Report courtesy of https://rijden.uk/cyclocross-stories/ (Tim Costello) Photos as indicated…with thanks
The 2023 Cyclocross World Championships returns to one of the best-known cyclocross courses in the Netherlands. Hoogerheide is a large village in the very south of the Netherlands, directly north of Antwerp. At its closest point, it’s less than five kilometres from the Belgian border.
It’s a regular round of the UCI Cyclocross World Cup and is usually named the Grand Prix Adrie van der Poel. The Cyclocross World Championships were held at Hoogerheide in 2009 and 2014.
WHEN ARE THE CYCLOCROSS WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS?
The Cyclocross World Championships will run over three days this year from Friday, 3 February 2023 to Sunday, 5 February. In addition, riders will be training on the course on Thursday, 2 February but the venue is not open to the public on Thursday.
This is the full schedule in CET times (subtract one hour for UK times):
Friday, 3 February
12:30 CET Team Relay
Saturday, 4 February
11:00 CET Junior Women
13:00 CET Men Under-23
15:00 CET Elite Women
Sunday, 5 February
11:00 CET Junior Men
13:00 CET Women Under-23
15:00 CET Elite Men
CAN I WATCH THE CYCLOCROSS WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS ON TV?
Most definitely yes, but all legal channels require a subscription or are geo-blocked.
Sporza (Belgium), NOS (Netherlands), GCN, Eurosport and Flo Bikes are all broadcasting the World Championships. In the UK, the World Championships will be broadcast by the BBC via the ‘red button’, but they are only showing the elite women’s and men’s races. The latter is live, but the women’s race will not be broadcast until the day after. The UCI may make some of the races available on their YouTube Channel but that’s likely to be restricted to those nations without a broadcast contract.
Saturday, 4 February GCN/Eurosport player broadcasts
10:00 UK time Junior Women
12:00 UK time Men Under-23
13:45 UK time Elite Women
Sunday, 5 February GCN/Eurosport player broadcasts
10:00 UK time Junior Men
12:00 UK time Women Under-23
13:45 UK time Elite Men
Tickets can be purchased from the Hoogerheide official website. https://store.ticketing.cm.com/WorldCycloCross2023/step/873f876d-239d-4400-8295-002c9f106737 You can either buy tickets for individual days or both Saturday and Sunday at 46 euro per person. Entrance is free on the Friday for the Team Relay. You can buy tickets on the day but they’re a bit more expensive (50 euro for two days). Under 12s are free but proof of age is required.
