Flingin’ mud: 2018-2019 cyclocross World Cup schedule

On Wednesday, Canadian Cycling Magazine published the Canadian cyclocross calendar. Now it presents the World Cup schedule, along with the calendars of the Superprestige and DVV Verzekeringen Trofee series, the latter two based almost entirely in Belgium.

2018-2019 UCI World Cup
2017-2018: Elite Men: 1) Mathieu Van der Poel (The Netherlands), 2) Wout Van Aert (Belgium), 3) Toon Aerts (Belgium)
Elite Women: 1) Sanne Cant (Belgium), 2) Kaitlin Keough (USA), 3) Eva Lechner (Italy)

All three elite men’s series last season were dominated by Mathieu van der Poel and Wout Van Aert, with only Lars van der Haar breaking their lockdown of the competition wins by claiming the first DVV Verzekeringen Trofee contest.

The women’s side of things was much more interesting, especially in the World Cup, with five different race winners. Sanne Cant took her World Cup third title, but the surprise package was American Kaitlin Keough, whose four podiums earned her second place overall.

All the World Cup rounds were carried on the UCI’s YouTube channel.

This season look for Marianne Vos to be a big factor, as she has ended her road campaign early to concentrate on a full ‘cross season, even though she is leading the WorldTour standings.

For the fourth consecutive season, the World Cup will start in the USA before heading over to Europe.

September 23: Waterloo, Wisconsin, U.S.A.
September 29: Jinglecross, Iowa City, Iowa, U.S.A.
October 21: Bern, Switzerland
November 17: Tabor, Czech Republic
November 25: Koksijde, Belgium
December 23: Namur, Belgium
December 26: Heusden-Zolder, Belgium
January 20: Pont-Château, France
January 27: Hoogerheide, the Netherlands

Superprestige
2017-2018: Men: 1) Van Aert, 2) van der Poel, 3) Lars van der Haar (The Netherlands)
Women: 1) Cant 2) Maud Kaptheijns (The Netherlands), 3) Annemarie Worst (The Netherlands)

It’s a shame Maud “The Captain” Kaptheijns didn’t win the women’s competition last season, because she took the flowers in the first four rounds. Cant prevailed by two points.

October 14: Gieten, the Netherlands
October 20: Boom, Belgium
October 28: Oostkamp–Ruddervoorde, Bel
November 11: Gavere, Bel
December 16: Zonhoven, Bel
December 30: Diegem, Bel
February 10: Hoogstraten, Bel
February 16: Middelkerke, Bel

DVV Verzekeringen Trofee
2017-2018: Men: 1) Van der Poel, 2) Aerts, 3) van der Poel
Women: 1) Katie Compton (USA), 2) Nikki Brammeier (Great Britain), 3) Kaptheijns

Katie Compton won the first and penultimate races last season on her way to taking the title. This series in based on accumulated time, and Cant missing the first two rounds meant that she was fifth in this competition.

In both the World Cup and Superprestige series, van der Poel won every race except two that Van Aert claimed; in the DVV Verzekeringen Trofee he lost only one.

October 7: Ronse–Kluisbergen, Belgium
November 1: Melden–Oudenaarde, Bel
November 18: Hamme, Bel
December 8: Essen, Bel
December 15: Antwerpen, Bel
December 28: Loenhout, Bel
January 1: Baal, Bel
February 9: Lille, Bel

2019 UCI World Cyclocross Championships, February 2-3, Bogense, Denmark

2018 Valkenburg, the Netherlands Results
Men: Gold) Van Aert, Silver) Michael Vanthourenhout (Belgium), Bronze) van der Poel, 34) Michael van den Ham (Canada)
Women: Gold) Cant, Silver) Compton, Bronze) Lucinda Brand (The Netherlands), 22) Maghalie Rochette (Canada)
Canada’s best result: 19) Tyler Clark, Junior Men

February 2, 2019: Junior Men, Under-23 Men, Elite Women
February 3, 2019: Under-23 Women, Elite Men