[Race thread] 2025 World Cup Finale Hoogerheide (NED)
| Date | Location | Series | Women's start | Men's start |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 26 Jan | Hoogerheide, the Netherlands | World Cup (12/12) | 13:40 (CET) | 15:10 (CET) |
| Main info | Official website, UCI race hub, startlist women and startlist men, cyclocross24 race info page |
| Standings | Men's World Cup standings and women's standings |
| Previews | Wielerflits preview (Dutch), Course recon with Puck Pieterse from last year |
| Live updates | Live timing |
| TV | Full broadcast info (PDF warning), Telenet/Pickx (Belgium), Eurosport/Discovery+/HBO Max (Europe), Flosports/UCI YouTube (US/Canada) |
| Streams | UCI youtube women's race, Youtube men's race |
Weather: meh, 6C/43F
Course
No changes to the course of the Grand Prix Adrie van der Poel. It's a fast course, with some nice technical sections and strategically placed planks, and of course the slightly uphill finishing straight. Hopefully the drone in the forest from the World Champs two years ago will make a reappearence.
Women's favourites
Van Empel won her first World title here two years ago, and won the World Cup last year, a real banger of a race where Van Empel and podium guarantee Brand looked to be going into the final together, only for Vas to come back at the last possible moment but just not having the legs on the drag to the finish.
Backstedt and Schreiber rounded out the top 5 last year, and will be battling it out today for the overall win in the U23s.
And then we'll Vos starting too, who's won here twice too, plus Pieterse and Alvarado (the latter might be allergic to Hoogerheide though, as the one course she's never done well on).
Men's favourites
It's the final race of the World Cup, and mathematically Aerts could still win, but barring some accidents that keep Van der Poel from his usual winning mood (they are a yearly tradition, and I'm not sure breaking your rib and not competing at all count) and knock Vanthourenhout back to his worst result of the season, the winner is known. There could be a bit of a fight for the last podium spot worth €16,000 between Wyseure who leads over Iserbyt by 7 points. Though an in form Wyseure will be hard to beat on a muddy course.
And then there's Nieuwenhuis who had a great day with his podium in Maasmechelen, so despite all the misery for 3/4 of the season, he might be finding his form just in time for the Worlds next weekend. Or riders like Nys, Vandeputte Sweeck if he's on a mud = wet sand day, or even Van der Haar who is one of the few people not named Van der Poel who's won here before.