Preview Cyclo-cross World Championship 2026 - elite men | This is what Mathieu van der Poel must take into account in Hulst

Van der Poel has already won the Worlds seven times. Three years ago, he took victory in the Dutch venue of Hoogerheide against Wout van Aert in front of a raucous cyclocross crowd, before repeating the feat in Tábor (2024) and Liévin (2025). Earlier wins came in 2015, 2019, 2020, and 2021.

In between, Wout van Aert (2016–2018) and Tom Pidcock (2022) also claimed the world title, but they won’t be at this year’s race. Van Aert broke his ankle in Mol and ruled himself out of the World Championships, while the Brit is preparing for the upcoming spring season in Chile.

2025 Mathieu van der Poel
2024 Mathieu van der Poel
2023 Mathieu van der Poel
2022 Tom Pidcock
2021 Mathieu van der Poel
2020 Mathieu van der Poel
2019 Mathieu van der Poel
2018 Wout van Aert
2017 Wout van Aert
2016 Wout van Aert

The Hulst course promises spectacular racing, as recent cyclo-cross seasons have shown. The technical venue in Zeeland is inspired by the annual Vestingcross, but with some changes — such as passages over pontoons, significant climbing, and steep descents — added to the lap.

“Hulst is typically a technical and fast cyclo-cross, but these new sections may have an impact,” officials said at the course presentation. West of the water, in a field, riders face a square series of twists where rain and mud could make things even more challenging.

The Vestingcross — part of the World Cup for years — serves as a blueprint. Riders in the World Championships will be led partly over the vesting walls and over five pontoons of water. The technical lap measures around 3.3 km with roughly 40 meters of climbing and those signature Hulst descents.

“We know Hulst from the World Cup, but now there really is a different course,” said Dutch national coach Gerben de Knegt. 'It still uses the ramparts, which have to be climbed and descended, which certainly makes the round tough. And the slant can also be decisive. But I estimate that the predicted dry weather and the added long, straight sections will give the race an open character for longer.'

Weather
At the time of writing, Sunday is forecast around 3°C, with the preceding days seeing a bit of rain. Despite that, a dry course is expected.

Times (Sunday, Feb. 1)
Start: 3 PM local time
Finish: 4 PM local time

So the big question ahead of the Worlds in Hulst is: Who can stop Mathieu van der Poel? The Alpecin-Premier Tech rider is in an incredible run: in the past three seasons, he has only lost one cyclo-cross — the Benidorm World Cup in 2023. Everyone expects an eighth rainbow jersey to be added in Hulst.

His recent form backs this up: the Dutch champion has won every World Cup race he has started this season and carries perfect momentum into the World Championships.

Behind him, the fight for the remaining podium spots appears likely between Tibor Del Grosso, Niels Vandeputte, and Thibau Nys, who finished consistently in that order in the races at Maasmechelen and Hoogerheide. Del Grosso is the reigning under-23 world champion, Vandeputte last won the Zeeland cyclocross, and Nys was bronze medallist last season — all giving them serious credentials.

The Belgians may also try to influence the race with experienced riders like Toon Aerts and Michael Vanthourenhout, plus Gerben Kuypers, Jente Michels, and Toon Vandebosch. Cyclocross veterans like Joran Wyseure — racing back from a heavy crash — are also in the mix.

The Netherlands will counter with Joris Nieuwenhuis, Ryan Kamp, Mees Hendrikx, Pim Ronhaar, and the soon-retiring four-time World Cup podium finisher Lars van der Haar — who finished third two years ago.

International names to watch include Spaniard Felipe Orts, technically strong Brit Cameron Mason, Swiss rider Kevin Kuhn, Italian Filippo Fontana, and Frenchman Martin Groslambert.

Top favorite: Mathieu van der Poel (Netherlands)
Outsiders: Tibor Del Grosso (Netherlands), Thibau Nys and Niels Vandeputte (Belgium)
Long shots: Felipe Orts (Spain), Toon Aerts, Michael Vanthourenhout (Belgium), Joris Nieuwenhuis, Mees Hendrikx, Lars van der Haar (Netherlands)

The World Championships will be broadcast throughout the afternoon on Eurosport (including Eurosport.nl/HBO Max), Sporza (VRT 1), and the NOS (via NPO and nos.nl).