UCI Cyclo-cross World Cup – Hoogerheide

The UCI Cyclo-cross World Cup round in Hoogerheide, the Netherlands, is a cyclocross race known as the GP Adrie van der Poel. It was first held in 2000 as a tribute to Adrie van der Poel, who was ending his professional career, and was a World Cup round for the first time in 2003. It is raced in late January and has for years been the last round of the series. The lap of just over three kilometers runs through woods, over open meadows and along the steep banks of the Brabantse Wal.

The farewell race for Adrie van der Poel that became a World Cup round

Hoogerheide is a small Dutch town near the Belgian border, on the Brabantse Wal, a natural line of high ground with steep banks. On February 20, 2000, a cyclocross race was held there as a tribute to Adrie van der Poel, who was ending his professional career. He rode it and finished third, behind Richard Groenendaal and Sven Nys. What began as a regional race was a World Cup round for the first time in 2003. Since 2005 it has been raced in the second half of January, and for years it has been the last round of the series.

The lap in Hoogerheide that Fem van Empel won on the steps

The lap is just over three kilometers long and winds through woods, over open meadows and along the steep banks of the Brabantse Wal. The start is in a wide, gentle bend that rises slightly, and at the pit the riders turn into the field and go into the woods, past the tree called the 12-Apostelenboom. The lap makes double loops over a high meadow and a low one. The riders climb the Stairway to Heaven, at the Uilenberg, and then accelerate once more toward the finish.

On January 28, 2024, three women started the last lap together: Fem van Empel, Lucinda Brand and Kata Blanka Vas. Brand set the pace until Van Empel accelerated on the Brabantse Wal, and Brand refused to let her go. Toward the end of the lap Vas went to the front, wanting to start the sprint first. On the steps Van Empel sprinted past Vas and Brand and was first into the final straight. Van Empel won ahead of Vas, with Brand third at 10 seconds.

Mathieu van der Poel’s eight wins in the race named after his father

The race carries the name of Adrie van der Poel, and between 2015 and 2026 his son Mathieu won it eight times. Before that Mathieu van der Poel had won the junior race here in 2012 and 2013. On January 24, 2016, with a crosswind on the uphill finishing straight, he was at the front by the halfway mark of the first lap. He led Wout van Aert by 16 seconds after two laps and by 33 seconds a lap later, riding sections where the chasers behind him were running. It was Van der Poel’s second win here in as many years.

On January 28, 2024, Van der Poel did not come to the front until lap six. He attacked on the Brabantse Wal, and the group came back to him. On the penultimate lap he attacked again at the same spot, led by 24 seconds during the last lap and rode alone to the win.

The 2023 world championships on a course Adrie van der Poel designed

The world championships were held in Hoogerheide in 2009, 2014 and 2023, each time in place of the World Cup round. In 2023 the course had tall, uphill barriers that Adrie van der Poel, its designer, had placed a few turns before the paved finish, and his son was the fastest rider over them. Mathieu van der Poel attacked on the first major climb, and only Wout van Aert could follow. On the last lap Van der Poel did not attack at the barriers; he stayed behind Van Aert until they reached the paved finish, started the sprint first and won the title.

In the women’s race Fem van Empel and Puck Pieterse traded the lead for two laps, Van Empel stronger on the long climbs and the pavement, Pieterse on the technical descents and the barriers. Early on lap four Pieterse slid out in a downhill corner. Van Empel led by 17 seconds at the end of that lap and took the title, with Pieterse second.

Marianne Vos, a winner in Hoogerheide 13 years apart

Marianne Vos became world champion in Hoogerheide in 2009, when she outsprinted Hanka Kupfernagel and Katie Compton, and again in 2014. Vos also won the World Cup round five times between 2010 and 2022. The fifth of those wins came on January 23, 2022, 13 years after her first world title here. Five riders were in contention late in that race, among them Lucinda Brand and the under-23 rider Puck Pieterse. Two laps from the end Brand accelerated, and for a moment only Vos could follow. With one lap left Pieterse attacked on the long paved finishing straight; Vos went after her and a gap opened to Brand. Brand had just closed the gap when Vos attacked on a steep climb and left the others behind. Asked whether she was the favorite for the world championships a week later, Vos said: “Next week is a new race for everyone.”