Toon Aerts and Inge van der Heijden win the European CX Championships

The 2025 European Cyclocross Championship concluded this Sunday after two intense days of competition in Middelkerke (Belgium), where more than 16,000 spectators experienced a weekend marked by Dutch dominance in the women's category and a tight finish among Belgians in the men's. Toon Aerts and Van der Heijden claimed the champion jerseys while the Spaniard Felipe Orts made it into the Top 10.

Aerts wears the blue jersey again nine years later

Toon Aerts (Belgium) savored the continental title nine years after his first victory in 2016. The 32-year-old veteran Flemish rider triumphed after a very tactical race in which the leading group remained compact until the final laps. In the closing stages, he managed to break away alongside Thibau Nys, the defending champion, and the two battled for gold in a sprint.

Aerts crossed the finish line with the same time as Nys (58:40), while Joran Wyseure completed an entirely Belgian podium. The Dutchman Pim Ronhaar and the Briton Cameron Mason rounded out the Top 5.

Top 10 2025 European CX Championship Men's Elite

1. Toon Aerts (BEL) – 58:40
2. Thibau Nys (BEL) + 0 s
3. Joran Wyseure (BEL) + 3 s
4. Pim Ronhaar (NED) + 4 s
5. Cameron Mason (GBR) + 4 s
6. Emiel Verstrynge (BEL) + 12 s
7. Mees Hendrikx (NED) + 25 s
8. Jente Michels (BEL) + 33 s
9. Felipe Orts Lloret (ESP) + 37 s
10. Michael Vanthourenhout (BEL) + 42 s

Van der Heijden leads another Dutch triple

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In the women's race, held on Saturday, Inge van der Heijden (Netherlands) dominated from start to finish to claim her first elite European title. The Dutch rider took the lead from the start and maintained an unreachable pace throughout the six laps of the circuit.

Lucinda Brand, world champion in 2021, crossed the finish line 41 seconds later, and Aniek van Alphen completed the podium, marking another triple for the Netherlands. The Italian Sara Casasola finished fourth, while the French Amandine Fouquenet rounded out the Top 5.

Top 10 2025 European CX Championship Women's Elite

1. Inge van der Heijden (NED) – 50:19
2. Lucinda Brand (NED) + 0:41
3. Aniek van Alphen (NED) + 0:56
4. Sara Casasola (ITA) + 2:03
5. Amandine Fouquenet (FRA) + 2:14
6. Hélène Clauzel (FRA) + 2:35
7. Denise Betsema (NED) + 2:44
8. Laura Verdonschot (BEL) + 3:00
9. Kristýna Zemanová (CZE) + 3:14
10. Julie Brouwers (BEL) + 4:00 

The distribution of medals once again confirmed the hegemony of Belgium and the Netherlands in European cyclocross: both countries dominated the elite podiums and also took the majority of titles in the under-23 and junior categories.