Preview X2O Trophy Hamme 2024 | A new spot on the calendar, so now who will take over from Van der Poel?

Hamme is not a very old cyclo-cross event, as the race only began in 2002. Van der Poel has been extremely dominant in recent years. He only did not win in 2022 and 2023, simply because he did not participate. In the last eight editions, MVDP was the best six times. For the women, Van Empel was the strongest in the last two editions.

2023/2024 Mathieu van der Poel / Fem van Empel
2022/2023 Wout van Aert / Fem van Empel
2021/2022 Laurens Sweeck / Lucinda Brand
2020/2021 Mathieu van der Poel / Ceylin del Carmen Alvarado
2019/2020 Mathieu van der Poel / Annemarie Worst
2018/2019 Mathieu van der Poel / Annemarie Worst
2017/2018 Mathieu van der Poel / Sanne Cant
2016/2017 Mathieu van der Poel / Sanne Cant
2015/2016 Wout van Aert / Helen Wyman
2014/2015 Wout van Aert / Sanne Cant

Never change a winning team. In cyclo-cross, there is often little change to a successful course. So the riders know what to expect on Sunday in Hamme. Many long, straight sections, interspersed with tough, punchy parts. A sloping section, the possibility of mud, and a sturdy bridge make it a course for the power riders.

As for the weather, there will be cool temperatures, but it will generally stay dry and perhaps the riders will even get to race under a bit of sun. The wind could play a role on the open, straight sections, with a predicted wind force of 3. The riders are usually able to handle that.

Times
Start women: 1:45 PM local time (7:45 AM EST)
Finish women: around 2:30 PM local time (8:30 AM EST)
Start men: 3:00 PM local time (9:00 AM EST)
Finish men: around 4:00 PM local time (10:00 AM EST)

No Van Empel, who instead opted for a solid training period after her European Championship title. This means that Lucinda Brand and Ceylin del Carmen Alvarado are once again the top favorites. Both are racing a double weekend, with the Belgian Merksplas cyclo-cross scheduled on Saturday, so neither will have an advantage in terms of fresh legs.

Behind the two Dutch riders, there are many other contenders for the podium. For instance, Sara Casasola and Marion Norbert-Riberolle of Crelan-Corendon, and the young Zoe Bäckstedt representing Canyon // SRAM.

The men's field is also nearly the same as the one we'll see on Saturday in Merksplas. This means it’s the first double weekend of the season for Thibau Nys, who, as the newly crowned European champion, is in excellent form. He will be supported by Lars van der Haar and Pim Ronhaar (Baloise Trek Lions), aiming for a good result.

Pauwels Sauzen-Bingoal counters with the well-known duo Eli Iserbyt and Michael Vanthourenhout. But also keep an eye on Crelan-Corendon, as Laurens Sweeck is approaching great form and Joran Wyseure is a solid backup. Niels Vandeputte will represent Alpecin-Deceuninck, and don’t overlook Felipe Orts, who’s been performing impressively for Ridley as the Spanish standout.

Eurosport is the standard broadcasting channel for cyclo-cross, with live coverage starting Sunday at 1:40 PM local time (7:40 AM EST) for the women's race and at 2:55 PM local time (8:55 AM EST) for the men's race. Race coverage can be accessed via Eurosport 1 and the online channels of HBO Max Sport. Sporza will begin coverage at 1:30 PM local time (7:30 AM EST) with an extensive afternoon program on VRT1.