Every 1 November, the Koppenberg takes on a different character. The cobbled climb made famous by the Tour of Flanders becomes the centrepiece of a cyclocross race, with riders repeatedly tackling the grass slopes, technical descents and demanding ascent near Melden, outside Oudenaarde. The road is recognisable, but the challenge is not simply a shorter version of the spring Classic. Cyclocross riders must cope with a circuit that is difficult almost everywhere, with fatigue building each time they reach the cobbled climb.
The Koppenbergcross has been part of Belgian cyclocross since 1988. By 2026 it is an established opening fixture of the X²O Badkamers Trofee, one of the winter’s principal season-long competitions. Its winners include some of the sport’s most accomplished technicians, while the women’s race has developed a history of its own. The most recent edition in 2025 was won by Thibau Nys and Lucinda Brand.
How the Koppenbergcross began in 1988
The first Koppenbergcross was held in 1988, when Rudy Thielemans took the inaugural men’s victory. The first two editions were held at Den Doorn in Eine, elsewhere in Oudenaarde, rather than on the Koppenberg. The race moved to the famous cobbled climb for its third edition, giving the circuit in Melden the identity it has maintained ever since.
That choice gave the race an identity independent of changes to teams, equipment and the winter calendar. Oudenaarde is at the centre of the Flemish Ardennes, with steep little roads and pastureland on the slopes around the town. The Koppenberg rises out of Melden and offers a natural amphitheatre in which crowds can watch riders suffer at close quarters. During the race, the circuit brings riders past spectators repeatedly, making the effect of small gaps more obvious than at a point-to-point road race.
The calendar has not been identical in every year. There were two recorded men’s editions in 1999, one on 3 January and another on 1 November. But the association with early November has become the race’s calling card. It is a fixture that connects late autumn’s changing ground conditions with a climb whose rough cobbles are familiar to generations of cycling supporters.
A climb shared with the Tour of Flanders, but not the same race
The Tour of Flanders crosses the Koppenberg as part of a much longer road race. Riders approach at high speed, jostle for position and try to stay upright on a cobbled ramp where the surface and gradient can rapidly split the bunch. In the Koppenbergcross, riders repeatedly return to the same hillside after riding across surrounding fields. They have to choose how to handle the steep ground again and again, often after their legs have already been drained by mud and repeated changes of pace.
The technical descents are as important as the climb. A rider can lose the advantage gained on the cobbles by braking too hard on grass, hitting a rut or remounting poorly after a running section. The race is particularly hard to judge from a single photograph of the ascent. The useful comparison is a full lap: where a rider gains ground, how much energy the move costs and whether the advantage survives the following technical turns.
Course layouts can be adjusted between editions, so fixed claims about the number of laps or metres of each surface can become misleading. The 2026 organisers describe steep grassy slopes, technical descents and a cobbled finishing climb. Their published course information, rather than an old race map, is the right reference for attending or analysing the current edition. Our cyclocross beginner’s guide explains why running and bike handling are central to this discipline.
Sven Nys and the weight of nine victories
No rider is more closely associated with the men’s Koppenbergcross record than Sven Nys. He won nine editions, a total that remains the benchmark in the race’s history. His record mattered because the event did not allow a rider to hide in a group or wait for one decisive sprint. It rewarded repeated technical decisions, the ability to recover between efforts and a willingness to run when doing so was faster than pedalling.
Other multiple men’s winners include Wout van Aert and Eli Iserbyt, each credited with three wins in the historical records. Mario De Clercq and Peter Van Den Abeele also feature among the repeated victors. These names cross generations of cyclocross, showing that the course has remained a demanding test even as tyre setups, training methods and rider profiles have changed.
The Nys story continued when Thibau Nys won in 2023 and again in 2025. The later victory came on his return to cross racing for that season and was immediately compared with his father’s record at the same venue. The family connection is an engaging part of the race’s history, but the result stands on its own. In 2025 Thibau reached the finish in 58:39, 21 seconds ahead of Cameron Mason, with Pim Ronhaar third at 1:44 behind.
