Cyclo-cross is a form of bicycle racing. Races typically take place in the autumn and winter, and consist of many laps of a short course featuring pavement, wooded trails, grass, steep hills and obstacles requiring the rider to quickly dismount, carry the bike while navigating the obstruction and remount. Races for senior categories are generally between 40 minutes and an hour long, with the distance varying depending on the ground conditions. The sport is strongest in the traditional road cycling countries such as Belgium, France and the Netherlands.
Bart Wellens is a Belgian former professional cyclo-cross and road cyclist. He now works as the team manager of UCI Cyclo-cross Team 777.
Team Jumbo–Visma is a Dutch professional bicycle racing team, successor of the former Rabobank. The team consists of four sections: ProTeam, UCI Women's Team, Continental, and Cyclo-cross.
Koppenberg is a 77 m (253 ft) high hill in Oudenaarde, the Flemish Ardennes, Belgium. "Koppen" is an abbreviation for cobblestones which in Dutch slang language are called kinderkoppen, or "children's heads". This climb is part of the route of the Tour of Flanders professional cycling race and feared by many because of its steepness and because of its cobblestones. This makes the Koppenberg difficult even for top professionals. Quite often, riders slow to the point of losing their balance, especially those at the back of the peloton who have to dismount and scramble to the top on foot.
Richard Marinus Anthonius Groenendaal is a Dutch former professional cyclo-cross cyclist. Groenendaal won the UCI Cyclo-cross World Championships in 2000 and the overall titles in the UCI Cyclo-cross World Cup 1997–1998, 2000–2001 and 2003–2004 and in the Cyclo-cross Superprestige in 1997–1998 and 2000–2001.
John Gadret is a French former professional racing cyclist in cyclo-cross and road racing, currently racing for the USO Bruay-la-Buissière amateur team. He became a stagiaire for Cofidis in 2003 before turning professional with the Vlaanderen–T Interim team in 2004.
The Grand Prix Sven Nys or GP Sven Nys is a cyclo-cross race held in Baal, Belgium. The race is named after cyclo-cross legend Sven Nys who is a citizen of Baal. Nys won his "own" race 12 out of 16 times he competed. He was sick at home for the 14th edition in 2013. The race is part of the X²O Badkamers Trophy.
Helen Wyman is a British cyclist for the Experza-Footlogix team. She participates in both road cycling and cyclo-cross and since she began competing at the age of 14, Wyman has represented her country at many international events including World Cups and World Championships. Except for 2013, she was the British national champion in cyclo-cross from 2006–2015.
Lars Anthonius Johannes Boom is a professional cyclo-cross and mountain bike racing cyclist. He has also competed professionally in road racing, between 2004 and 2019.
The Vlaamse Druivenveldrit is a cyclo-cross race held in Overijse, Belgium. The race is organised by the VZW Sportvrienden Overijse and was first held in 1960. The race is regarded as a Cyclo-cross classic and has a difficult and dangerous parcours that often results in crashes.
Zdeněk Štybar is a Czech professional cyclist, who currently rides for UCI WorldTeam Deceuninck–Quick-Step. While best known as a cyclo-cross racer, in 2011 Štybar began his professional road career while continuing to race cyclo-cross.
Kevin Pauwels is a retired Belgian professional racing cyclist, who rode professionally between 2004 and 2019 for the Fidea and Pauwels Sauzen–Bingoal teams. Pauwels retired on 24 February 2019 after winning the Sluitingsprijs Oostmalle.
Baloise-Trek Lions is a UCI Continental cycling team based in Belgium which focuses predominantly on the cyclo-cross season. The team is named after its main sponsors Baloise and Trek. The team had various different names in the past amongstr which Spaar-Select and Telenet-Fidea.
Danny De Bie is a former Belgian professional cyclist and directeur sportif, who won the men's race at the 1989 UCI Cyclo-cross World Championships. His brothers Eddy De Bie and Rudy De Bie also competed professionally.
Philipp Walsleben is a German professional road racing cyclist, who currently rides for UCI ProTeam Alpecin–Fenix. Walsleben also competed professionally in cyclo-cross, winning the world under-23 title in 2009 and the German national title on six occasions.
The 2007 UCI Cyclo-cross World Championships – Men's elite race was held on Sunday 28 January 2007 as a part of the 2007 UCI Cyclo-cross World Championships in Hooglede-Gits, Belgium.
The BPost Bank Trophy 2013–2014 is a season long cyclo-cross competition which began on 13 October with the GP Mario De Clercq and will end on 23 February in Oostmalle.
The BPost Bank Trophy 2014–2015 is a season long cyclo-cross competition which began on 12 October with the GP Mario De Clercq and will end on 7 February in Lille. In this season Oostmalle, that became an independent race this season, is replaced by Hamme, a former race in the Superprestige.
Wout van Aert is a Belgian professional road and cyclo-cross racer who currently rides for UCI WorldTeam Team Jumbo–Visma. He won the men's elite race at the UCI Cyclo-cross World Championships in 2016, 2017 and 2018. He joined Team Jumbo–Visma in March 2019, on a three-year deal after terminating his contract with Vérandas Willems–Crelan in 2018.
Femke Van den Driessche is a Belgian former cyclo-cross cyclist, mountainbiker and road racing cyclist. As a junior, she became national cyclo-cross champion in 2011 and mountain bike champion in 2013. In 2015, Van den Driessche won the European Cyclo-cross Championships in the women's under-23 category, and in 2016 she became Belgian champion in the same category, but she was later stripped of both titles.
Rudy Thielemans (BEL)
