<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Will he or won\u2019t he? It\u2019s the question vexing the cycling world as it searches for a solution to Poga\u010dar\u2019s domination: Will 19 year-old French phenom Paul Seixas ride the Tour next year?<\/p>\n

In search of clues, we consulted his Instagram feed<\/a>, where we found\u2026not a clue.<\/p>\n

We also didn\u2019t find references to sponsors, photos of girlfriends, shots of surfing or golfing \u2014 any of the non-on-bike content that we\u2019ve seen on other riders. Instead, this seems \u2014 for now \u2014 just to be a kid who loves riding and racing his bike and is thrilled to be doing so at a high level.<\/p>\n

We\u2019ll keep looking for those clues.<\/p>\n

(Oh \u2014 and to those of you who requested cyclocross content: Looks like Seixas can bunny-hop barriers with the best of them!)<\/p>\n

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