Troyes, France is the only new host city in the 14 rounds of the 2023-2024 UCI Cyclo-cross World Cup, the UCI announced on Wednesday. The season will begin on October 15 in Waterloo, Wisconsin and conclude January 28, 2024 in Hoogerheide, Netherlands.
One of the notable of four events not returning to the lineup is Fayetteville, Arkansas, which has hosted two rounds of the global series and the World Championships in the past three seasons. While a US race has launched the World Cup series seven of the last eight years, it is the first time since Las Vegas, Nevada was the lone venue for the series back in 2015. Gone by the wayside are venues in Nevada, Iowa and now Arkansas.
Rumours swirled about the UCI and organisers Flanders Classics adding events in London and New York, but neither city made the calendar.
Other departures in the series this year are Beekse Bergen in the Netherlands, Bensançon in France and Tábor in the Czech Republic, which will be the host venue for the 2024 UCI Cyclocross World Championships, February 2-4.
Troyes, which hosts round four on November 19, sits on the Seine river in the Champagne-Ardennes region of France. In close proximity to Paris, 150km away, Troyes was the site for two rounds of the Coupe de France Cyclocross series last season.
Belgian races in Dendermonde and Namur return to the calendar after one-year absences, as well as Hoogerheide, after the Dutch city hosted the most recent World Championships. For Namur, it will mark a 12th time as a World Cup host.
Returning from last season are four Belgian races – Maasmechelen, Antwerp, Gavere and Zonhoven. The round in Hulst in the Netherlands moves from November to the end of December, while a lineup before the Christmas season returns to Dublin, Ireland, then Flamanville, France, and Val di Sole, Italy.
The elite men’s overall winner of last year’s UCI Cyclocross World Cup was Laurens Sweeck (Crelan-Fristads), while the women’s division was a close battle between under-23 riders, Fem van Empel (Jumbo-Visma) winning seven events and taking the title by a slim five points over Puck Pieterse (Alpecin-Deceuninck).
Five rounds will include dedicated races for the UCI World Cup youth categories (Men under-23, Men Junior and Women Junior) – Troyes, Dublin, Namur, Antwerp and Hoogerheide.
2023-2024 UCI Cyclocross World Cup Schedule
- Round 1: October 15, 2023, Waterloo, Wisconsin (USA)
- Round 2: October 29, 2023, Maasmechelen (Belgium)
- Round 3: November 12, 2023, Dendermonde…
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