HG Cross explained: venues, format and origins

HG Cross is the umbrella name for seven independent cyclocross races in Belgium and the Netherlands during the 2026–27 winter. It replaces Exact Cross on the calendar, but it does not introduce another season-long championship. Each event has its own winner. There is no overall classification, no cumulative time table and no leader’s jersey to defend. That is the most important thing to understand before following the races.

That distinction matters when reading the cyclocross calendar. A rider can win at Dendermonde, skip Meulebeke and return at Mol without sacrificing an overall challenge. The organiser brings the races together under one identity, while each venue retains its own course, local history and winners. For viewers, it is a useful collection of familiar Belgian crosses and one Dutch fixture, rather than another championship to calculate.

What is HG Cross and how does it work?

The seven events are individual UCI cyclocross races, with separate men’s and women’s elite competitions and, depending on the venue, additional junior and other categories. Results are decided on the day. A victory in one race does not carry a points advantage into the next, and there is no obligation to ride every event. This gives organisers flexibility to attract different fields, particularly on dates that sit close to a World Cup or another major cross.

A victory can still be valuable for UCI ranking points awarded according to the event’s classification, for a rider’s confidence and for a team’s season. The lack of an HG Cross standings table simply means there is no extra reward for completing all seven races. It changes tactics and calendar planning: riders can arrive fresh for one course rather than spreading their efforts across an entire series.

The format is quite different from the Superprestige, which rewards consistency across its rounds, and the X²O Badkamers Trophy, which uses cumulative racing time. The Cyclocross World Cup has its own points standings and international structure. Those distinctions explain why the same rider might approach two races on consecutive weekends in very different ways.

From Brico and Ethias to Exact Cross and HG Cross

The competition’s shared identity dates to the 2016–17 season, when a group of established events was brought together under the Brico Cross name. It became Ethias Cross in 2019, then Exact Cross from 2022. The title changed as commercial partners changed, but the underlying concept remained a calendar of independent races rather than a conventional league.

The organiser Golazo announced the new title sponsorship in August 2026. HG, a Dutch cleaning and maintenance products business, agreed a two-season deal covering 2026–27 and 2027–28, with an option to extend. The new name arrived alongside a revised selection of races. Dendermonde, previously a World Cup venue, became the opener, and Lokeren joined later in the calendar. The arrangement was not a new championship replacing Exact Cross; it was a new commercial identity for the same independent-race model.

These sponsor changes can make older race records look more complicated than they are. A win at an Exact Cross event in 2025 and a win at the same venue under HG branding in 2026 belong to the history of that individual cross. The series name is useful for finding the current schedule, but the local event names often tell you more about the course and its place in Belgian cycling.

HG Cross calendar for 2026–27

The 2026–27 schedule runs from Sunday, 11th October to Saturday, 13th February. Six races take place in Belgium and one, at Heerderstrand in Heerde, is in the Netherlands. Three rounds have already been raced as of 28th October 2026, leaving four fixtures across November, December and February.

The programme moves from an early-autumn opening to a sand race in December and two traditional February fixtures. That spread matters because cyclocross form is not static. Riders who have only recently returned from the road in October may be in a very different condition by the time the series reaches Maldegem and Sint-Niklaas.

Seven venues with very different demands

Dendermonde’s return to the calendar is significant because it has been a recognised international cyclocross venue for years. The Mosselcross in Grembergen mixes steps, short climbs, cobbles, sand and awkward changes of rhythm. It can look like a straightforward power course from the television pictures, but the repeated accelerations make it difficult to settle into a sustainable pace. Conditions can change its character substantially.

Meulebeke’s Berencross is based around the Ter Borcht sports complex, with start and finish near the football pitch. Its small banks, steps, grassy sections and tighter corners reward riders who can accelerate cleanly after braking. It is a useful reminder that a relatively compact course can be every bit as demanding as a venue with a large climb. A mistake at one corner can cost the wheel ahead before the next obstacle arrives.

