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Will we ever see former world champions from Visma and UAE back in cyclo-cross?

Cyclocross
by Tom van der Salm
tulett-christen

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The World Cyclo-cross Championships are, of course, largely dominated by the elite races on Saturday and Sunday, but the races for the youth categories are also well worth watching. In addition to the excitement in itself, the World Championships also serve as a breeding ground for road cycling talent. IDLProCycling.com spoke about this with former junior world champions Ben Tulett (Visma | Lease a Bike) and UAE's Jan Christen
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Of the winners of the last sixteen editions of the World Cyclo-cross Championships for juniors, ten are now active as professionals on the road. These include names such as Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Premier Tech) and Tom Pidcock (Q36.5), whom we have seen in the field in recent years, but also current top talents such as Leo Bisiaux (Decathlon CMA-CGM) and Mattia Agostinacchio of EF Education-EasyPost.
And they are not the only ones - see the bottom of this article for the full list: did you know, for example, that Danny van Poppel, Matteo Trentin, Peter Sagan, Thymen Arensman, Julian Alaphilippe, and Soren Waerenskjold all have a past in cyclocross, or that Mike Teunissen prevented Wout van Aert from becoming world champion in the U23 category in 2013?
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While Bisoaux and Agostinacchio have expressed their desire to remain in cyclo-cross in the coming years, we will no longer see Christen (world champion in Fayetteville, 2022) and Tulett (winner in both Valkenburg and Bogense, 2018 and 2019) in the field. Both men rode their last official cyclocross race one year after their last world title at the U23 World Championships.
Continue reading below the photo!
christen2
Jan Christen wins the 2022 World Junior Cyclocross Championship.

Will we see Tulett and Christen back in cyclo-cross?

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“At the moment, my ambitions on the road are more important, but I'm never closing the door on cyclo-cross completely. Maybe one day I'll return,” says Tulett. “I do miss it a little sometimes,” says Christen, who is currently competing in the AlUla Tour. “When I was younger, it was always fun to switch disciplines. But as a pro, it's more difficult.”
“So for now, I'm focusing on road racing, but I may return to mountain biking or cyclo-cross one day.” The 2030 Games in France or even the 2038 Games, which will be held in Switzerland, perhaps? “That's still a long way off,” laughs Christen. “It could be a trigger, but that's something we can think about at a later stage.”
Continue reading below the photo!
CIan Uijtdebroeks Ben Tulett
Ben Tulett in the wheel of Tom Pidcock.

Tulett, like Pidcock and Turner, takes a break from cyclo-cross

Tulett belongs to the golden generation of British riders, which includes Tom Pidcock and Ben Turner. "When Tom became world champion in 2022, it was a big deal in the United Kingdom. The sport has gained a lot of popularity over the last six or seven years and, for many talented riders, it lays the foundation for cycling because of the technical skills you need for it."
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This winter, we didn't see Pidcock in cyclocross either, while Turner's last cyclocross race was also back in 2022. ‘As a Brit, it's perhaps more difficult to combine than if you were Belgian or Dutch, because cyclo-cross is mainly held in those regions. However, I don't think that's the main reason,’ explains the Visma | Lease a Bike rider, whose great idol is Wout van Aert.
“If you're passionate about it, you'll find a way to participate, one way or another. For me, I'm pursuing my goals on the road, and cyclocross doesn't quite fit in with that, but the passion has never gone away.” So it's possible that we'll see him and/or Christen in the field again in the future, but don't count on it in the coming years.

How did current pros fare as juniors at the Cyclo-cross World Championships?

