It was a thrilling Sunday of racing on the Cotentin Peninsula, as Aniek van Alphen and Thibau Nys took elite wins.
Cor Vos
The second round of the UCI World Cup saw another weekend of racing for all categories in Flamanville, Northern France.
Positioned on the west coast of Northern France’s Cotentin Peninsula, Flamanville is a port town whose biggest claim to fame these days is as home to a nuclear power plant, its supplies of iron and granite, and the legend of a dragon that terrorised the area in the fifth century. But this weekend, it was all about cyclocross.
Flamanville is not a tentpole feature of the calendar, it’s only twice been used outside the Coupe de France (and National Championships), but its UCI World Cup appearances have hosted great racing in 2022 and 2023. On Sunday morning, Nys was quick to praise the quality of the course, even making the bold claim that non-traditional CX nations might actually be doing it better than Belgium at the moment. There was certainly a lot for riders and fans alike to get their teeth into, with a couple of long, fast stretches, technical sections and multiple obstacles to test all manner of ‘cross skills.
CX gallery: The UCI World Cup kicks off in frozen Tábor
The UCI Cyclocross World Cup kicked off in Tábor, Czechia, with a picturesque – and icy cold – day of racing.
All the races were thrilling in their own ways, with French and Italian riders reigning supreme in the junior and under-23 categories. Then later in the day, the elite competition was fierce, both men and women giving fans plenty to watch, as Aniek van Alphen and Thibau Nys took brilliant victories.
The weekend was given an extra sheen of significance by the elite roll call. With World Cup leader Lucinda Brand and second-place Sara Casasola joining Fem van Empel and Puck Pieterse on the absentees list, it was all to play for among the elite women. As for the men, they were racing just days after the announcement of Mathieu van der Poel’s 13-race programme (provisional), which is set to include at least six (possibly eight) of the 12 World Cup rounds. Assuming the world champion arrives in the same dominant form as he has in previous years, time is running out for those still looking for a big win this season.
In two weeks, Mathieu will be there, and it’ll be a completely different story.”
– Thibau Nys
Junior women top 5
- Lise Revol (France) 41:29
- Giorgia Pellizotti (Italy) +1:20
- Lucie Grohová (Czechia) +1:45
- Nynke Jochems (Netherlands) +1:58
- Isis Versluis (Netherlands) +2:02
The junior men’s race had kicked off the day’s racing shortly after the crack of dawn, and as has been a recurring theme so far this season, Italian youngsters Filippo Grigolini and Patrik Pezzo Rosola caused no end of trouble for their rivals. Tábor winner Soren Bruyère Joumard put up a good fight, but European champion Grigolini ultimately broke clear to take a solo victory. The Frenchman was able to defend his World Cup lead, though, taking second place on the Italian-dominated podium. He leads the standings by five points to Grigolini after two of six rounds.
Junior men top 5 (sadly, no photos)
- Filippo Grigolini (Italy) +36:42
- Soren Bruyère Joumard (France) +0:11
- Patrik Pezzo Rosola (Italy) +0:32
- Delano Heeren (Netherlands) +0:34
- Giel Lejeune (Belgium) +0:47
Under-23 men top 5
- Aubin Sparfel (France) 50:35
- Yordi Corsus (Belgium) +0:12
- Stefano Viezzi (Italy) +0:26
- Arthur van den Boer (Belgium) +0:34
- Kay De Bruyckere (Belgium) +0:41
The age-group categories will next race for World Cup honours at Koksijde on 21st December, then again at Dendermonde on the 28th. They’ll then travel to Benidorm on 18 January, before the all-category finale at Hoogerheide a week later.
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