British cyclocross is already well under way. Bikes are muddy, timing chips are being lost, and somebody somewhere is currently insisting that the course was definitely rideable on file treads.
Across the Channel, though, the big European cyclocross machine is only beginning to clear its throat.
And once it gets going, it doesn’t so much start as explode into life – barriers, beer tents, cowbells, questionable weather forecasts and several thousand Belgians standing ankle-deep in mud as though this is an entirely normal way to spend a Sunday.
The serious stuff begins on 25 October when the Superprestige opens at Overijse, traditionally a place where riders discover whether their summer road form translates into repeatedly running up a muddy bank while carrying a bicycle.
A week later, on 1 November, comes the Koppenbergcross and the opening round of the X²O Trophy. Yes, that Koppenberg. Apparently riding up it once during the Tour of Flanders wasn’t unpleasant enough, so cyclocross decided it should also be tackled in November with mud attached.
By then the season should be properly awake.
Who owns the early season?
This is perhaps the most interesting question of all.
Cyclocross has developed a slightly strange habit in recent years. The season starts, excellent riders race each other every weekend, and everyone immediately asks:
“When are Van der Poel and Van Aert coming?”
It’s rather like watching a very good support band while repeatedly checking your watch.
But those early races matter.
For riders such as Thibau Nys, Michael Vanthourenhout and the rest of the regular Belgian-Dutch cross establishment, October and November offer the opportunity to take centre stage before various road-racing superheroes remember that they own cyclocross bikes.
Nys in particular enters another winter with plenty of attention around him. His combination of explosive speed, bike handling and occasional ability to make cyclocross look suspiciously easy means he is increasingly one of the riders capable of making the season his own rather than simply keeping a seat warm for Christmas.
The women’s racing could be fascinating
There are even more moving pieces on the women’s side.
Perhaps the biggest is Fem van Empel.
The three-time world champion has returned to racing and joined FDJ United-SUEZ, immediately adding another major storyline to the winter.
Which Van Empel will we see?
At her best, she has made winning cyclocross races look alarmingly straightforward. Her return means one of the most naturally gifted riders of her generation is suddenly back in the conversation.
Then there is Shirin van Anrooij, who will switch to Canyon//SRAM from 1 November, conveniently the exact moment the European cross season starts getting seriously interesting. She joins until 2029 and intends to continue combining road and cyclocross.
New team. New colours. New bike.
Same mud.
Add riders such as Lucinda Brand, Puck Pieterse, Zoe Bäckstedt and the increasingly deep Dutch and Belgian fields, and the women’s races could again provide some of the best racing of the winter.
Europe comes early
There won’t be much time to settle in.
The European Championships take place at Zeddam in the Netherlands on 7–8 November, just two weeks after the Superprestige opener. Zeddam last hosted the cyclocross World Championships twenty years ago, so there is some serious cross history attached to the place.
European champion’s jersey up for grabs in early November?
No pressure, then.
And eventually…the World Cup
Curiously, the UCI World Cup doesn’t begin until Friday 27 November in Ostrava, followed almost immediately by Tábor on Sunday 29 November.
That means riders could already have more than a month of serious European racing in their legs before World Cup round one.
For British fans there’s an especially interesting date later: Glasgow hosts World Cup round three at Kelvingrove Park on 13 December.
British cyclocross fans therefore have the unusual luxury of watching the continental circus come to them rather than spending Sunday morning trying to persuade a Belgian streaming service that Bradford is technically a suburb of Antwerp.
What about Mathieu?
Ah yes.
Mathieu van der Poel.
The question inevitably hovering over another cyclocross winter.
After winning a record eighth elite world title at Hulst in February, Van der Poel openly discussed whether he might even skip a cyclocross winter, saying he believes he can prepare successfully for the road without it.
So nobody should assume a traditional Christmas programme until it actually appears.
Tom Pidcock, meanwhile, has indicated that he won’t race cyclocross this winter, continuing his focus on road and mountain bike racing.
Which makes the early season even more important.
Cyclocross doesn’t need to spend two months waiting for somebody famous to arrive.
There are races to win.
And it all ends on a beach
If everyone survives Christmas, Belgian mud, Dutch sand and the annual debate about tyre pressures, the season heads towards the 2027 World Championships in Ostend from 29–31 January.
The course combines the Wellington Hippodrome with Ostend’s beach.
Because apparently ordinary mud was no longer difficult enough.
Sand. Horses. North Sea weather. Rainbow jerseys.
What could possibly go wrong?
For now, though, Europe is just beginning to wake up.
Overijse is coming. The Koppenberg is waiting. Zeddam follows almost immediately.
And somewhere in Belgium, somebody is already standing beside a muddy field with a beer at ten o’clock in the morning.
Cyclocross season is nearly back.
Properly back.
