Dec 14, 2025
Brand and Van der Poel win big at World Cup Namur – and it was not boring
The fourth round of the UCI Cyclocross World Cup brought the racing back to Belgium as the elites and junior men took on the truly iconic Namur course, also known as Citadelcross.
On paper, the victories of Lucinda Brand and Mathieu van der Poel speak of emphatic dominance in both elite events, and while that’s a pretty accurate assessment of the women’s race in which Brand rode away in the opening lap, the elite men battled until the eleventh hour as Thibau Nys in particular put the world champion under pressure. In the end, though, it was a "super small, stupid mistake" from Nys that essentially defined the outcome, leaving the world champion to take his first win of the season. But it w…
Dec 14, 2025
Brand and Van der Poel win big at World Cup Namur – and it was not boring
The fourth round of the UCI Cyclocross World Cup brought the racing back to Belgium as the elites and junior men took on the truly iconic Namur course, also known as Citadelcross.
On paper, the victories of Lucinda Brand and Mathieu van der Poel speak of emphatic dominance in both elite events, and while that’s a pretty accurate assessment of the women’s race in which Brand rode away in the opening lap, the elite men battled until the eleventh hour as Thibau Nys in particular put the world champion under pressure. In the end, though, it was a "super small, stupid mistake" from Nys that essentially defined the outcome, leaving the world champion to take his first win of the season. But it was never a foregone conclusion.
In the women’s race, the fight for second was a spicy one, including Puck Pieterse in her first race of the winter. She was ultimately overcome by both Aniek van Alphen – whose distant second was enough for her to hold onto the World Cup lead by a single point to Brand – and a determined Amandine Fouquenet, who secured her second World Cup podium of the season and her career after Flamanville. It’s another huge result for the French rider who is actively searching for a new team or personal sponsors as Arkéa-B&B Hotels ceases to exist.
Junior men top 5
- Jari van Lee (Belgium) 42:47
- Bas Vanden Eynde (Belgium) +0:17
- Flynn Delanghe (Belgium) +0:34
- Loek Hovers (Netherlands) +0:42
- Sam Van Hoeck (Belgium) +1:20
Elite women top 5
- Lucinda Brand (Baloise Glowi Lions) 52:23
- Aniek van Alphen (Seven Racing) +0:43
- Amandine Fouquenet (Arkéa-B&B Hotels) +1:00
- Puck Pieterse (Fenix-Deceuninck) +1:21
- Jolanda Neff (Cannondale Factory Racing) +1:42
Elite men top 5
- Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Deceuninck) 58:29
- Thibau Nys (Baloise Glowi Lions) +0:09
- Michael Vanthourenhout (Pauwels Sauzen-Altez) +0:11
- Lars van der haar (Baloise Glowi Lions) +0:12
- Emiel Verstrynge (Crelan-Corendon) +0:42
dailynews Cyclocross Cyclocross World Cup Lucinda Brand Mathieu van der Poel News & Racing