Preview: UCI Cyclo-cross World Cup Namur

After a brief sojourn into Italy last weekend, the UCI Cyclo-cross World Cup returns to its Belgian heartlands this Sunday, with one of its most iconic and prestigious rounds: Namur. Usually drawing huge crowds and widely considered one of the toughest courses on the calendar, Namur is one of the races that everyone wants to win.

It’s perhaps no surprise, then, that this season’s trip to Namur has attracted some of cyclo-cross’ biggest stars, including Tom Pidcock (Ineos Grenadiers), who makes his season debut on Sunday, and the three young phenomena in the women’s field, Fem van Empel (Jumbo-Visma), Puck Pieterse (Fenix-Deceuninck) and Shirin van Anrooij (Baloise Trek Lions).

Read more: Tom Pidcock to race six cyclo-cross World Cup events over the winter

The famed and important ‘kerstperiode’, the tightly-packed race schedule around Christmas, may not be here yet, but Namur looks set to be a curtain-raiser to what we’re going to see over the festive period, with almost all the big names back in action and going head-to-head on some of the hardest courses.

With so many big stars competing, and Namur offering a huge challenge in terms of racing, it’s hard to predict which riders are going to come out on top this weekend, but here’s everything you need to know ahead of Sunday’s elite events.

The course

© UCI

The course for the UCI Cyclo-cross World Cup in Namur

Also called the ‘Citadelcross’, the course takes place around the Namur citadel, a fortress dating back to the 10th century, set in the middle of a green, wooded park. In the winter, however, that green quickly turns to mud as the cyclo-cross riders churn up the course. The terrain here becomes muddy and treacherous very quickly, with the long forested sections also throwing up chunky and slippery roots for the riders to contend with.

In terms of profile, the Namur course is almost up and down the whole way, with some of the steepest ascents and descents you’ll see during the whole season. One of the muddy descents is even too steep for riders to ride down, such is the extreme gradient, so you’ll see riders carrying their bikes down hills as well as up them in Namur. With the difficulty of the natural track, there’s little need for artificial features, so the only man-made structure you’ll see here is a bridge at the back end of the course.

The track is also full of off-camber, twisty sections that can almost give the race a rollercoaster feel, albeit a rollercoaster that plasters you with mud. In fact, Namur is sometimes compared to a mountain bike course, and that’s not an extreme comparison. Subsequently, the course lends itself well to the physically strongest and technically most refined riders, who can really attack the course all the way around.

The start is a fairly long and wide cobbled stretch before the race gets onto the mud and the course narrows, which means the start is always an intense fight for position, and hitting the course proper in a good position could make or break your whole race. The finish is flat and straight, ready for a sprint, but in reality, Namur is a race where riders often win solo, as the last man or woman standing at the end of the brutal laps.

The contenders

Whilst the return of Tom Pidcock is headline news in the men's race, fans should be as equally palpable for the long-awaited showdown between Puck Pieterse, Fem van Empel and Shirin van Anrooij in the first elite race of the day.

It has been a little over two months since all three riders took to the start line together, and only the second time they've done so this season, the first being the CX World Cup in Waterloo.

Pieterse was the only member of the trio to race in Val di Sole last weekend, with the Dutchwoman racking up her third runners-up spot of five appearances this season. She will be desperate to finally rack up her first win since the Besançon World Cup last January, but to do so, she will have to overcome the seemingly invincible Van Empel.

Jumbo-Visma's Van Empel has been by far the most active of the three this season, racing nine events to the other two's five apiece. Remarkably, she has won all nine races and for that reason, must start as the overwhelming favourite this weekend. Pieterse, on the other hand, will be seeking her first World Cup podium of the winter.

However, Namur will be far from a three-horse race. Just as Van Empel is currently enjoying her hot streak, Ceylin del Carmen Alvarado (Alpecin-Deceuninck) and Lucinda Brand (Baloise Trek Lions) have had their own winning streaks at points this season. Whilst they might have come to an end, they'll be hoping this weekend will see the end to Van Empel's reign.

© Sprint Cycling Agency

Manon Bakker produced an extraordinary ride to win in Val di Sole last weekend

The other names to look out for include Manon Bakker (Crelan-Corendon), who has earned her right to be counted among the top favourites following her Val di Sole victory, Maghalie Rochette, who is enjoying a consistent campaign, and Marion Norbert RIberolle (Crelan-Corendon), who won the Exact Cross in Essen last Saturday.

Should history be anything to go by, Brand will be the rider of the hour in the women's race, having won the last four World Cups in Namur on the bounce.

The men's Essen race was, of course, dominated by Wout van Aert. The Jumbo-Visma man will not be lining up in Namur, but we could expect a similar performance from Tom Pidcock. With only six races on his cyclo-cross programme before focusing on his 2024 road season, it's likely that Pidcock will turn up at each event in the shape to win.

Read more: Ineos confident Pidcock can challenge Pogačar and Evenepoel at Ardennes Classics

Should that be the case on Sunday, he will likely be a cut above the competition without the presence of Van der Poel or Van Aert, just as the latter was in Essen. However, Pidcock's old foe Eli Iserbyt (Pauwels Sauzen-Bingoal) will be keen to put the Brit in his place and prove that the full-time 'cross riders are more than a match for the multi-disciplinarians.

Iserbyt currently leads the World Cup standings and is likely to sweep home the title come the end of the season, given his beefy schedule that is set to include each round. The Belgian is aided by two strong teammates in Michael Vanthourenhout and Ryan Kamp, both of whom will be well in the mix in Namur.

© Sprint Cycling Agency

Michael Vanthourenhout got the better of Tom Pidcock in the last CX World Cup round to take place in Namur

Vanthourenhout is the only active rider who has won the Namur World Cup, with Van der Poel or Van Aert winning each year between 2015 and 2020. Facing Pidcock this weekend, Vanthourenhout will recall beating Pidcock to the title two seasons ago.

Other riders to keep an eye on will be Joris Nieuwenhuis (Baloise Trek Lions), winner of the Val di Sole World Cup, Lars van der Haar (Baloise Trek Lions), returning from a Mallorcan training camp, and Niels Vandeputte (Alpecin-Deceuninck), who is only getting better as the season goes on.