Preview of the 2024 World Cup in Dublin | The men's competition on a knife's edge!

So, for the third time, the UCI has organized a World Cup in the Irish capital, where a cyclo-cross course has been mapped out on the sports campus. At the first edition, Wout van Aert won the men's event, while Fem van Empel won the women's event. Eight thousand spectators were present at that occasion.

Last season, we had a rain-drenched edition of the Irish cyclo-cross, which at the time was to the delight of a very strong Pim Ronhaar and Lucinda Brand. This season, the Dublin race - marked as a "special cyclo-cross" - is the second in the World Cup series, following last week's opener in Antwerp. 

2023 Pim Ronhaar / Lucinda Brand
2022 Wout van Aert / Fem van Empel

It may be called the Dublin World Cup, which sounds interesting, but the cyclo-cross riders must complete their race well outside the capital. That's because the Sport Ireland Campus is located there, which, by Irish cyclo-cross standards, makes it easier to design a lap and host the entire circus that accompanies it.

The course has been made a little more technical than last year at certain points, but it is still largely the same overall. That means that after the start, we dive into the Irish grass fields and the first pit area, after which a technical section is laid out. Via the barriers, a second passage at the pit area, and a sand strip, we then arrive at the longer sections.

After a final technical zone, we'll go through some turns to the last straight section, where we'll find out who will claim victory.

Weather
It doesn't look like it will be such a rain festival as last year in Dublin. Rain is never far away in that corner of Europe, but massive showers seem to stay out of the way in the days leading up to the cross. In the images shared by the organization this week, however, the track looked pretty muddy.

Times
Start women: 1:10 pm (2:10 PM Dutch time) (8:10 AM EST)
Finish women: 1:55 pm (2:55 PM Dutch time) (8:55 AM EST)
Start men: 2:40 pm (3:40 PM Dutch time) (9:40 AM EST)
Finish men: 3:50 pm (4:50 PM Dutch time) (10:50 AM EST)

Fem van Empel returned to competition last weekend after being absent for two weeks and immediately went on to take two more victories in Kortrijk and Antwerp. The rider representing Visma | Lease a Bike already won the first edition of the cyclo-cross in Dublin two years ago and is now back on Irish soil after a one-year absence, where she can secure her lead.

For most of the fall season, the big rivals—if Van Empel competes — have been Lucinda Brand (Baloise Trek Lions) and Ceylin del Carmen Alvarado (Fenix-Deceuninck). Brand won in Dublin last year and, after four runner-up finishes in a row, wants to win again, while Alvarado, on the other hand, will be eager to forget the 5th-place finish in Antwerp.

Antwerp's number four, Sara Casasola, is absent. So who will be there? Top talents Marie Schreiber and Blanka Vas of SD Worx-Protime, as well as Canyon//SRAM rider Zoe Backstedt. Also to look out for are Annemarie Worst (Cyclo-cross Reds), Inge van der Heijden, Marion Norbert-Riberolle, Manon Bakker (Corran-Corendon), Laura Verdonschot (De Ceuster-Bouwpunt) and Maghalie Rochette, who has returned to Europe.

Top favorite: Fem van Empel (Visma | Lease a Bike)
Outsiders: Lucinda Brand (Baloise Trek Lions) and Ceylin del Carmen Alvarado (Fenix-Deceuninck)
Long shots: Marie Schreiber (SD Worx-Protime), Annemarie Worst (Cyclocross Reds), Zoe Backstedt (Canyon//SRAM) and Blanka Vas (SD Worx-Protime)

In the men's event, Mathieu van der Poel, Wout van Aert, and Tom Pidcock will not be in Dublin. Still, otherwise, almost all the leading names will be present, with the emphasis on almost because Niels Vandeputte has decided to go for training this weekend after a strong start to the season. Other than that, pretty much all the star performers are there.

That means we can get ready for the familiar names of recent weeks. In Antwerp, Pauwels Sauzen-Bingoal prevailed, with Eli Iserbyt in first place and Michael Vanthourenhout third. The men trained in Spain last week and will fly from there to Dublin.

Laurens Sweeck is also having a good season on behalf of Crelan-Corendon - where Joran Wyseure also came off strong in Dublin. He finished second in Antwerp, a spot he also occupied in Dublin in 2023 and 2022. Third time's the charm?

The men of Baloise Trek Lions will be hoping for a turnaround after the first manche in the World Cup. Pim Ronhaar will derive confidence from his victory last year in Dublin, while Lars van der Haar (sixth) and Thibau Nys (11th) always want to do better than last week.

Felipe Orts of Ridley Cycling Team, Charles Liegeois rider Kevin Kuhn, Toon Aerts on behalf of Deschacht-Hens, and Clement Venturini of Arkéa —B&B Hotels are making their cyclo-cross debuts at the World Cup level.

Top favorite:Eli Iserbyt (Pauwels Sauzen-Bingoal)
Outsiders: Laurens Sweeck (Corran-Corendon) and Lars van der Haar (Baloise Trek Lions)
Long shots: Michael Vanthourenhout (Pauwels Sauzen-Bingoal), Felipe Orts (Ridley), Pim Ronhaar and Thibau Nys (Baloise Trek Lions)

From 2 PM Dutch time (8 AM EST), you can follow the women's cross live at Eurosport on Eurosport 1 and the online platforms HBO Max and Discovery+. Sporza is bringing the cross live on VRT1. In the afternoon broadcast at 1:30 PM Dutch time (7:30 AM EST), NOS will have a live stream on NOS.nl. After the women, you can, of course, also watch the men, who start their race at 3:40 PM Dutch time (9:40 AM)