The Telenet Superprestige opens at Overijse on Sunday 25 October 2026, with the elite women due to start at 13:40 CET, or 12:40 GMT in the UK. The Vlaamse Druivencross has a long reputation for demanding climbs and technical woodland riding. Unlike the flatter, sandy Heerderstrand race the day before, Overijse tends to reward riders who can repeat hard accelerations on changing gradients while keeping their balance through the awkward sections.
Sara Casasola is the defending women’s winner, having beaten Lucinda Brand and Aniek van Alphen in the 2025 race. Brand won in 2024 and Fem van Empel took the 2023 edition. That recent roll of honour makes a strong starting point, although a victory last October does not establish who is entered this Sunday. The organiser’s published event page confirms the date and programme but has not yet provided a fully verified final start list.
Early-season results put Brand near the top of any form guide. She won the HG Cross Dendermonde women’s race on 11 October and again at Ardooie on 15 October, while Alvarado and Denise Betsema were close behind at Dendermonde. Marie Schreiber was prominent at Meulebeke a week later. Those races provide evidence of form rather than proof that every rider will appear in Overijse.
This is the first of eight Superprestige rounds, not a standalone appearance without consequences. Points awarded through the season decide the overall title, and an early win at Overijse can establish a useful advantage. The final starters and precise 2026 course map should still be checked before the race; where those details remain unconfirmed, the tactical analysis below uses the venue’s established characteristics rather than pretending the newest layout has been published.
Previous Winners
| Year | Winner |
|---|---|
| 2025 | Sara Casasola |
| 2024 | Lucinda Brand |
| 2023 | Fem van Empel |
Casasola’s 2025 success was particularly significant because she held off a field containing Brand, Van Alphen, Amandine Fouquenet, Van der Heijden and a number of experienced Belgian and Dutch riders. She used the demands of Overijse rather than simply relying on a finishing sprint. The 2024 and 2023 results show that different riders can win here, but strength on the repeated rises and confidence through difficult sections are reliable common requirements.
Overijse course: hills, changing grip and positioning
Overijse has long been known as the Druivencross in the Belgian grape-growing region south-east of Brussels. The venue uses the ground around Begijnhof and its wooded slopes to put riders through changes of gradient and grip. Its established reputation is for a demanding circuit where the highest speeds are not necessarily reached on the most important sections. Small hesitations before a climb or technical descent can be punished by the rider immediately behind.
The sharp changes from climbing to descending alter the effort required. A strong rider may open a gap on a climb, but she must then choose a clean line through the next corner while tired. Someone who attacks too hard without leaving enough control for the descent may surrender the entire advantage with one poorly judged turn. In wet conditions, tyre grip can be more important than carrying an extra bit of speed into every corner.
There is a difference between course character and a final lap description. The official 2026 event page confirms Overijse and the programme but does not provide a definitive new route map or lap length in the source available here. It would be misleading to assign a specific obstacle from the 2025 course to a precise point in Sunday’s lap. The wooded climbs and technical transitions are established features, while the exact sequence remains subject to confirmation.
The route can also encourage an early selection. A rider who reaches the narrow sections at the front avoids traffic and can ride the preferred line at her own pace. Rivals further back may have to accelerate after each section simply to regain the positions they lost. This becomes particularly important if the leading group contains several technically accomplished competitors who make few large mistakes.
In a close race, the decisive move need not be a single spectacular attack. A series of small accelerations after climbs can gradually reduce the group, particularly when the rider at the front can choose where to expend effort. Watch whether the same competitor is first through the technical sections on consecutive laps; that is often a better guide to control of the race than one momentary time gap.
Women to watch: Brand, Casasola, Alvarado and the developing field
Brand has the strongest early results among the commonly discussed contenders. Her victory at Dendermonde was followed by success at Ardooie, evidence that she is already racing effectively on different types of courses. If she lines up at Overijse, her ability to apply pressure lap after lap makes her a leading candidate. She does not require one perfect acceleration to win; repeated clean laps can be enough to wear down rivals.
