Here's How to Watch Cyclocross Racing in the 2023-24 Season
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Cyclocross season is in full swing around the world, and when it comes to a sport that’s as fun to watch as it is to race, it’s hard to beat CX. The slippery mud, the pouring rain, the ridiculous bridges and barriers on the courses—it all comes together to create cycling magic.
If you’re new to the sport, picture what would happen if road biking and mountain biking had a love child, and that child grew up to really enjoy running with their bike through ridiculous amounts of mud, bunny-hopping over random barriers around a course that takes about eight minutes to complete, and racing often twice in a weekend. And unlike watching a road Classic or Tour stage, these races are fast, lasting right around an hour.
And then, there’s the fans: They come out in droves, armed with ridiculous flags, signs, hats and outfits in order to cheer on their favorite riders and possibly hit up the beer tent or the fry stand.
In Europe, heading to the Namur World Cup when Mathieu Van der Poel and Wout Van Aert are both on the start line feels akin to attending an NFL game where Taylor Swift is in the stands.
This year is a fantastic blend of races for cyclocross fans. We love a new and exciting venue. But there’s something to be said about a return to some of the old tried-and-true favorites. And this year, cyclocross really feels like it’s going classic with some of the biggest races coming back to well-loved venues, like Worlds in Tábor, Czech Republic.
Here’s who—and which races—we’re excited about this season, along with how to stream them.
Cyclocross Riders to Watch
Elite Women
The front of the elite women’s race looks a bit different in the last couple of years as riders like 21-year-olds Fem Van Empel (the reigning World Champion) and Puck Pieterse come to the front of the pack. They went 1-2 in Waterloo last weekend, followed by former World Champion Ceylin del Carmen Alvarado.
While the old guard—think Lucinda Brand, Pauline Ferrand Prevot, Marianne Vos—are still more than capable of taking wins when they show up, the younger riders are definitely having a moment.
For domestic races, right now Canadian Maghalie Rochette is showing that #CXfever wins races. She’s often joined on the podium by Caroline Mani, the Frenchwoman who came to the US to race ‘cross a decade ago and is still crushing it.
Reigning U. S. National Champion Clara Honsinger also just began her cyclocross campaign for the season, finishing seventh at the World Cup in Waterloo.
Pay attention to the young riders as well, especially the Canadian twins Isabella and Ava Holmgren. Isabella is the reigning junior world champion in both cyclocross and MTB, while Ava finished second at cyclocross Worlds. This is their first season on Trek-Lidl, and it will be fun to watch what the girls can do—Isabella finished eighth in the elite race in Waterloo, so clearly is a contender even in the elite field.
Elite Men
Sure, we start most articles about cycling—regardless of whether we’re talking road, cyclocross or MTB—by saying that the riders to watch are Mathieu Van Der Poel, Wout Van Aert and Tom Pidcock. But it’s true. In fact, cyclocross was the primary sport for the Big Three back in the day, and while they’ve shifted focus to other disciplines and often start cyclocross season late, they’re the guys to beat.
This year, though, they’ll have some competition in the form of GOAT CXer Sven Nys’ legacy: his son, Thibault Nys, who took his first elite win at the World Cup in Waterloo last weekend. Eli Iserbyt and Pim Ronhaar, who finished second and third there, are also top contenders.
On the domestic side, reigning National Champion Curtis White is going to be hoping to hold on to his title, while Andrew Strohmeyer came out charging hard this season, with podiums at Rochester CX to start the season and the top American placing in the World Cup.
Cyclocross Races to Stream
There are a few key series’ in cyclocross over in Europe, and in the U.S., the season has been somewhat truncated in the U.S. Pro Cyclocross Series with USA Cycling. The US season is already halfway over—we tend to have races earlier in the season due to more wintery weather conditions compared to mild European winter—but there’s still plenty of racing to go.
And in Europe, the season is really just getting started. The World Cup comes back to Belgium on October 29, 2023 after kicking off in the U. S. earlier this month, and the Superprestige and X2O race series’ are also just getting started.
Our top recommendation? If you’re a cyclocross fanatic, make sure you’re home for the holidays—and don’t make morning plans. The Christmas Week is one of the most fun weeks of the year for cyclocross fans, with races including three World Cups, two Superprestige races, and one X2O Trofee race between the 23rd of December and 1st of January.
Which streaming platform is best for cyclocross?
It’s admittedly a bit of a tossup. GCN+ is significantly cheaper than a FloBikes subscription and has great coverage of the Superprestige and X2O series’, and had some solid American coverage earlier in the season.
