Thibau Nys arrives in the Dutch village of Zeddam on Sunday with a rare opening in front of him. Wout van Aert is skipping the European Championships, Mathieu van der Poel is not racing either, and Toon Aerts, the defending champion, is out with a knee injury. The men’s elite race gets a new European champion on Sunday, and it is the first real chance in years for the riders who normally finish in the shadow of the two giants.
Nys, the 2024 European champion, opened his 2026-27 cyclocross season last Sunday with a victory at the Koppenbergcross, beating Michael Vanthourenhout by seven seconds despite two crashes. “I had the legs I hoped for,” he said afterwards. His recovery from those falls, more than the win itself, was the clearest signal yet of his form going into Zeddam.
Vanthourenhout, European champion in 2022 and 2023, is the man most likely to deny him. The pair have already spent an opening weekend trading seconds on the Koppenberg, and Vanthourenhout, winner of the Superprestige opener in Overijse this autumn, is the rider expected to push Nys hardest in Zeddam. Behind them, the home hopes rest largely on Joris Nieuwenhuis, who grew up in the Gelderland region where Sunday’s final lap will be decided.
The 99 steps that will decide it
The course, designed by 2006 world champion Erwin Vervecken, runs for about 2.97 kilometres per lap and draws its central feature from a staircase that has been rebuilt for the occasion: 99 steps, 50 metres long, three metres wide throughout, pitched at 25 degrees, slightly less steep than the old version.
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The staircase is the obstacle every rider will be measured against. It is wider than before, so overtaking is now possible there, but the climb itself remains the sharpest selection point on the lap. Positioning into the base of the steps, how fast a rider can shoulder the bike, and how cleanly they can remount at the top will shape the race.
Belgium has named an eight-man elite squad for Sunday led by Nys and Vanthourenhout, joined by Laurens Sweeck, Niels Vandeputte, Joran Wyseure, Jente Michels, Witse Meeussen and Gerben Kuypers.
Brand the clear favourite in the women’s race
The women’s elite race on Saturday looks less open. Lucinda Brand, the reigning world champion, arrives on the back of a Koppenbergcross win last Sunday, and the European title is the one major jersey that has eluded her since 2021. Her main challenger is Luxembourg’s Marie Schreiber, with defending champion Inge van der Heijden, three-time former European champion Fem van Empel and Dutch champion Ceylin del Carmen Alvarado completing the Dutch-led chase.
Saturday’s elite women’s race and Sunday’s elite men’s race both start at 3pm local time in Zeddam. Eurosport opens its coverage at 2:50pm local time on both days, with streaming on Discovery+ and HBO Max.
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