The women’s race and the Jolien Verschueren connection
The women’s Koppenbergcross began in 2002, with Laurence Leboucher recorded as the first winner. The event grew from a supplementary race into a significant part of the winter programme, attracting leading international riders to the same punishing Flemish hillside. Helen Wyman won four editions, giving Britain a particularly strong connection with the women’s roll of honour.
In 2021 the women’s race was renamed the GP Jolien Verschueren in remembrance of the Belgian rider, whose relationship with the Koppenberg and the wider cyclocross community was especially close. This identity is more than a ceremonial title. It keeps her name in public view at a race known for its difficult climbs, with new competitors racing in a category shaped by earlier generations of specialists.
Fem van Empel won three successive editions in 2022, 2023 and 2024, underlining how well her powerful accelerations and technical control suited the route. Lucinda Brand took the 2025 women’s race in 46:01, beating Célia Gery by 19 seconds and Sara Casasola by 1:23. Those official finishing gaps give a clear sense of how the course can separate a strong field: the leading rider may be only seconds ahead, while the next contender pays a much heavier price for sustained effort or a mistake.
Recent Koppenbergcross winners
The men’s winners of the past five editions give an immediate picture of the race’s demands: Eli Iserbyt in 2021, Lars van der Haar in 2022, Thibau Nys in 2023, Van der Haar again in 2024 and Nys in 2025. These results show that the same rider can return to win in different conditions, but they also show how difficult it is to dominate without interruption. A course can suit a rider and still expose a weakness if his form, line choices or equipment fail him on the day.
On the women’s side, Clara Honsinger won in 2021 before Fem van Empel’s three-year sequence from 2022 to 2024. Brand interrupted that run in 2025. Viewed across both races, the roll of honour is a reminder that different riders can win by different methods. Some open gaps on the uphill sections; others carry speed through the bends and recover enough to attack later in the lap.
The history is worth reading alongside the 2026–27 cyclocross calendar. Koppenbergcross is one of the distinctive fixtures that can be overlooked if attention falls solely on the UCI World Cup, yet a victory in Oudenaarde has long carried its own status within the sport.
The X²O Trophy makes every second count
Koppenbergcross belongs to the X²O Badkamers Trofee, a competition whose overall classification has traditionally been based on cumulative race time rather than the simple points awarded for finishing positions in some other series. That creates another reason not to judge success purely by who crosses the line first. Riders aiming for the overall trophy also care about the gap they concede to their rivals, because seconds lost at an early meeting can influence the standings later in the winter.
That format changes how a rider might approach the final laps after a win has slipped away. A rider who cannot catch the leader may still chase hard to limit a time deficit. On the Koppenberg, where a mechanical problem or mistimed dismount can cost several seconds, the margin to another overall contender may be the most important number after the winner has gone clear.
The 2026 edition is scheduled for Sunday 1 November in Oudenaarde. The published programme lists the elite women at 13:45 CET, or 12:45 GMT in Britain, and the elite men at 15:00 CET, or 2:00pm GMT. These are start times rather than promises about the precise television coverage window. Check organiser updates nearer race day, because the final timetable and individual start lists may change.
Visiting the Koppenbergcross
The spectator experience is unusually concentrated. The climb near Melden gives fans a chance to see riders battling one of the sport’s most recognisable landmarks, with the adjacent grassy slopes and descents providing further vantage points. Arriving early allows time to walk between sections and understand why the gaps change. It also avoids the busiest access period when the elite competitions begin.
The organisers’ 2026 practical information recommends designated bicycle parking at the foot of the Koppenberg near the entrance. Drivers are directed to allocated car parks, including an industrial-area option at De Meersbloem from which shuttle buses operate. Temporary road restrictions apply on 1 November in and around Oudenaarde, so a satnav route to the climb itself is not necessarily a practical way to reach the course.
For anyone comparing the race with the spring Classics, the nearby guide to watching the Tour of Flanders Women explains the different atmosphere of a road-racing day in the same region. At the Koppenbergcross, there is time to watch how individual riders repeatedly solve the climb rather than seeing the peloton pass once. It is that repetition, and the possibility of the surface changing with each lap, that gives this race its distinctive challenge.
