Preview: UCI Cyclo-cross World Championships Tábor

After a non-stop cyclo-cross season that has seen two riders dominate, unheralded youngsters come to the fore and huge performances become almost a given, attention finally turns squarely to the most prestigious race of all - the Cyclo-cross World Championships.

Dating back to 1950, the UCI CX World Championships event has crowned the best rider in the world for nigh on three-quarters of a century. This year’s event will be the 75th edition of the Worlds, which was first won by the legendary Frenchman Jean Robic in 1950 and introduced a women’s race in 2000. To date, Robic remains the only rider to have won both the Tour de France and the CX World Championships, with Marianne Vos’ La Course victories predating the inaugural Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift.

This summer, 2022 CX world champion Tom Pidcock will have an outside hope of finishing on the Tour de France podium for Ineos Grenadiers, but the man looking to make history at the CX Worlds will be the Netherlands’ Mathieu van der Poel, who could become the second most successful male rider in history at the event.

The Dutchman and reigning champion currently sits on five World Championship titles but will be hoping to take his sixth, which would place him only one victory behind the legendary Eric De Vlaeminck, who stands proud with seven titles to his name.

Of course, the be-all and end-all of this weekend’s races will be the rainbow jerseys awarded at the end of each race. The rainbow bands of the world champion are worn only by the sport’s greatest, from Vos and Van der Poel to Sven Nys and Sanne Cant. It is no surprise that the two dominant riders of this season, Van der Poel and Fem van Empel, are both sporting the rainbow jerseys as the reigning champions.

Both riders will be at the start of this weekend’s races, which take place in Tábor, Czech Republic, on the banks of the River Lužnice. This course is renowned for producing exhilarating racing and has previously hosted the World Championships in 2001, 2010 and 2015, before being seen on the CX World Cup rounds. Van der Poel and Van Empel will be the favourites to retain their rainbow bands, but can anybody spring a surprise?

Here’s everything you need to know ahead of the biggest races of the season.

The course

© UCI

The course that awaits the riders in Tábor

The location in Tábor will offer few surprises to the experienced members of the pack, who last raced the World Championships here in 2015 when Mathieu van der Poel took the first of his five victories to date. It has also been used regularly for UCI World Cup races and the Czech National Cyclo-cross Championships. The home crowd will surely be delighted to see the retiring Zdeněk Štybar make his final Worlds appearance on the course upon which he won the first of his three titles back in 2010.

However, this year’s course differs from the last few times the World Championships have visited Tábor, with the riders enjoying a bigger prelude along the bank of the River Lužnice before tackling the weaving sections of mud that defined the beginning of the 2015 course. From the gun, the pack will charge at a canter along an asphalt road, before bending to the right and taking a flyer over the course’s first bridge.

This is the new part of the course since the 2015 Worlds and will see the riders turn back on themselves and cross the bridge once more, before turning left into the fields that the pack will know all too well. Weaving up and down muddy bankings, the riders tackle the first set of stairs before passing the pits for the first time.

Shortly after the riders leave the pit area, the route bends to the right and over the asphalt to a wooded area, which will bring the second set of steps after a sharp left-hand bend. Maintaining momentum through this section will be key before a series of twists and turns define the second half of the near 3km-long course.

Much of the climbing is also held within the second half, though there is nothing severe and only one set of hurdles will need to be negotiated. Riders should be aware that the first of the two hurdles is on a slight rise, so it will be interesting to see how many can bunnyhop the obstacle as opposed to dismounting.

As the riders approach the asphalt that will welcome them back onto the finishing straight, the course descends and will provide for a quick end to each lap. Without too many obstacles throughout, lap times will be relatively quick and the winner will be the rider who masters the twists and turns the best.

The contenders

The main favourites for the CX World Championships go without saying: Mathieu van der Poel and Fem van Empel, both from the Netherlands. The pair are the reigning champions and have won a combined 29 races between them this season. For most of the campaign, they have looked simply unstoppable, bar a few mistakes here and there.

© Sprint Cycling Agency

Mathieu van der Poel has looked resplendent in the rainbow bands this season, but can he hold onto them on Sunday?

Heading into this weekend’s races, then, we should be expecting another masterclass from both riders, but that is not to say the race will be easy for either rider. In the men’s field, Van der Poel has shown signs of being beyond his peak in recent weeks and famously fluffed his lines at the Benidorm World Cup.

Read more: Cyclo-cross World Cup Benidorm: Wout van Aert ends Mathieu van der Poel's incredible run

Lining up to challenge the reigning champion will be a motivated Belgian team, who will be hoping to pick up their first elite title since 2018. For a nation that prides itself on its ‘cross stars, this drought is the longest it has suffered since Eric De Vlaeminck became the first Belgian to win the Worlds in 1966.

Eli Iserbyt and Thibau Nys will be leading the line for the Belgians, with Michael Vanthourenhout, Niels Vandeputte and Laurens Sweeck all outside contenders for medals on the day. Great Britain’s Cameron Mason will be a man to watch on the day, but Belgium’s big challenge will be found in the strength of Van der Poel’s support crew.

In the past, Belgium have tried to put the Dutchman under pressure by isolating him, but this will be difficult with Van der Poel flanked by the likes of Lars van der Haar, Joris Nieuwenhuis and Pim Ronhaar, all three of whom have won rounds of the CX World Cup this season.

© Sprint Cycling Agency

Fem van Empel has been a level above her competition for much of the season

Dutch strength is the theme of the women’s race, too, with Van Empel leading a list of contenders that includes Ceylin del Carmen Alvarado, Lucinda Brand and Puck Pieterse. Luckily for the onlooking fans, however, all of these women will have the freedom to race for their own success, which should provide for a real spectacle.

Elsewhere, Laura Verdonschot of Belgium and Sara Casasola of Italy will be hoping to cap off impressive seasons from both of them, whilst Maghalie Rochette (Canada), Clara Honsinger (United States) and Marion Norbert Riberolle (Belgium) are all outsiders to keep half an eye on.