Casasola has the advantage of a win on this particular terrain last October. Her 2025 result showed both the physical strength and the technical control needed to deal with Overijse. However, the fact that she won last year should not be treated as a confirmed 2026 entry or an assurance of present form. The final start list matters, especially when a large number of riders compete in both Heerde and Overijse on consecutive days.
Alvarado’s second place at Dendermonde suggests that she should not be dismissed in a form comparison. She is one of the strongest technical riders in the women’s field and can make difficult sections look smooth when others are forced to brake. If the course is slippery, that consistency could help keep her in contention despite a demanding succession of climbs. Her participation remains to be confirmed by the organisers.
Van Alphen was third at Overijse in 2025 and became the overall Superprestige women’s champion in the 2025–26 season. This result makes her an important reference in discussing how the points competition works, even before her Sunday entry is established. Van der Heijden and Fouquenet, both inside the top five at Overijse last year, are also useful course-specific comparisons. Betsema and Schreiber bring different early-season indicators from the first October races.
The key editorial distinction is between a rider to watch and a confirmed starter. As of this preview, the organiser has not provided a definitive women’s entry list on its public event page. A later start-list update could change the apparent hierarchy significantly, particularly if one of the leading Dutch riders decides to rest after Heerde or concentrate on a different sequence of races.
How the first Superprestige round shapes the overall competition
The Superprestige is a points-based series. The latest published series rules use a simple descending scale for the top fifteen finishers, with fifteen points for first place, fourteen for second and so on down to one point for fifteenth. A winner therefore receives a modest advantage over the runner-up, but missing an entire round can be far more costly than finishing one place below a rival.
This explains why consistency through autumn and winter matters. Winning a single difficult course can be a major sporting achievement, but the overall classification rewards riders who turn up regularly and collect high placings. Overijse opens the 2026–27 competition before Middelkerke, Niel and Merksplas. Later events include Ruddervoorde, Heusden-Zolder, Diegem and Gullegem, creating several very different surfaces and race schedules.
A rider who wins Overijse may not automatically be the favourite for the whole competition. The opening round comes early enough that road and mountain-bike commitments, team plans and fitness trajectories can all affect participation in later races. Still, a leading result on the hills of Overijse is a valuable early signal because it tests a broader range of skills than the flatter events of the opening weeks.
For background on the long history of this race, see ProCyclingUK’s Overijse history and previous winners guide. The full cyclocross calendar helps place Superprestige alongside the World Cup and other winter series.
UK start time, live TV and spectator information
The official timetable lists elite women at 13:40 CET on Sunday 25 October, which is 12:40 GMT. Europe changes clocks overnight, so viewers should not use Saturday’s BST conversions from Heerde. The men’s elite race follows at 15:10 CET, equivalent to 14:10 GMT. The junior categories are held earlier in the day.
European listings show the women’s race on HBO Max from about 13:37 CET, although stream availability and television channels differ by country. In Britain HBO Max is the streaming home of TNT Sports, but a specific UK linear TNT channel for the women’s race has not been independently verified here. Viewers should check their own sports guide and look for the Overijse women’s event shortly before 12:40 GMT.
Spectators can buy tickets through Superprestige. The published adult prices are €16.50 in advance including service charge and €18.50 on the day, with free admission for children born in 2014 or later who still need to obtain a ticket. The venue is in central Overijse around Begijnhof, with organisers listing parking approaches around Terhulpensesteenweg and neighbouring streets. Local traffic arrangements may change on race day.
The venue is a useful place to follow the women from the early laps because changes of gradient make it easier to identify which riders are pushing rather than merely sheltering. Whether Brand, Casasola or another contender begins the season with a win will depend on the final field, but Sunday’s result will offer the first direct comparison of how the leading specialists cope with this year’s Superprestige programme.
Top 3 Prediction
Conditional on a representative field starting: Lucinda Brand, Sara Casasola, Ceylin del Carmen Alvarado. This is an assessment of recent form and past Overijse performances, not a claim that those riders have all been confirmed on the 2026 start list.
