Hot on the heels of UCI announcing a World Cup cyclocross calendar completely devoid of North American racing, the USCX series announced a few big changes. With a more condensed calendar and a big new sponsor, the U.S.-based series is ensuring there’s still a venue for pro cyclocross racing in North America this year. 2024 Trek USCX Series: New sponsor, new venue The big news is that Trek is stepping in, and stepping up as the new titles sponsor for the USCX series. With that move, and with Waterloo dropping off the World Cup calendar, comes a new venue. Trek CX Cup will return to Wisconsin ag ..read more

Niels Vandeputte, the UCI’s seventh ranked rider who placed 13th in the Tabor Worlds, was the strongest in Sunday’s penultimate round of the 2023-2024 X2O Badkamers Trofee, earning the biggest victory of the season and his first C1 triumph. Without winning a round, veteran campaigner Lars van der Haar is poised to take the major cross series title hat trick: World Cup (2013-2014), Superprestige (2022-2023) and this year’s X2O Trofee. Van der Haar’s closest rival after six of eight rounds was four-round winner Mathieu van der Poel, but the world champion had moved onto the road. Therefore, the ..read more

Fem van Empel, in her first race since repeating as world cross champion, won her tenth consecutive round of the X2O Badkamers Trofee, going back to the 2022-2023 season. She took Sunday’s penultimate round of this season’s series in Lille, Belgium, and will win the overall title twice in a row. She has only lost two out of 21 races this season. In 2022-2023, she won 16 out of 24 races. Van Empel went into the penultimate round of the 2023-2024 series with a commanding 8:13 lead over Lucinda Brand. This year’s World Cup and Superprestige champion Ceylin del Carmen Alvarado raced only one round ..read more

He might have missed last week’s Worlds podium, but on Saturday Eli Iserbyt wound up his second Superprestige series title in Middelkerke, Belgium on the final round’s tricky course. In an eventful race Iserbyt tracked down runaway leader Joris Niewenhuis on the sixth of eight laps and then dispatched him on Lap 7. Iserbyt adds the Superprestige accomplishment to his X2O Badkamers Trofee hat trick and brace of World Cups, the second of which was taken this season. He has tallied ten victories in 2023-2024. By winning the first three rounds and racing onto the podium in the other four, Iserbyt ..read more

Dutch cross star Ceylin del Carmen Alvarado earned her third career Superprestige series title on Saturday after the final round, the Noordzeecross in Middelkerke on a muddy course. Alvarado now has three Superprestige series, one World Cup (this season’s) and one X2O Badkamers Trofee. Lucinda Brand romped to her fifth victory of 2023-2024. After winning three rounds in a row Alvarado came into Middelkerke with a six-point lead on Annemarie Worst. It was Alvarado’s final race of the season, her back worrying her as the winter stretched out. Alvarado took the hole shot on Lap 1 but she fell whi ..read more

The 2024 UCI Cyclocross World Championships in Tabor, South Bohemia, Czechia reached an inevitable conclusion on Sunday with Mathieu van der Poel winning his sixth elite men’s title. Van der Poel bolted on his competitors on the first lap and never looked back. Unfortunately, both Canadian entrants were lapped and pulled. Without Wout Van Aert and Tom Pidcock in Czechia, who could beat the rampant Mathieu van der Poel? Belgian World Cup titlist Eli Iserbyt or one of his countrymen like last year’s U23 champion Thibau Nys, Michael Vanthourenhout or Laurens Sweeck? What about van der Poel’s own ..read more

Last year’s Junior champion Isabella Holmgren fought from 20th to fourth place in Sunday’s penultimate race of the 2024 UCI Cyclocross World Championships in Tabor, South Bohemia, Czechia. Zoe Bäckstedt of Great Britain won the rainbow jersey in a canter, soloing right from Lap 1. Isabella’s sister Ava came in 13th. The Holmgren sisters’ main competition would come from last year’s runner-up Bäckstedt, Dutch rider Leonie Bentveld, Luxembourg’s Marie Schreiber and Czech Kristýna Zemanová, who was third last season. Madeleine Pollack joined compatriots Ava and Isabella Holmgren in a small field ..read more

Stefano Viezzi gave Italy its first cross rainbow jersey since 2005 in Sunday’s Junior men’s race at the 2024 UCI Cyclocross World Championships in Tabor, South Bohemia, Czechia. The last Italian to win gold was another Junior, Davide Malacarne. Jayden McMullen was the top Canadian in 23rd. The favourites were Frenchman Aubin Sparfel, Italian Junior World Cup champion Stefano Viezzi, Belgian Arthur Van der Boer and Dutchmen Senna Remijn–last year’s runner-up–and Keije Solen. The Canadian contingent among the 74 contestants was Jayden McMullen, the Canadian Junior champion who was part of Canad ..read more

Maghalie Rochette found herself swamped by a quintet of riders on the final lap but stole 10th place from a casual Helene Clauzel at the 2024 UCI Cyclocross World Championships in Tabor, South Bohemia, Czechia on Saturday. Fem van Empel romped to victory to repeat as world champion, beating her compatriots Lucinda Brand and Puck Pieterse. Rochette and Clauzel chat after the finish. With riders like 2023 champ van Empel, Brand, Pieterse and Ceylin del Carmen Alvarado, the Dutch seemed to have a lock on the rainbow jersey. Belgium’s Lauren Verdonschot was the only rider not wearing orange on the ..read more

Canadian Junior Rafaelle Carrier came 16th in the first individual race of the 2024 UCI Cyclocross World Championships in Tabor, Czechia on Saturday. She had to overcome problems on Lap 1 of three that saw her as far down as 23rd. France’s Celia Gery, third last year, took the rainbow jersey in a battle with the other two pre-race favourites on a heavy, muddy course. The favorites were the three junior women who posted the best lap times in Friday’s team relay: France’s Celia Gery, this season’s Junior World Cup victor and third last year; Brit Cat Ferguson and Slovakian Viktoria Chladonova. T ..read more