The 2022-2023 cyclo-cross season unfurled with a two-race UCI World Cup swing in the United States this month and the stampede for points began with an unexpected haul by 20-year-old Fem van Empel (Pauwels Sauzen-Bingoal) on the elite women’s side. Her teammate Eli Iserbyt began where he left off as last year’s World Cup elite men’s overall winner by sweeping the pair of US races in Waterloo, Wisconsin and Fayetteville, Arkansas.
Van Empel scored back-to-back victories in the opening rounds for elite women by outsprinting former World Champions, first Ceylin del Carmen Alvarado (Alpecin-Deceuninck) at Waterloo and then Lucinda Brand (Baloise Trek Lions) at Fayetteville. The World Cup leaderboard is top heavy with six Dutch women dominating the standings, and this is without World Champion Marianne Vos (Jumbo-Visma), who has not started her ‘cross campaign. Brand is currently second overall, Alvarado third, while the next three spots are taken by Annemarie Worst (777), Denise Betsema (Pauwels Sauzen-Bingoal) and Inge van der Heijden (777).
On the men’s side, it’s a Belgian stronghold in the top five spots, led by Bingoal-Pauwels Sauzen’s Eli Iserbyt and Laurens Sweeck (Crelan-Fristads) who had two runner-up finishes. Michael Vanthourenhout (Pauwels Sauzen-Bingoal) is third, while 19-year-old Thibau Nys (Baloise Trek Lions) is fourth, one point ahead of Daan Soete (Deschacht-Hens-Maes). The USA’s Eric Brunner (Blue Competition Cycles p/b Build) used his best World Cup finish, fourth in Fayetteville, to spring into sixth place.
Next on the 14-race circuit is another hefty travel transition for most of the peloton for World Cup Tabor in Czech Republic. The weather forecast will have moderate temperatures, 17 degrees Celsius on Sunday, and there is a chance of showers the day before to bring a little mud that most of the European riders had missed in the US.
A week after is World Cup Maasmechelen in Belgium and then a break for Continental Championships, the Pan American round on November 4 in Falmouth, Massachusetts and the European rounds November 5-6 in Namur, Belgium.
The top veterans should reign supreme again this season, Brand, Vos and a healthy Alvarado for the women and Wout van Aert (Jumbo-Visma), Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Deceuninck) and Tom Pidcock (Ineos Grenadiers) for the men. As the tracks dig deeper in the season, here are some of the not-so-usual suspects to watch across off-cambers, climbs and perhaps more sprint…
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