But FloBikes has the rights to the World Cups as well as World Championships in the U. S. It’s roughly the same number of races, so you’ll have to decide which are more important/interesting to you... or spring for both services!
Here are the big series to watch and the dates of each race—if you’re not sure which streaming service to go with, look at the schedule of races and see which you’re most excited about.
Cyclocross World Cup Series
The best part of cyclocross? There are always races on. The World Cup has 14 rounds this year, and while the bulk are in Belgium, the season began in the U. S. at the Waterloo World Cup, and heads to France, Ireland, Spain, Italy, and The Netherlands.
These races take place on Sundays with the exception of rounds 9-11 around the holidays, and if you’re in the U. S., most of the races will take place before 10 a.m. EST, making them ideal to watch on the trainer or over morning coffee.
The World Cup is streamed on FloBikes
October 15, 2023: Waterloo (USA)
October 29, 2023: Maasmechelen (Belgium)
November 12, 2023: Dendermonde (Belgium)
November 19, 2023: Troyes (France)
November 26, 2023: Dublin (Ireland)
December 3, 2023: Flamanville (France)
December 10, 2023: Val di Sole, Trentino (Italy)
December 17, 2023: Namur (Belgium)
December 23, 2023: Antwerp (Belgium) - Saturday!
December 26, 2023: Gavere (Belgium) - Tuesday!
December 30, 2023: Hulst (Netherlands) - Saturday
January 7, 2024: Zonhoven (Belgium)
January 21, 2024: Benidorm, Costa Blanca (Spain)
January 28, 2024: Hoogerheide, Noord Brabant (Netherlands)
Superprestige Series
The Superprestige series is, well, super-prestigious in the cyclocross world, and it features some of the most classic races on the calendar, starting with Druivencross in Overijse. (Don't have a clue how to pronounce any of these? Don’t worry—you’ll pick it up quick!)
The Superprestige Series is streamed in the U. S. on GCN+
October 22, 2023: Vlaamse Druivencross in Overijse
October 28, 2023: Ruddervoorde
November 11, 2023: Jaarmarktcross
November 18, 2023: Aardbeiencross
December 2, 2023: Boom
December 27, 2023: Heusden-Zolder (Wednesday)
December 28, 2023: Diegem (Thursday)
February 10, 2024: Noordzeecross
X2O Trofee Schedule
The X2o Trofee Series features some of the most classic Belgian races, like Koppenbergcross, GP Sven Nys Baal (on New Year’s Day!) and Flandriencross. The Trofee series really gets up to speed later in the season, and it’s the longest running series on the calendar, so when the World Cup and Superprestige finish up, you can still tune in for a few more X2O races.
The X2o Trofee Series is streamed in the U. S. on GCN+
November 1, 2023: Koppenbergcross (Wednesday!)
November 25, 2023: Urban Cross
December 16, 2023: Herentals
January 1, 2024: GP Sven Nys Baal
January 4, 2024: Vlaamse Duinencross
January 27, 2024: Flandriencross
February 11, 2024: Krawatencross
February 18, 2024: Brussels Universities Cyclocross
USA Cycling Professional Cyclocross Calendar (Pro CX)
The U. S. season is already halfway over, but there’s still quite a bit of racing coming up. Unfortunately, not all of it will be streamed, but if you’re near these courses, definitely put them on your calendar whether you want to try racing or just want to spectate! Plenty of pros will show up for these races.
October 21-22: Kings CX, Cincinnati, OH
October 28-29: Really Rad CX, Falmouth, MA (on GCN+)
November 4-5: Pan American Cyclocross Championships, Missoula, MT
November 18-19: North Carolina Grand Prix
December 2-3: EPTC CX Classic, Georgia
USA Cyclocross Nationals
This year, Masters and Elite Nationals in the U. S. return to Louisville, Kentucky, home of the 2013 World Championships. Eva Bandman Park is one of the premier cyclocross venues in the U. S. and the Louisville crowds are always fantastic. Tune in... or sign up to race.
December 5-10, 2023
Louisville, Kentucky
Watch on FloBikes
Cyclocross World Championships
Tábor in the Czech Republic is another iconic cyclocross venue, with an awesomely technical course and a huge cyclocross (and cycling) fan base in the city. Last year’s World Championships saw Mathieu Van der Poel regain the title, with Fem Van Empel taking the women’s race. This year, with many of the multi-discipline cyclocrossers (like Pieterse, Van der Poel, Pidcock, Ferrand-Prevot, and Van Aert) gunning for an Olympic slot, it may be less densely populated since some riders may opt to end their CX season early—we’ll see!
February 4-5, 2023
Tábor, Czech Republic
Watch on Flobikes
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