Beringen cyclocross history with past winners and the be-MINE course

The Beringen cyclocross circuit climbs a former coal-mining spoil heap, then sends riders down steep, technical slopes beneath the preserved industrial buildings of Limburg. It is one of the youngest established Belgian venues, having first hosted an elite race in 2019, yet its climbing and descending already give it a recognisable place in the winter calendar.

The first be-MINE Cross took place in 2019 and the regular men’s and women’s winners include Quinten Hermans, Eli Iserbyt, Thibau Nys, Fem van Empel and Lars van der Haar. The event returns to the 2026–27 calendar on Sunday, 22 November as round three of the X²O Badkamers Trofee, a change of series that adds an overall time-classification contest to the race.

Why the Beringen race began in 2019

Beringen’s race emerged because the older Hasselt event could no longer use Kapermolenpark during local redevelopment. Organiser Golazo and the city identified the be-MINE site as an alternative. The mining spoil heap provided something Hasselt’s park could not: an unusually sustained climb and fast, difficult descent within sight of the former colliery.

The disused mine complex was a compelling answer. Beringen’s be-MINE area had already hosted mountain-bike activities, and its terril, the spoil heap created by coal mining, offered substantial elevation changes near the centre of a major industrial heritage site. Rather than trying to manufacture a hill on otherwise flat ground, the organisers could construct the race around existing terrain.

The opening edition was included in the Ethias Cross family, later known as Exact Cross. It received television coverage from the start and quickly became identifiable by its steep climb and the overhead views of riders moving against the mining structures. For a relatively young event, that distinct visual identity was important.

Quinten Hermans won the inaugural men’s race in October 2019, with Toon Aerts second and a young Tom Pidcock third. Annemarie Worst won the inaugural elite women’s contest. The first year therefore created a credible sporting record as well as a new location on the autumn calendar.

The spoil heap makes the course unusual

The mine spoil heap is not a token obstacle. Course designer Erwin Vervecken described a 58-metre height gain on the opening climb when Beringen was chosen to host the 2026 Belgian championships. That is a distinctive challenge in a discipline where many courses find their elevation from a series of small banks rather than one long climb.

That is a considerable climb by cyclocross standards. Where many Belgian races use successive small banks, Beringen can require a sustained uphill effort followed by steep and technical descents. Strong legs help, but they do not replace the ability to control speed, select a line and remain calm as traction changes.

The wooded and open slopes create different problems depending on the weather. Dry conditions can make descents quick and demanding because there is little time to correct a poor line. Wet ground increases the risk of sliding, and frozen ruts can become dangerous enough for organisers to modify or restrict access before races.

The course has evolved. A significant redesign was made for the 2023 edition as preparations began for the Belgian championships scheduled for January 2026. The exact arrangement of the climbs has varied by year, so a description of the 2020 course should not automatically be treated as a map of the 2026 X²O event.

All previous Beringen elite cyclocross winners

The regular elite race has six listed editions from 2019 through 2024 before the venue’s subsequent championship role. The results show both continuity and change: Eli Iserbyt won two consecutive men’s races, while Fem van Empel put together three straight women’s victories. These are Beringen event wins, separate from national championship titles awarded at the same site.

The men’s record begins with Quinten Hermans in 2019, then Toon Aerts, Eli Iserbyt twice, Thibau Nys and Lars van der Haar. The women’s winners are Annemarie Worst, Denise Betsema, Yara Kastelijn and three consecutive victories for Fem van Empel. Those are the six regular editions for which 2019–24 winners are documented, not a combined list of every title won at the mine.

The women’s winners were Annemarie Worst in 2019, Denise Betsema in 2020, Yara Kastelijn in 2021 and Fem van Empel in 2022, 2023 and 2024. Van Empel’s three successive victories established the strongest run in the race’s short elite history.

The 2024 event is covered in our race report on Van Empel and Van der Haar’s victories. It shows how the same circuit can produce different forms of racing and why past winners remain a useful reference without serving as a prediction of the next edition.

The defining men’s and women’s races

Hermans’s 2019 men’s victory was important because it validated the inaugural contest against a strong field. He finished 52 seconds ahead of teammate Toon Aerts, with Pidcock a further 32 seconds behind. A new event needs more than an attractive venue to establish itself; that first edition produced a convincing selection on the climbs.

