He’s baaaaack.
Mathieu van der Poel is starting his ‘cross season on Sunday. And the organizers are saying his reappearance is a great thing for attendance (and ticket sales.)
Golazo, the organizer of the 2025 World CX Cup Namur, says the Belgian round is on track to break the 10,000-spectator barrier for the first time. It’s a milestone fuelled by soaring demand once van der Poel confirmed his participation.
Large crowds expected in Namur
Ticket sales jumped sharply after the announcement, organizers said. By midweek, sales were already well ahead of last year’s pace, with thousands more tickets sold than at the same point in 2024, pushing the event to the brink of a five-figure crowd, Golazo official and former pro Erwin Vervecken said in comments to Het Nieuwsblad.
The former three-time world champion also pointed to van der Poel’s track record when opening his cyclocross campaigns. Barring a single exception in the past decade, the Dutchman has typically won his first start of the winter — and often in commanding fashion, Vervecken noted.
The other ‘crossers are just as excited for van der Poel’s return as you’d expect
Namur’s demanding course, carved into steep hillsides, has long been a selective test. Vervecken suggested it suits riders with power and technical confidence, while also admitting the circuit has been a complicated chapter in van der Poel’s history.
Beyond the crowd numbers, Vervecken hopes the race delivers a true sporting measure, particularly against in-form rivals such as Thibau Nys.
Still, he warned, van der Poel rarely arrives without intent — and a motivated van der Poel tends to tilt both races and expectations.
A few others are making their debut on Sunday. Multiple world champ–although not yet in elite ‘cross, Puck Pieterse, is lining up. So too is Tibor del Grosso.
Four Canucks will be there. Sidney McGill is doing her third World Cup in a row, and national champ Maghalie Rochette her second. In the elite men’s race, two Canadians will tackle their first WC of the year: Rhett Bates and Liam Sargent.
Action gets underway on FloBikes.com at 7:30 a.m. ET with the women’s race, followed by the men’s. Canadian Cycling Magazine will have full reports on both, too!
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