Betsema remains undeterred despite lesser results and many moments of bad luck: "Morale is there"
Cyclocross
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Follow us on GoogleFor Denise Betsema, the cyclo-cross season is not going as she had hoped. The 30-year-old lady of Pauwels Sauzen-Bingoal started her season late after a training accident, after which she never really got into the groove. She discussed her lesser results, moments of improvement and her goals for the remainder of the cyclo-cross season with IDLProCycling.com!
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It's the evening cross of Diegem, about two minutes after 'Deniesoverseas' finished twelfth across the finish line in Flemish Brabant. "I didn't feel good on the bike from the start here in Diegem. I immediately felt that I didn't have the best legs," was the initial verdict. "Then I also had mechanical problems. My chain got stuck at the front. So, it's really a series of bad luck. And then you're not feeling good on the bike at all. You loose morale a bit."
Morale is very much there with Betsema
The post-race assessment described above seems somewhat indicative of Betsema's season, who had a particularly hard fall on the asphalt during a summer training ride, resulting in a long recovery process. This meant that she had to start her season late, including a significant training deficit.
Returning to racing after such a severe crash was also mentally very challenging, as the mother of two children told us at the end of October. Despite endless bad luck, Betsema does not get discouraged easily. "The morale is really there. That's always the case with me, right," she winks. "Indeed, it's not a great season, but fortunately, we have seen an upward trend in recent weeks. This is unfortunately a bit of a setback," she refers again to the disappointing race in Diegem.
Betsema aims for high finish in general classification of the X2O Trophy
"In the previous races, I really did see moments of improvement to cling to," she continues about the rest of the season. "This is a bummer, but I can get over it fairly quickly. A disappointing race like this just means I'm seriously grumpy for an evening, and really disappointed, and then I start focusing on the next race. For me, that's Hulst. And then it's already 2024. New year, new opportunities, as they say."
So what are Betsema's specific priorities for the rest of the cyclo-cross winter? "I definitely want to focus on the X2O Trophy. That's why I'm also extending my season until after the Cyclo-Cross World Championships. Finishing high in that general classification is certainly still on my list. Besides that, the Cyclo-Cross World Championships are of course also very important."
Bram van der PloegEditor-in-chief
Bram van der Ploeg (35) is the proud founder of In de Leiderstrui, IDL Pro Cycling's parent site, launched in 2018. Finally, he could create stories about the sport he had followed since childhood. He is the editor-in-chief on paper, but prefers to be with his recorder next to a rider, a team bus, or in the mud at a cyclocross race. Every year, from February to the end of May, Bram follows the entire Italian cycling season, from the Trofeo Laigueglia to the Giro d'Italia, with the grand finale in October in Lombardy. During that time, he lives in Tuscany, where he has since come to call Italy his 'home'.
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Latest Comments
- Fair enough if he skips cross this winter. With a newborn on the way, there’s no need to rush back into racing.davidm15-11-2026
- Is “Ovett” Mathieu’s friend who joined him on the training rides? The article mentions him a few times, but I’m not familiar with the name.sprocketspiny15-11-2026
- Eight world titles and now a new chapter off the bike. Hope everything goes smoothly for them!raceready715-11-2026
- Huge news for the world champion. With the baby due in January, I can see why Mathieu’s cyclocross plans are still up in the air—family comes first.jennifer1915-11-2026
- Congratulations to Mathieu and Roxanne! A Costa Blanca proposal after all those training miles sounds pretty special.michael5415-11-2026
- - I’m still learning how cyclocross works: when he says he messed up the start at the Europeans, can a bad start really make that much difference?patriciaw14-11-2026
- - Love that he’s honest about the pressure. Hopefully he can carry this form through the winter.lindae14-11-2026
- - Beating different competition is the key now. Nys is already in the mix, and Van der Poel could make the next step a much tougher one.jennifer1914-11-2026
- - About time—Mason’s been knocking on the door for years. That Niel win could really open things up for him.cadencekingm14-11-2026
- I’m still learning how cyclocross works—does leading the Superprestige mean Mason is top of that race series, rather than the World Cup? Either way, winning in Belgium sounds like a massive result.cadencekingm13-11-2026