The 2022-2023 UCI Cyclocross World Cup has seen its calendar updated to include Dublin, Maasmechelen and Gavere. London was originally due to take place on 11th December but has hit issues with agreeing on a location, with a couple mooted in the lead-up but never confirmed. It now looks like London will be postponed until the 2023-2024 season instead. So Dublin has taken its slot and given Anglophone fans an event slightly closer to home. Maasmechelen replaced Rucphen in the calendar which was due for 30th October and Gavere will replace Dendermonde on Boxing Day.
The Dublin race will be the first time that the Cyclocross World Cup heads to Ireland as the sport looks to spread more internationally from its Benelux homeland. It will be held at the Sport Ireland Campus that also held the European Cross-Country championships recently. Ireland’s highest-ranked cyclocross riders are Sean Nolan and Christopher McGlinchey on the men’s side and Maria Larkin on the women’s. All 3 riders are ranked just outside of the top-100 currently.
“We’re very proud to add Dublin this season. We’ll be racing in a true Irish environment. That will give the Dublin round its own identity, just like we saw for the Val di Sole and Flamanville races in the 2021-2022 season. On the other hand; we had to look for alternatives to Rucphen and Dendermonde. With Maasmechelen we’re adding a Belgian round that we are really looking forward to. And finally, on Boxing Day we’ll race in Gavere, adding a true cyclo-cross classic to the UCI Cyclo-cross World Cup agenda of the upcoming winter.”
Tomas Van Den Spiegel, Flanders Classics CEO
“I would like to welcome Dublin and Ireland to the 2022-2023 edition of the UCI Cyclo-cross World Cup. The organisation of a round in a new country is part of the very significant development that the discipline’s leading series has been undergoing in the last years, especially since the beginning of the partnership between the UCI and Flanders Classics. With Maasmechelen and Gavere, we are returning to one of the traditional cyclo-cross nations where we are always guaranteed fantastic racing and a very warm welcome. All three venues announced today will be true assets to the 2022-2023 UCI Cyclo-cross World Cup.”
David Lappartient, UCI President
For Maasmechelen, the race is aiming to be the first-ever zero-waste cyclocross event, which considering the amount of waste from riders, teams and spectators is a strong goal for the future. The mayor is positive about the cyclocross race helping to achieve their local goals.
We don’t have long to wait until the start of the 2022-2023 UCI Cyclocross World Cup season, the first event is in Waterloo in the USA on 9th October 2022. The calendar has 14 races and will finish on January 29th in Besançon in France.