2009, Hoogerheide
🥇️ Tijmen Eising (Netherlands)
23: Gianni Vermeersch (Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe, Belgium)
44: Bob Jungels (INEOS Grenadiers, Luxembourg)
DNF: Alex Kirsch (Cofidis, Luxembourg)
2010, Tabor
🥇️ Thomas Paprstka (Czech Republic)
🥈️ Julian Alaphilippe (Tudor, France)
5: Gianni Vermeersch (Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe, Belgium)
12: Tim Merlier (Soudal Quick-Step, Belgium)
17: Bob Jungels (INEOS Grenadiers, Luxembourg)
24: Danny van Poppel (Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe, Netherlands)
43: Fabian Lienhard (Tudor, Switzerland)
DNF: Mike Teunissen (XDS-Astana, Netherlands)
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2011, Sankt-Wendel
🥇️ Clément Venturini (Unibet Rose Rockets, France)
🥈️ Fabian Doubey (TotalEnergies, France)
13: Fabian Lienhard (Tudor, Switzerland)
17: Jonathan Lastra (Caja Rural, Spain)
56: Gregor Mühlberger (Decathlon CMA CGM, Austria)
DNF: Danny van Poppel (Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe, Netherlands)
2012, Koksijde
🥇️ Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Premier Tech, Netherlands)
🥈️ Wout van Aert (Visma | Lease a Bike, Belgium)
4: Quinten Hermans (Pinarello-Q36.5, Belgium)
11: Anthony Turgis (TotalEnergies, France)
2013, Louisville
🥇️ Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Premier Tech, Netherlands)
🥉 Adam Toupalik (Unibet Rose Rockets, Czech Republic)
8: Quinten Hermans (Pinarello-Q36.5, Belgium)
14: Clément Russo (Groupama-FDJ, France)
2014, Hoogerheide
🥇️ Thijs Aerts (Belgium)
6: Johan Jacobs (Groupama-FDJ, Switzerland)
14: Pascal Eenkhoorn (Soudal Quick-Step, Netherlands)
17: Diego Pablo Sevilla (Polti-VisitMalta, Spain)
22: Kamil Malecki (Pinarello-Q36.5, Poland)
23: Kevin Geniets (Groupama-FDJ, Luxembourg)
31: Gotzon Martin (Euskaltel-Euskadi, Spain)
51: Dusan Rajovic (Serbia, Solution-Tech)
DNF: Adam Toupalik (Unibet Rose Rockets, Czech Republic)
2015, Tabor
🥇️ Simon Andreassen (Denmark)
19: Johan Jacobs (Groupama-FDJ, Switzerland)
23: Lander Loockx (Unibet Rose Rockets, Belgium)
41: Anthon Charmig (Uno-X, Denmark)
46: Sandy Dujardin (TotalEnergies, France)
2016, Heusden-Zolder
🥇️ Jens Dekker (Netherlands)
🥉 Thomas Bonnet (TotalEnergies, France)
5: Tom Pidcock (Pinarello-Q36.5, Great Britain)
11: Thymen Arensman (INEOS Grenadiers, Netherlands)
27: Ben Turner (INEOS Grenadiers, Great Britain)
33: Florian Vermeersch (UAE Emirates-XRG, Belgium)
DNF: Mauro Schmid (Jayco AlUla, Switzerland)
DNF: Mark Donovan (Pinarello-Q365, Great Britain)
2017, Bieles
🥇️ Tom Pidcock (Pinarello-Q36.5, Great Britain)
🥉 Ben Turner (INEOS Grenadiers, Great Britain)
7: Timo Kielich (Visma | Lease a Bike, Belgium)
10: Niklas Märkl (Picnic PostNL, Germany)
12: Mauro Schmid (Jayco AlUla, Switzerland)
19: Thymen Arensman (INEOS Grenadiers, Netherlands)
34: Tomas Kopecky (Unibet Rose Rockets, Czech Republic)
63: Florian Vermeersch (UAE Emirates-XRG, Belgium)
2018, Valkenburg
🥇️ Ben Tulett (Visma | Lease a Bike, Great Britain)
🥈️ Tomas Kopecky (Unibet Rose Rockets, Czech Republic)
18: Arthur Kluckers (Tudor, Luxembourg)
33: Sean Flynn (Picnic PostNL, Great Britain)
49: Soren Waerenskjold (Uno-X, Norway)
60: Davide Toneatti (XDS-Astana, Italy)
70: Archie Ryan (EF Educaton-EasyPost, Ireland)
2019, Bogense
🥇️ Ben Tulett (Visma | Lease a Bike, Great Britain)
4: Thibau Nys (Lidl-Trek, Belgium)
7: Carlos Canal (Movistar, Spain)
8: Lennert Belmans (Alpecin-Premier Tech, Belgium)
21: Antoine Huby (Groupama-FDJ, France)
26: Davide de Pretto (Jayco AlUla, Italy)
33: Tobias Lund Andresen (Decathlon CMA CGM, Denmark)
44: Davide Toneatti (XDS-Astana, Italy)
55: Marco Brenner (Tudor, Germany)
DNF: Lewis Askey (NSN, Great Britain)
2020, Dübendorf
🥇️ Thibau Nys (Lidl-Trek, Belgium)
🥈️ Lennert Belmans (Alpecin-Premier Tech, Belgium)
🥉 Emiel Verstrynge (Alpecin-Premier Tech, Belgium)
5: Tibor Del Grosso (Alpecin-Premier Tech, Netherlands)
6: Marco Brenner (Tudor, Germany)
21: Davide de Pretto (Jayco AlUla, Italy)
26: Mats Wenzel (Equipo Kern Pharma, Luxembourg)
27: Matyas Kopecky (Unibet Rose Rockets, Czech Republic)
28: Magnus Sheffield (INEOS Grenadiers, United States)
42: Darren Rafferty (EF Education-EasyPost, Ireland)
2022, Fayetteville
🥇️ Jan Christen (UAE Emirates-XRG, Switzerland)
🥈️ Aaron Dockx (Alpecin-Premier Tech, Belgium)
5: AJ August (INEOS Grenadiers, United States)
26: Mathias Schwarzbacher (EF Education-EasyPost, Slovakia)
2023, Hoogerheide
🥇️ Léo Bisiaux (Decathlon CMA CGM, France)
🥈️ Senna Remijn (Alpecin-Premier Tech, Netherlands)
8: Albert Withen Philipsen (Lidl-Trek, Denmark)
15: Paul Seixas (Decathlon CMA-CGM, France)
22: AJ August (INEOS Grenadiers, United States)
34: Mathias Schwarzbacher (EF Education-EasyPost, Slovakia)
2024, Tabor
🥇️ Stefano Viezzi (Italy)
5: Albert Withen Philipsen (Lidl-Trek, Denmark)
9: Senna Remijn (Alpecin-Premier Tech, Netherlands)
26: Mattia Agostinacchio (EF Education-EasyPost, Italy)
2025, Lievin
🥇️ Mattia Agostinacchio (EF Education-EasyPost, Italy)

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Tom van der Salm
Tom van der Salm (27) comes from the charming town of Zeilberg (Deurne) in the Netherlands and has been working as editor-in-chief & journalist at IDL Pro Cycling's parent site, In de Leiderstrui, since 2019. He travels with the peloton from the Tour de France to the AlUla Tour and from the World Championships in Rwanda or Canada to the Zilvermeercross in Mol. In his spare time he enjoys playing football, mountain biking, running, walking with his Labrador/Stabyhoun, investing, holidays, (specialty) beers, reading, cooking and watching sports & documentaries! 
Contact: [email protected]
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