Thibau Nys starts his winter on the Koppenberg, where in-form Vanthourenhout has an unhappy history
On Sunday, 1 November, the Koppenbergcross in Oudenaarde opens the X2O Trofee. In the women's race, world champion Lucinda Brand defends her title and Fem van Empel makes an emotional return.
The Koppenbergcross in Oudenaarde is on the calendar on 1 November as every year, this time on a Sunday. It is also the first round of the X2O Trofee. The women start at 13:45 and the men at 15:00, Wielerflits reports. All eyes are on Belgian champion Thibau Nys, who is defending his title there and riding the first of eighteen cyclocross races this winter. Nys missed much of his road season with Lidl-Trek because of knee problems and later toxoplasmosis, a parasitic infection, which left him less time to prepare. Even so, Wielerflits sees him as the big favourite for a third win on the Koppenberg.
The man of the moment is Michael Vanthourenhout, who according to Wielerflits has won every major race he has started this season, including the first standings race in Overijse. He has bad memories of the Koppenberg, however: last year he abandoned in disappointment while Nys won straight away on his return. Vanthourenhout tells Wielerflits the race is something of a bogey for him and expects it will be hard to beat Nys. National coach Angelo De Clercq points out that the long climb makes the Koppenberg an unusual race that says little about the rest of the winter. Joran Wyseure, who recently won in Heerde, has to sit it out through illness, Sporza reports.
In the women's race, the pressure is on world champion Lucinda Brand, who won last year, according to Wielerflits. For Fem van Empel, the race has special significance: last year she climbed off after half a lap, after which she put her elite career on hold for a while because of her mental health and physical complaints. She has since returned and finished in the top five in each of her first races. Luxembourg's Marie Schreiber and Italy's Sara Casasola are also tipped.
Eli Iserbyt, who has won the race three times himself, climbed the hill with HLN to review the season. Because of a damaged artery in his groin, he cannot even walk to the top without muscle pain, the paper reports. He believes only Vanthourenhout has reached the expected level so far. Iserbyt also argues in HLN that the women should start after the men for the time being, as long as Wout van Aert is not yet racing. Wielerflits expects a dry and therefore somewhat faster race, with temperatures up to 12 degrees.