Aubin Sparfel wins under-23 European cyclocross title after four-rider sprint in Zeddam

Aubin Sparfel won the under-23 men’s title at the 2026 European Cyclocross Championships in Zeddam, beating Giel Lejeune and Viktor Vandenberghe in a four-rider sprint after Belgium spent much of the race trying to break the French favourite.

Sparfel completed the eight-lap race in 46:58, with Lejeune, Vandenberghe and Italy’s Filippo Grigolini all receiving the same time. Stefano Viezzi finished fifth at five seconds.

The result confirmed the status Sparfel carried into the race in our under-23 men’s preview. The 20-year-old had started his cyclocross season unbeaten and arrived in Zeddam facing a Belgian team deep enough to attack him from several directions.

Belgium put numbers around Sparfel

Yordi Corsus made the strongest start for Belgium, but Sparfel quickly moved to the front and began setting the rhythm himself.

The first lap ended with around 14 riders still together. Sparfel increased the pace on lap two and immediately reduced that number, with Lejeune, Vandenberghe, Mats Vanden Eynde and Arthur Van Den Boer among the few able to stay close.

The race then briefly settled. The reduction in pace allowed several riders to return, including Grigolini, Viezzi and Kryštof Bažant, producing an eight-rider group after three laps.

That was the point at which Belgium began trying to use its strength in numbers rather than simply follow the favourite.

Lejeune attacks but Sparfel refuses to be isolated

Lejeune launched the next meaningful acceleration and only Sparfel and Vandenberghe could answer immediately. The move briefly left two Belgians alongside the lone Frenchman, exactly the tactical situation Belgium had been trying to create.

Sparfel never allowed it to become a problem. He rode the technical sections on his own lines and repeatedly pushed the pace on the 99-step staircase, the one part of the Zeddam circuit where he believed a genuine gap might be possible.

He attacked again on lap five and forced both Belgians into difficulty, but Lejeune and Vandenberghe fought their way back. Grigolini also rejoined, leaving four riders together with two laps remaining.

No one could create meaningful separation from there. Sparfel had shown enough strength to discourage the others from giving him an easy counter-attack, while Belgium’s two medal contenders were unwilling to sacrifice their own chances completely.

Sparfel settles it on the finishing straight

The title therefore came down to the long, slightly uphill finishing straight.

Vandenberghe tried to make the sprint long, but Sparfel still had enough left to accelerate past the Belgian challenge and create a clear advantage before the line.

Lejeune finished second and Vandenberghe third, while Grigolini had to settle for fourth despite reaching the sprint with the medal contenders.

Viezzi arrived five seconds later in fifth. Vanden Eynde and Bažant were together at 20 seconds, followed by Corsus at 22 seconds. Arthur Van Den Boer and Floris Haverdings completed the top 10.

Sparfel adds U23 title to junior European crown

The win gives Sparfel a second individual European cyclocross title after his junior victory in 2023, but this one came at a very different point in his career.

He is now balancing cyclocross with an increasingly significant road programme and is due to step into the WorldTour with Decathlon CMA CGM in 2027. His 2026 road season included victories at the Tour de Bretagne and Grand Prix de Wallonie, yet he has continued to make cyclocross a major part of his winter.

Zeddam showed why. Belgium had the numbers and repeatedly tested him, but Sparfel was never forced into panic. He made the race hardest on the section that suited him, controlled the technical passages and then relied on his sprint when the course refused to produce a decisive gap.

European Cyclocross Championships under-23 men 2026 result