The under-23 men’s European Cyclocross Championship takes place in Zeddam on Saturday, 7 November, with a 13:00 CET start, or 12:00 GMT in the UK. It falls between the junior women’s opener and the elite women’s title race, with a field strong enough to command attention in its own right. Belgium arrives with eight names on the UEC entry list, France has a group led by Aubin Sparfel, and Italy brings riders with substantial experience of high-level junior and under-23 racing.
Mattia Agostinacchio is the defending under-23 European champion, according to the organiser. However, he is not named in the published 2026 UEC under-23 entry list, which explicitly includes reserves. That distinction matters. The 2025 winner’s absence from the current nominations creates a different contest, and it would be wrong to present him as a confirmed participant. Final starters and their grid positions will be established when the UEC issues the official start list.
Belgium’s depth is its strongest asset
Belgium’s national selection includes Lars Corsus, Yordi Corsus, Lars Daelmans, Sil De Brauwere, Giel Lejeune, Arthur Van Den Boer, Viktor Vandenberghe and Mats Vanden Eynde. Eight nominated riders give Belgium options, but numbers alone cannot settle a race in which a poor start or mechanical problem can ruin a medal chance within minutes. Several riders have the experience to cope with the intensity of major cyclocross weekends.
Arthur Van Den Boer is among the names worth watching because of his ability to handle repeated accelerations and the kind of technical pressure that can split an under-23 field. Yordi Corsus also has the profile to contribute to the front of the race. Yet a preview should not assume Belgium will operate as a coordinated road team. European cyclocross titles are individual, and national teammates often race for their own medal chances.
The opening lap may be the point at which Belgium’s numerical strength matters most. If several Belgian riders start well, they can occupy the leading positions into the first obstacles and make it difficult for rivals to pass. If they become separated, the depth of the entry may count for less than the ability of one rider to make clean, fast decisions.
Sparfel and the French challenge
France’s UEC entry list includes Aubin Sparfel, Soren Bruyere Joumard, Thomas Courcier, Alexis David, Florian Fery, Jules Simon and Louis Tanguy. Sparfel is a particularly interesting contender because he has already shown the ability to race at a high level across demanding cyclocross courses. He should not need an ideal race to be competitive, but the championship format rewards riders who avoid having to chase after the first lap.
Sparfel’s best chance may come from refusing to let Belgium dictate the race’s rhythm. That could mean attacking before a running section, riding a faster line through the technical obstacles or simply sustaining a pace that forces mistakes. A single explosive effort is rarely enough if the course repeatedly brings riders back together.
The French selection also offers depth behind its most recognisable rider. An early break containing two French riders could change the tactical choices for Belgium and the Netherlands. Equally, a fast but untidy opening can leave a national squad with several riders chasing rather than one clear leader. The strength of a selection only becomes useful when it is translated into positions on the course.
Italy has an intriguing mix of experience
Italy has nominated Tommaso Cafueri, Filippo Grigolini and Stefano Viezzi. Grigolini is the defending European junior men’s champion, a title he won in 2025, and his appearance on the under-23 entry list illustrates how quickly the age-category landscape changes. A successful junior season does not automatically translate into a senior medal, but it provides evidence of technical ability and experience of championship pressure.
Viezzi is another rider capable of making this more than a Belgian-French contest. The Italian riders will need to avoid being boxed in by larger national squads at the start. With fewer teammates on the entry list, they cannot rely on numbers to recover a poor position or to set the early tempo.
The central uncertainty is how those reputations translate to Zeddam’s specific demands. A rider who excels on heavy mud may not enjoy a fast, dry circuit with repeated running, while a technically gifted competitor may gain more from the staircase than from the open pedalling sections. The final conditions and tyre decisions could move the balance between these contenders.
Home advantage offers knowledge, not a guaranteed medal
The Netherlands has two names on the UEC under-23 men’s entry document: Floris Haverdings and Cas Timmermans. That is a smaller group than Belgium’s, but it is a mistake to equate a shorter selection with a weaker chance of winning. Both riders know the demands of Dutch cyclocross, and familiarity with the racing environment may help when the field is large and the first lap is chaotic.