Heerderstrand is the Dutch stop and the clearest contrast with the opening Belgian rounds. Sand rewards a rider who can judge a line early, keep the front wheel floating and accelerate when traction returns. The shortest route is not always the quickest. A rider who commits to a deep rut can lose more time than one who runs briefly and remounts smoothly. Heerde’s place in October makes it an early test of how much technical sharpness riders have carried into the winter.

Lokeren’s Rapencross follows in November, before the Zilvermeercross at Mol brings a different kind of sand racing in December. Mol’s long stretches of pale sand reward balance, momentum and a rider’s ability to maintain power when the bike starts to bog down. It can favour specialists who look less comfortable on grass-heavy circuits. Maldegem’s Parkcross and Sint-Niklaas’s Waaslandcross then take the calendar into February, when fatigue, weather and riders’ priorities can reshape the start list.

These differences are part of the appeal. The technical demands of cyclocross are not simply a matter of which rider has the highest power output. Tyre choice, pressure, running speed and decisions about when to change bikes can all affect a race. Our guide to cyclocross pits, bike changes and lap times explains the mechanics behind those decisions.

Who won the opening HG Cross races in 2026?

The opening races immediately showed the range of winners. Michael Vanthourenhout won the men’s races at Dendermonde on 11th October and Meulebeke on 17th October, the second victory coming in a four-rider sprint. Lucinda Brand won the Dendermonde women’s race, before Marie Schreiber took the honours at Meulebeke. These are individual results, not the first entries in an overall HG Cross championship.

At Heerderstrand on 24th October, Joran Wyseure recovered from a difficult start to win the men’s event ahead of Joris Nieuwenhuis. Ceylin del Carmen Alvarado took the women’s race with a decisive final-lap effort in the sand. Both performances illustrated how quickly positions can change when a rider finds a better rhythm through a technical section. The men’s race was not simply decided by the opening lap, and the women’s result turned on a late acceleration.

The two Heerde races are covered separately in our report on Wyseure’s recovery and victory and analysis of Alvarado’s final-lap attack. They are a better guide to the competition’s appeal than any hypothetical overall table: individual races can have sharply different stories even when the riders share the same course.

Where HG Cross fits into the cyclocross season

European cyclocross is unusually crowded. The World Cup, Superprestige and X²O Trophy all compete for attention alongside national championships, one-off races and the major international title events. HG Cross occupies a useful space within that calendar because riders can choose individual dates without the additional pressure of defending a points or time lead. A rider returning from injury, for example, may target one suitable event without needing to race every weekend.

That freedom can change the start list from one week to the next. Some of the biggest names may miss a race because they are resting, training or preparing for a championship. Other riders take their opportunity to lead rather than follow. It would be wrong to call the competition unimportant simply because it lacks an overall trophy. A one-day victory on a respected course still matters, and the field in front of a rider remains the only one they have to beat.

Course selection can be especially important for teams planning around a rider’s strengths. A sand specialist might make Mol a priority, while a rider with sharp acceleration and confident cornering could prefer Meulebeke. Weather adds another variable. The same course ridden in dry conditions can produce a very different race when heavy rain turns the grass into a sequence of slippery ruts. The calendar’s variety is therefore a sporting feature, not merely a geographical one.

How to follow HG Cross from the UK

The organiser has confirmed an agreement for live coverage of all seven 2026–27 HG Cross events through VRT Sporza in Belgium. That establishes the Belgian broadcast arrangement, not a guaranteed UK streaming entitlement. Viewers in Britain should check the rights holder and availability for the specific race, particularly where a broadcaster’s online stream has geographical restrictions.

Race start times also vary by venue. The Dendermonde programme, for example, scheduled the elite women for 13:45 local time and elite men for 15:00, while Mol’s December race is an evening event. Belgium and the Netherlands are one hour ahead of the UK in winter, so a 15:00 start there is 14:00 GMT. Do not assume every HG Cross uses the same afternoon timetable.

Our 2026–27 UK cyclocross viewing guide explains the wider television and streaming picture, including how rights differ between competitions. For riders new to the discipline, the beginner’s guide to cyclocross covers the basic race format, equipment and course features before the next HG Cross gets under way.