Lucinda Brand heads to HG Cross Meulebeke on Saturday 17 October with two victories from her first two cyclocross starts of the 2026–27 season, but the Berencross field includes another major storyline: Fem van Empel is set to return to competition after an extended break. The women’s elite race starts at 12:45 BST, or 13:45 in Belgium, on a significantly revised circuit at Ter Borcht.
Brand has already won the HG Cross opener in Dendermonde and Thursday’s Kermiscross Ardooie. Inge van der Heijden is also on the entry list as the previous Meulebeke winner, while Ceylin del Carmen Alvarado, Denise Betsema and Marie Schreiber have all demonstrated enough form to threaten. The course is not a straightforward repeat of previous years: the direction has been reversed, and the large bridge is no longer part of the lap.
Meulebeke is the second of seven HG Cross rounds this winter, following the opening Mosselcross in Dendermonde. The series retains separate classifications by event, and a fast October ride here can provide useful form evidence before the more prestigious World Cup and championship dates later in the season. In the meantime, Saturday’s race is a significant contest in its own right.
Meulebeke course: reversed direction, sand and short climbs
The 2026 Berencross remains based at Sport- en Recreatiecentrum Ter Borcht, where the start and finish sit near the football pitches. The 2026 organisers have kept the recognisable combination of sand, short banks, steps and a corrugated washboard section while substantially changing how riders approach them. Reversing the direction of the circuit changes the order in which those obstacles follow one another and the speed carried into each.
The removal of the large bridge is another material change. Riders who remember the 2025 edition cannot rely on identical lines or the same places to attack; they will need to study the altered entry and exit from each section during reconnaissance. The sandpit can reward riders able to carry speed over a soft surface, while the steps interrupt efforts for anyone forced to dismount. Small technical errors matter more when the leading group is compact.
A relatively dry course could keep more competitors together, much as the opening HG Cross in Dendermonde did last Sunday. Wetter ground would increase the advantage of riders who can change rhythm between riding and running, then remount cleanly without losing position. The exact conditions on Saturday may therefore have as much influence on the way the race unfolds as the course map itself.
The changes also affect the effort required after each obstacle. Exiting a sandpit directly into another technical challenge is different from using a longer straight to accelerate, and a short bank approached at speed can be easier to ride than the same bank with a tight corner beforehand. The strongest contenders need a good reconnaissance lap rather than relying on recent racing at Ter Borcht.
Brand enters as favourite after two contrasting victories
Brand won Dendermonde in 47:03, one second ahead of Alvarado and two ahead of Betsema. The opening race was close until the final lap, when the world champion produced an extra acceleration after the two challengers had closed the earlier gap. Her Dendermonde race report shows how little separated the strongest riders on a fast course.
In Ardooie four days later, Brand took a more comfortable solo win in 51:32. Schreiber finished seventeen seconds behind, with Betsema third at twenty-nine seconds. That result showed Brand could make a sustained separation as well as time a short final attack, although the Meulebeke circuit may favour different sections of the field. Our Ardooie report provides the full top ten.
Her start suggests excellent race fitness, but it does not mean Brand will control every technical section. Alvarado is particularly strong at carrying speed through corners, and the return to a course with several distinct obstacles could give her places to force Brand onto the defensive. Betsema has finished third twice already and may use a steady early pace rather than waiting until Brand accelerates.
Schreiber’s ride in Ardooie deserves attention as well. She was the strongest chaser after Brand escaped, and she is willing to use her effort to try to reach a leader rather than settle into the race for minor places. If an early move gets away on the altered Meulebeke circuit, that attitude could become crucial, especially if the rest of the group hesitates.
Fem van Empel returns, but her form is an unknown
Van Empel’s name on the start list is one of the biggest pieces of news before the race. She has spent a prolonged period away from cyclocross and has spoken about needing to step away from competition. Her planned Meulebeke appearance, racing in the colours of Specialized TMRW, is a return to the discipline in which she has previously been the dominant world champion.
There is no sound basis for expecting her to resume exactly where she left off. Training fitness, technical sharpness and the experience of racing against a full elite field are different things, particularly on a circuit with a changed layout. The most useful early indication may be how comfortably she handles the sand and repeated accelerations, rather than whether she is leading after the first lap.
Van Empel has demonstrated in previous seasons that she can win on a wide range of courses, but tomorrow’s contest is primarily a chance to establish where she stands. It would be premature to make her the favourite ahead of two-race winner Brand. A competitive return, even without a podium, would still provide valuable evidence for the weeks ahead.
Van der Heijden and the wider list of contenders
Inge van der Heijden won the previous edition at Ter Borcht and has a strong understanding of the venue, even if the new direction makes that experience less directly transferable. She was fifth in Dendermonde, but a single autumn result is not enough to discount someone who has previously won this race. The course will reward riders who can maintain momentum after obstacles instead of needing a long steady climb.
Aniek van Alphen, Leonie Bentveld, Hélène Clauzel and Marion Norbert Riberolle are also on the published list. Van Alphen finished fourth at Dendermonde, while Clauzel took fourth in Ardooie. Any of those riders could benefit if the favourites spend too much energy watching each other and permit a small gap to develop.
The decisive element may be how quickly the leading group reduces after the opening laps. Brand has shown she can respond to attacks, but Alvarado, Betsema and Schreiber may decide to challenge her position before the race becomes a straightforward contest of sustained pace. Van der Heijden and Van Empel add further uncertainty to an already strong entry.
The full entry list is subject to withdrawals and late changes, but it includes 39 women across 21 teams in the current published data. The presence of so many established names should produce a useful first comparison of the season across different riding styles, not simply another one-on-one duel.
Women’s start time and what to watch
The elite women’s race starts at 13:45 CEST on Saturday 17 October, which is 12:45 BST. UK coverage is listed on TNT Sports’ streaming service through HBO Max from approximately 12:42 BST. It is not sensible to assume that a linear TNT channel will show the entire race live; published terrestrial-style TV schedules also include later replays.
The most interesting phase should come once riders have completed their first full-speed passage through the new obstacle sequence. A favourite who repeatedly gains two or three bike lengths at the same feature can eventually convert those gaps into a decisive lead, while someone forced off the bike in the wrong place may have to expend far more energy chasing.
Saturday will show whether Brand can make it three wins from three races, whether the Meulebeke specialist Van der Heijden can defend her event-winning form, and how quickly Van Empel can adjust to competition again. Those are different questions, and more than one can be answered without the finishing order alone telling the whole story.
