European CX Championship 2025: major absences, favorites, schedules, and how to watch

After a few initial weeks of the cyclocross season in which the main protagonists have been getting a feel for the competition, the first major event of the calendar arrives over the weekend of November 8 and 9 with the European Cyclocross Championship taking place in the Belgian town of Middelkerke.

Nys, Nieuwenhuis, and Vanthourenhout, favorites to win the European CX Championship

In light of the recent races, the European CX Championship appears quite uncertain, although there are three cyclists who stand out as favorites to claim the continental title.

The first in question is the contender looking to defend the title he won last season. We are talking about Thibau Nys, who debuted last weekend with a brutal display in the extremely muddy Koppenbergcross circuit. He could not confirm his dominance the following day in a race where he started from behind and faced various problems with his bike, even showing some images of tremendous anger, which caused him to lose the lead in the X2O.

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His main rival should be Michael Vanthourenhout, who has had an outstanding start to the season, counting his participations by podiums, including 3 victories, two of which were in the Superprestige races, placing him as the clear leader of this competition, except for his abandonment in the Koppenbergcross.

The third contender for the European title should be Joris Nieuwenhuis, who seems to have found his best version, the same one that took him to the world silver medal two seasons ago, or the first human after an unbeatable Van der Poel. A release after the irregular 2024-25 season in which a complicated shingles condition delayed his entire preparation and debut in the campaign, preventing him from showing his true level. Despite somewhat irregular results so far this season, his victory last Sunday in the X2O race in Lokeren, due to the forcefulness with which it occurred, places him among the favorites to repeat in Middelkerke.

In a second tier, we could add cyclists who, if they have their day of inspiration, could clearly cause an upset. Cyclocross riders like Niels Vandeputte, Laurens Sweeck, or, why not, Felipe Orts himself could, despite their irregular start to the season, surprise at the European CX Championship.

As notable as the favorites are the significant absences from this race, starting with the three big names: Mathieu van der Poel, Wout van Aert, and Tom Pidcock, who have not even announced a hint of a calendar for this muddy season. In fact, it is highly likely that the Brit will not even participate in the cyclocross campaign, determined to seek maximum performance on the road after proving his potential with the podium achieved in La Vuelta.

Also among the absences, and this one is more significant, is Eli Iserbyt, who was forced to undergo surgery for his recurring problems with the iliac artery, which will likely mean he misses a large part, if not all, of the current cyclocross campaign.

The Circuit of the European CX Championship

The Belgian town of Middelkerke is responsible for hosting the European Cyclocross Championship for the 2025-26 season. A small town located on the shores of the North Sea, known for its usually unpleasant weather and strong winds that will undoubtedly toughen the day.

The European course is drawn within the military facilities of Lombardsijde, adding to the usual mouse-like design that currently dominates the circuits of the specialty a section through the beach sand, which, in addition to providing us with spectacular images, will surely be decisive for the outcome of the race as it is located in the final third of each lap.

Schedule of the European CX Championship

Saturday, November 8, 2025

• 11:00 – Junior Women
• 13:00 – U23 Men
• 15:00 – Elite Women

Sunday, November 9, 2025

• 11:00 – Junior Women
• 13:00 – U23 Women
• 15:00 – Elite Men

Where to watch the European CX Championship

As usual, our option to follow the European CX Championship will be through Eurosport and the online platform HBO-Max, which will broadcast both the Elite Women's and Men's races at the times indicated in the previous section, that is, Saturday at 15:00 for women and Sunday at the same time for men. Both races will be broadcast through HBO-Max as well as the Eurosport2 channel, in addition to offering multiple replays both the afternoon after the race and in the following days.