The women’s Aardbeiencross at Merksplas takes place on Saturday, 14th November 2026, three days after the muddy Superprestige round at Niel. UK television coverage is listed from 12:30 GMT on TNT Sports 2, with the elite women scheduled to start at 12:40. Viewers with the appropriate TNT Sports access can also look for the event on HBO Max. These are different times: the broadcast should begin before the racing.
The 10-minute gap between the scheduled television start and the race start is worth noting. It is not an indication that the riders are already racing at 12:30, and fans joining at 12:40 risk missing the first important positioning battle if the start is punctual.
UK television and streaming details
Saturday’s Merksplas women’s race is scheduled on TNT Sports 2, with the UK listing beginning at 12:30 GMT. The coverage is carried within the wider TNT Sports cycling offering on HBO Max. These are the relevant UK listings rather than broadcasts on the Belgian services Play Sports or Pickx+ Sports.
The most reliable check is the actual channel guide for Saturday, not a generic promise that cyclocross is available on television. If your package includes TNT Sports 2, look for the named Superprestige women’s race at 12:30 GMT. Belgian coverage may carry a different start time, because the local feed serves a different market.
For viewers using HBO Max, open the sport section and search for Superprestige Merksplas or Aardbeiencross, then select the women’s session. The sports rights package attached to an account matters: opening a general HBO Max subscription page does not establish that live TNT Sports is included.
Broadcast listings can move at short notice. TNT Sports 2 and a 12:30 GMT coverage start are the published details checked for this guide, not a guarantee against an operational change on race morning. A final look at the broadcaster schedule is useful before leaving home or planning a recording.
When does the women’s race start?
The elite women are scheduled to begin at 12:40 GMT on Saturday, 14th November. Merksplas is in Belgium, where the equivalent local start is 13:40 CET. The UK and Belgium are one hour apart in November, with Britain back on Greenwich Mean Time and Belgium on Central European Time.
That distinction matters when following Belgian race sites, which normally display local time, or when setting notifications from a UK television listing. A Belgian 13:40 start is not a UK afternoon start at 13:40. The anticipated action takes roughly 50 minutes, although the actual finish time depends on race conditions and the racing itself.
The men follow later in the afternoon. Their UK television slot is listed from 14:00 GMT, with the race scheduled for 14:10, so it is sensible to find the women’s session separately rather than expecting a single stream to run uninterrupted throughout the programme.
Recordings and on-demand replays depend on the broadcaster and subscription platform. There is no verified dedicated free-to-air UK live stream or guaranteed UK highlights slot for this particular edition, so it would be misleading to promise either.
Why Merksplas is important in the Superprestige season
Merksplas is round four of the eight-race 2026–27 Telenet Superprestige, following Overijse on 25 October, Middelkerke on 5 November and Niel on 11 November. The series pauses after Merksplas before returning at Ruddervoorde on 6 December. Our 2026–27 cyclocross calendar lists the wider programme.
Every round awards 15 points to the winner, 14 to second and progressively fewer points down to one for fifteenth. This is a consistency championship. A rider losing contact with the leader on one lap can still salvage valuable points; an abandonment is a far more serious problem for a season-long challenge. Our guide to how Superprestige works explains the scoring.
For that reason the women’s race matters to the overall standings as well as the day’s winner. Three completed rounds give early form an outline, but the Merksplas result can tighten a championship or make a successful rider’s lead more substantial. The format and past champions are examined in our Superprestige history and rules guide.
Photo Credit: ProCyclingUK archive (original photographer not recorded)Merksplas is known as the Aardbeiencross, a name associated with the area’s strawberry growing. A lap can place different demands on riders depending on grip and the weather, particularly when speeds vary between open stretches, turns and technical features. Do not assume the course will ride exactly as it did last November.
What the 2025 race and this week’s Niel result tell us
Lucinda Brand won the 2025 women’s Aardbeiencross with a long solo effort, making the race a useful recent reference for the way a rider can take control early on. Our report from the 2025 Merksplas races also covers Joris Nieuwenhuis’s men’s success.
The immediate 2026 form line comes from Niel on Wednesday, 11th November. Manon Bakker won there for the first time in the Telenet Superprestige, with Sara Casasola and Denise Betsema completing the podium. Lucinda Brand abandoned early after a difficult opening. Our Niel women’s race report explains the muddy course and Bakker’s decisive solo effort.
The Niel podium tells us something about form but nothing conclusive about Saturday’s starters. Bakker’s victory, Casasola’s second place and Betsema’s third are documented; the official Merksplas entry list is not yet verified. Treat any list of ‘confirmed contenders’ circulating before that publication with caution.
The contrast between Niel and Merksplas is itself interesting. Niel’s rain-soaked, heavy conditions made repeated handling errors expensive. Merksplas can place a different premium on choosing lines and carrying speed, which may favour a different kind of effort. The official course, weather and starting field will settle what sort of contest viewers actually see.
How to follow the result if you cannot watch live
The organiser’s official results and the Superprestige calendar are the most reliable places to confirm the classification after the finish. Results should not be copied from a live graphic before officials have finalised the placings. Series standings will also be updated after the round has been classified.
If you are watching later, distinguish the actual race from preview videos, a highlights edit and a full replay. One can give a useful overview without preserving the opening-lap positioning, and a short highlight sequence rarely conveys how a rider managed the technical sections across the full race.
Check the availability of on-demand coverage on HBO Max or through your TNT Sports provider after the live window. The availability of a replay, and whether it remains accessible, is determined by the rights holder rather than by the race organiser.
For Saturday’s UK viewer, the practical information remains TNT Sports 2 from 12:30 GMT and an elite women’s start at 12:40 GMT, subject to broadcaster and organiser updates. The history of the Aardbeiencross explains why the Merksplas round matters beyond its television slot.
