The World Cup race in Antwerp on December 20 will be the first duel between Mathieu van der Poel and Wout van Aert in this cyclocross season. After the reigning World Champion van der Poel immediately won his season premiere in Namur, van Aert enters the racing action on the Scheldt. Cyclocross expert and ex-pro Jens Schwedler analyzes for Alpecin Cycling whether the Belgian will be competitive right away, what makes up the course of the Scheldecross in Antwerp and whether Lucinda Brand’s winning streak will continue in the women’s race.
Course of the Cyclocross World Cup in Antwerp 2025
The approximately three-kilometer-long course starts and ends at the Wandeldijk on the Linkeroever. From there, the route leads over grass and short asphalt sections into long sand passages directly on the Scheldt (“Plaasj”). A bridge on the grass area as well as the passage through the campsite “City Camping Antwerp” are further characteristics of the Scheldecross. Due to the terrain and the location on the river, the course on the open straights is susceptible to crosswinds or headwinds.
“Even if the professionals have to ride through a lot of sand at the Scheldecross, the race has a completely different characteristic than the competition one day later in Koksijde,” says Jens Schwedler. “A professional will face far fewer technical problems in Antwerp, instead pure physics almost always decides the success here.” “It is not a typical sand course in Antwerp. The sand here is not as deep as in Koksijde and much easier to ride on,” explains Schwedler and illustrates the blatant difference: “The sand does not fall on the rim like in Koksijde.”
In addition, the course at Sint-Annastrand is not very demanding topographically. “The climbs are almost minimalist compared to many other courses,” says Schwedler.
Passages through the mud would be technically challenging. However, the weather forecast currently predicts dry conditions, so this should not be an aggravating factor.
“It is a physically very demanding course, as the riders have to put pressure on the pedal almost all the time,” says Schwedler. This requires consistently absolutely high wattages, as only large engines can provide. “In the beginning, that will hardly make a difference,” says Schwedler. The professionals will most likely stay together, but at halftime, from the third or fourth lap, the power could decrease in some.
Anyone who wants to ride at the front must also manage riding behind the wheel on such a course. This is all the more important when the wind is blowing. “Therefore, I see the road cyclists – including former ones – at an advantage among the crossers,” Schwedler continues.
Favorites check for the Cyclocross World Cup Antwerp 2025
Men: Duel Mathieu van der Poel versus Wout van Aert
It is the first of a total of five duels that Wout van Aert and Mathieu van der Poel are expected to deliver in the cyclocross winter. Only two of them take place as part of the World Cup. It will be exciting to see how Wout van Aert comes back. Will he compensate for the lack of competition practice with physics? “Wout is always a bit like a surprise package in his first races in the cross. You never know where you stand. It is quite possible that he will immediately deliver a tough fight with Mathieu and Thibau Nys,” says Jens Schwedler.
“However, when it comes to victory, I clearly see Mathieu at an advantage. He can simply recover so well during a race and has an insane physique,” says Schwedler. After the performances of Namur, Schwedler sees Nys as van der Poel’s strongest rival – alongside van Aert. Behind them, some will swap places. The fine technicians will have to give way to the powerhouses on this course. “I see Joris Nieuwenhuis ahead of Michael Vantourenhout in Antwerp. Lars van der Haar and Cameron Mason cannot exploit their technical qualities on such a course either,” says Schwedler.
Women: Top favorite Lucinda Brand before the next victory?
Even if it is almost boring to write that: The victory in the women’s race goes to Lucinda Brand. “She has an incredibly large engine and also an incredibly large wealth of experience,” says Jens Schwedler. In addition, she wants to take the lead in the World Cup, which she could achieve with another victory. Jens Schwedler also gives the female mountain biker Jolanda Neff and the Italian Sara Casasola, if they compete, good chances of a place on the podium. Both have very good endurance and pace resistance. “Puck Pieterse needs more technical courses. In addition, in my opinion, she was too far away in Namur,” says Schwedler. However, he believes that Ceylin del Carmen Alvarado can achieve a very good result. She is tactically clever and masters riding behind the wheel very well, which is important at the Scheldecross.
TV tip: Cyclocross World Cup in Antwerp 2025 live on Discovery Plus
The streaming service Discovery Plus will broadcast the races in Antwerp live on December 20. The women’s race will be broadcast from 1:30 PM. Following that, the men’s race will be broadcast from 3:00 PM.
Video: Mathieu van der Poel’s victory 2024 at the World Cup in Antwerp
Our Cyclocross Expert: Jens Schwedler
Jens Schwedler is a former German cyclocross and mountain bike professional. In cyclocross, he was a multiple German champion (including 2002 and 2005). In mountain biking, he achieved international top results, including 14th place at the 1996 World Championships.
Today, the 57-year-old from Hamburg is active in cyclocross as a trainer and sporting director and has dedicated himself specifically to the promotion of children and young people. He also rides masters races when time permits. Extremely successful, as his World Cup titles there prove.
He has a special connection to Mathieu van der Poel. On the one hand, his father Adrie was Schwedler’s competitor in the cyclocross races. On the other hand, Jens accompanied Mathieu’s career from the beginning, as the Dutchman was on the Stevens bike brand, Schwedler’s employer, for a long time.
Photos: Fellusch
