Sweeck, Nys, Vanthourenhout, and Vandeputte are competing for the leadership of the World Cup in Dendermonde

Both Mathieu van der Poel and Wout van Aert will be absent from the Cyclocross World Cup race that will take place on Sunday, December 28, in Dendermonde, allowing the usual competitors of the discipline to take center stage as they continue their tight battle for the World Cup lead.

Cyclocross World Cup Schedule – Dendermonde

Sunday, December 28, 2025

• 09:30 – Junior Men
• 10:35 – Junior Women
• 12:00 – U23 Men
• 13:40 – Elite Women
• 15:10 – Elite Men

Favorites for the Cyclocross World Cup – Dendermonde

An interesting race is set to take place in Dendermonde. After two weeks under the tyranny of Mathieu van der Poel, we have an open race again with the added incentive that the overall classification is very close among those who will be fighting for the final victory in early February.

A race in which, based on what was seen in the Gavere event, Thibau Nys should be the top favorite after being the only one to challenge Van der Poel. Although he did not succeed, he is in spectacular form, and only the inconsistency that his mind often leads him to can keep him from fighting for victory in Dendermonde.

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Although he has not shown enough punch to fight for victory, we cannot overlook the current leader of the Cyclocross World Cup general classification. Laurens Sweeck is doing tremendous work throughout the championship, as evidenced by his high position in the standings. However, victories ultimately weigh heavily, and that little -big- leap is what the Corendon-Crelan rider needs to start solidifying his privileged position.

Michael Vanthourenhout and Niels Vandeputte are in similar circumstances, having maintained great consistency, but since the start of the season, they seem to be missing that extra something to compete for victory.

One who does have a good punch and we will likely see fighting for the race is young Tibor del Grosso, who is rapidly progressing and is already eating at the table of the older competitors without any shame.

Cyclocross World Cup Circuit – Dendermonde

The course, usually marked by mud, will likely offer a very different race in 2025 after several weeks without rain in Flanders and no forecast for it to appear in the coming days.

Therefore, instead of the usual difficulty of crossing those muddy fields, we could see a very fast race contested in a group, which always opens up victory options for a larger number of cyclists.

How to Watch the Cyclocross World Cup – Dendermonde

This Cyclocross World Cup event in Dendermonde will again not have a slot on Eurosport 1 and 2, so those who want to follow the race on this channel will only have the option to do so through the HBO Max platform.

Once again, Televisión Española comes to the rescue by having broadcasting rights for the entire Cyclocross World Cup this season, allowing viewers to follow the Dendermonde event through Teledeporte or its online platform RTVE Play.