Zeddam is in Gelderland, and the venue’s return to international championship racing will create an atmosphere that is difficult to reproduce at an ordinary race. Home support can be an advantage, although it can also encourage a rider to force the pace before the race has settled. The most useful local knowledge is likely to concern line choice and how the course changes between practice and competition.
The Dutch riders also face a tactical challenge. With only two nominated names, they have fewer opportunities to cover moves if several rivals attack. Their best approach may be to remain close to the leaders and choose their moments rather than respond to every acceleration. In cyclocross, following the correct wheel through a technical section can save more energy than an ambitious early attack.
British riders and the wider European field
Great Britain’s under-23 entry names Alfie Amey, Luke Gibson, Declan Oldham and Jacob Steed. All four face a championship with a substantial Belgian, French and Italian presence. Their starting positions and the quality of their first lap will have a strong bearing on how much time they spend racing in traffic rather than chasing the leaders.
The published entry list includes reserve riders, so it is not a final start order. That is particularly important when discussing national squads. It is reasonable to assess the riders nominated by their federations, but not to assign a confirmed grid position or guarantee that every name will appear on Saturday.
Other entries include Hungary’s Barnabás Vas, riders from Czechia, Spain, Portugal, Slovakia, Ireland and several other nations. The spread of nationalities makes the championship a useful test of the depth of European under-23 cyclocross. A top-ten result may require beating several riders who are established names in their domestic calendars, even if they are less familiar to UK viewers.
The staircase will punish repeated small mistakes
Zeddam hosted the cyclocross World Championships in 2006 and returns to the international spotlight twenty years later. The reconstructed staircase has approximately 100 steps and is around three metres wide. It is designed to allow overtaking, but that does not make it easy to gain positions. Riders must approach at speed, dismount, carry their bikes and remount while already breathing hard.
The under-23 men are scheduled for a race of about 50 minutes. Over that distance, an inefficient run up the staircase can cost several seconds on each lap. A rider who repeatedly loses time there will have to spend energy closing gaps on the faster parts of the circuit. Conversely, someone who is quick on the steps but slower through the corners may struggle to make the advantage last.
The new riders’ bridge is another feature to assess during practice. A course is rarely decided by its most photogenic obstacle alone. The important question is how the obstacles connect: whether there is room to recover after a difficult section, whether a fast descent leads straight into another corner, and whether passing is possible without taking a slower line.
How the contenders could race for the jersey
Belgium’s numerical strength creates the possibility of an aggressive start, but an early attack is only useful if the rider can sustain it. Sparfel, Viezzi and the leading Dutch riders may be better served by staying within striking distance until the field has stretched. A crash at the front could alter that calculation in an instant.
If the course is dry, the race may develop through repeated accelerations rather than a long solo effort. Riders could close gaps on the faster sections and then lose contact again at the technical obstacles. If rain makes the running sections heavy, pacing and bike changes may become more important, particularly for riders who start quickly but struggle to maintain traction.
By the final laps, the difference may be the rider who still makes clean decisions under fatigue. A championship finish can be settled by the first rider to remount cleanly, the last successful pass before a narrow section or a well-timed acceleration into a corner. None of those scenarios requires a conventional sprint, and all are plausible on a circuit with Zeddam’s mix of obstacles.
UK start time and confirmed information
The under-23 men’s race is scheduled for Saturday, 7 November at 13:00 CET, which is 12:00 GMT. The junior women start at 10:00 GMT and the elite women at 14:00 GMT. The men’s under-23 race is expected to last roughly 50 minutes, although the number of laps will be determined by race conditions.
The UEC has published an entry list, including reserves, and says the definitive start list will be available the day before racing. That is the correct reference for final participation and grid positions. Broadcast coverage of the under-23 race is not automatically the same as coverage of the elite events, even though the organiser has announced television partners for the championship weekend.
The Zeddam UK viewing guide explains the confirmed schedule and the current broadcast arrangements. For background, see our European Championships history and the 2026–27 cyclocross calendar.
