Where and when to watch the CX World Championships 2021

The big day has arrived. The 2021 Cyclocross World Championships in Ostend arrive this weekend with the stakes high.

How are the riders approaching the World Championships in Ostend?

After what happened at the Cyclo-cross World Cup, the Ostend World Championships are expected to be full of excitement. After a consistent show of strength by Van Aert and Van der Poel, the Belgian circuit hosts the Cyclo-cross World Championship. In it, both riders will have to compete with the rest of the peloton, although everything suggests that the final victory will have to be fought against each other.

Van Aert comes from winning in Overjise and taking an emotionally thrilling World Cup in which Mathieu Van der Poel finished second. The Dutchman will try to take the thorn out of his side in the main event of the year on the CX circuit. He is the reigning champion for the third time in a row (four times in his career) and will try to be a fourth in a row (fifth in total). Van Aert knows how to beat him, but nevertheless he has recently stated that the favourite is undoubtedly Mathieu Van der Poel. Who knows if this is just to take the pressure off himself. Tom Pidcock is the third favourite after the last few World Cup races.

In the women's event, all eyes will be on Ceylin del Carmen Alvarado. Van der Poel's teammate will try to retain her rainbow jersey, but will she make it?

Here you have all the information of this Cyclocross World Championships 2021 in Ostend, which will be held on Saturday 30th January and Sunday 31st January. Finally, there will be no Junior race, only elite and U-23 races in both male and female categories.

Calendar of the 2021 Cyclo-cross World Championships

Saturday and Sunday's races will be as follows. On Saturday, it will be the turn of the Under-23 men and the Elite women. On Sunday, the U-23 women and the Elite men. This is the schedule for the weekend in Ostend:

Favourites to win the 2021 Cyclo-cross World Championship

The first elite event will be the women's race, and in this race two riders who have been competing against each other throughout the World Cup will face one another again. It is a similar duel to Van Aert and Van der Poel in the men's elite. They are Lucinda Brand and Ceylin del Carmen Alvarado. Brand comes from winning the women's World Cup against the current World Champion. And that rainbow is none other than Alvarado, current champion. They will have to face profiles such as Denise Betsema, but everything points to a duel between the two.

In the men's category, the anthological duel is served: Wout Van Aert against Mathieu Van der Poel. Same scenario as in the women's category: Van Aert has just won the World Cup, but he faces Van der Poel, who hasn't lost a World Cup in the last three years. The third in discord, although candidates for the surprise, might be Vanthourenhout or Pidcock. The British has finished the World Cup at an excellent level, only surpassed by the two top riders of world cyclo-cross, in some occasions he has even beaten them both.

Where to watch the 2021 Cyclo-cross World Championships

As usual, the television rights for the 2021 Cyclo-cross World Championships in Ostend are held entirely by Eurosport. Therefore, in Spain it will only be available on Eurosport, which will broadcast the four races live.

It will be available on television (video on demand) or on webstream via the Eurosport Player app. If you miss it, a replay will be available on Eurosport 2 on Saturday at 19:30 and Sunday at 19:00.

For the rest of the countries at a global level, you can consult the UCI's own list.