Iserbyt’s consecutive victories in 2021 and 2022 demonstrated how a repeatable climbing and handling skill can pay off on the spoil heap. The 2023 race went to Nys, a breakthrough success that strengthened the younger Belgian’s position as one of the sport’s emerging leading riders.

Fem van Empel’s 2024 victory was complicated by a strong challenge from Ceylin del Carmen Alvarado. Alvarado led before a crash and chain problem changed the race, allowing Van Empel to take her third consecutive Beringen win. The result illustrates that the course can punish a small technical error as severely as a lack of climbing power.

Photo Credit: Cor Vos

Our report from Van Empel’s 2023 Beringen victory provides another example of why her technique on the mine slopes became such an advantage. The location is demanding enough that even a rider who wins regularly elsewhere cannot assume the same approach will work here.

Why the 2024 race is remembered for more than the winner

Lars van der Haar won the men’s race in October 2024 after overtaking Michael Vanthourenhout late on and finishing ten seconds clear. Niels Vandeputte completed the podium. That alone made it a significant victory for the Dutch rider on one of the autumn’s most recognisable circuits.

The 2024 men’s race also produced a disciplinary episode when Eli Iserbyt stamped on Ryan Kamp’s bicycle after the pair collided. Officials disqualified Iserbyt, and he subsequently apologised. The matter deserves mention because it affected the race and led to a suspension, not because it has anything to do with the terrain’s legitimate sporting difficulty.

The incident was serious because a mechanical failure caused by another rider’s deliberate action can end a race and create a safety risk. It was not a routine disagreement over line choice, nor an example of acceptable aggression in a sport where contact and congestion sometimes occur on technical tracks.

The aftermath is recorded in our report on Iserbyt’s suspension. The 2024 race remains a reminder that Beringen’s steep and narrow terrain can intensify competition, but the sporting rules still apply when a situation becomes frustrating.

Beringen hosted the 2026 Belgian cyclocross championships

The former mining site acquired a different status in January 2026, when it staged the Belgian national cyclocross championships. The courses had been adapted for the occasion, and winter conditions posed a considerable practical challenge. Heavy freezing conditions led organisers to cancel an official reconnaissance session after ice formed in the descents.

Freezing conditions forced changes ahead of the January 2026 Belgian championships. Ice on the descents led to an official course-reconnaissance cancellation, and organisers revised the layout so the races could go ahead. Thibau Nys won the elite men’s title ahead of Emiel Verstrynge and Michael Vanthourenhout, while Marion Norbert Riberolle won the women’s title.

Marion Norbert Riberolle won the elite women’s Belgian title, with Fleur Moors second and Kiona Crabbé third. These were championship victories at Beringen, but they are not entries on the normal be-MINE Cross winners list. Keeping those distinctions clear avoids treating every race on the site as the same annual event.

The championships established that Beringen could support more than an early-season invitational-style contest. Their organisation also demonstrated how course design may have to change when the same steep terrain is used in January instead of the milder October conditions of the original event.

The be-MINE Cross joins the X²O Trophy for November 2026

The scheduled return on Sunday, 22 November 2026 is the third round of the X²O Badkamers Trofee, after the Koppenbergcross and Bollekescross at Hamme-Zogge. That is a significant change from the Beringen race’s former place in the Ethias and Exact Cross series.

The difference is not only the sponsor name. The X²O Trophy is decided on cumulative adjusted time, with bonuses for an early lap and the quickest eligible laps. A rider can lose the individual Beringen race but still improve their overall standing if they limit the gap to the series leader. The X²O Trophy rules and history guide explains those stakes.

The spectacular climb is particularly well suited to a time-based classification. A clean descent or well-judged effort on the terril might gain only a few seconds at a time, but those seconds can be decisive when the overall contenders begin the day close together. Conversely, a puncture or fall on a steep section can damage both the day’s chances and the winter championship.

Beringen returns as an X²O Trophy race on Sunday, 22 November 2026. Its earlier winners form the historical backdrop, while the series’ adjusted-time classification adds a different incentive to every pass over the mine slopes. The cyclocross calendar carries the 2026 date; the new results can be added to the record once the event is complete.