The 2026 UCI cyclocross world championships in Hulst, Netherlands, kicks off Friday with the Mixed Team Relay. Thirteen nations are entered, including Canada, which finished seventh in the 2025 edition in Lievin.
Each nation’s team in the Mixed Relay is made up of six riders. There is one elite or under-23 man, one under-23 or junior man, one junior man, and the same pattern for the women. This ensures a mix of juniors, under-23s, and elites in every team. The fun part is if you win you get a rainbow jersey you can never, ever wear. (Apart from coffeeshop rides.)
Coaches can run the riders in whatever order they choose. It can get interesting when different categories ride against each other. The elite men are obviously always the fastest–but things can get interesting toward the end. In 2024 France’s junior male rider Aubin Sparfel held off Great Britain’s elite rider Cameron Mason in a final‑lap sprint to the line. Mason caught the Frenchman toward the end, but he managed to hang on his wheel and outkick him to the line.
Hulst offers a course unlike any regular world championships circuit. Organizer Bram De Brauwer said to Wielerflits, “It is a course that we have not seen often and which will not often come back at a World Cup in the coming years.” Riders will face five pontoons over water, seven bridges, and multiple climbs along the historic fortifications. The new sections through a meadow near the city park allow for high-speed riding but also create opportunities for tactical gains if the weather softens the ground.
Canada’s team is: Alexa Haviland (junior women), Nico Knoll (under-23 women), Sidney McGill (elite women), Emilien Belzile (junior men), Rhett Bates (under-23 man), and Cody Scott (elite man).
While the Netherlands and Great Britain remain favorites, there can be surprises. The Dutch are led by Tibor Del Grosso and Shirin Van Anrooij, with the Brits having riders like Zoe Bäckstedt and Mason on the team.
You can watch the Canucks go for glory on Friday on FloBikes.com, starting at 7:35 a.m. EST. If you miss it, check back here on Canadian Cycling Magazine for a full report and results.
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