The Belgian cyclocross season will kick off on Sunday with the Exact Cross in Kruibeke. Exact Cross is a series of competitions with an umbrella name sponsor, but with no ranking attached to it. CyclingFlash looks ahead to this very first TV cross of the season.
History
It was early 2013 when the idea arose to organize a cyclocross race at a municipal New Year’s reception between pot and pint in Kruibeke. The driving forces behind it were a number of business leaders who wanted to put the local flood plain in the spotlight in a positive way. Wissekerke Castle in the borough of Bazel turned out to be an ideal location, while friend José De Cauwer was the perfect advisor.
The organisers, led by Kurt Vernimmen, immediately showed themselves ambitious. The B-cross that took place in January 2014 was just a dress rehearsal – necessary for the Belgian Cycling Federation – for the organization of a first A-cyclocross in October of the same year. Nice detail: the victory in that first A-cross went to a certain Wout van Aert, a week before he finally broke through at the highest level with a win in the Koppenbergcross.
Belgian championship
Two years later, the Polderscross joined the Brico Cross, later transformed into Ethias Cross and, from this year, Exact Cross. But the ambitions of the organizers reached even higher. Vernimmen and co committed themselves to bring a World Cup to Germany (Seven), put the Vestingcross on the map in Hulst in the Netherlands and later expanded their field of action to Lokeren with the Rapencross. Kruibeke itself was the backdrop for the Belgian championships at the beginning of 2019. Sanne Cant took her 10th title there, while Toon Aerts surprisingly outwitted top favorite Van Aert in the mud.
Sanne Cant won her 10th Belgian title in Kruibeke – photo: Cor Vos © 2019
Meanwhile, both the Rapencross, the Vestingcross and the Polderscross are fixed values on the cyclocross calendar. Hulst advanced to the World Cup, while Lokeren and Kruibeke remain part of the Exact Cross. Covid-19 is causing a delay. In 2020, Kruibeke moved to the clay quarry, last year it was not even organized at all.
This year it takes its place again in the Exact Cross and the organizers even make a stunt: nobody has to pay entrance. “Unique in our country”, says De Brauwer. “But we had to miss the audience for two years. We want to let everyone enjoy the cross again massively. Hopefully this stunt will generate extra interest.”
Latest winners in Kruibeke:
Men
2021: canceled due to corona
2020: 
Show Aerts
2019: That is, Iserbyt
2019: Toon Aerts (January, BC)
2017: 
Mathieu van der Poel
2016: Michael Vanthourenhout
2015: Wout van Aert
2014: Wout van Aert
Women
2021: canceled due to corona
2020: Lucinda Brand
2019: Annemarie Worst
2019: Sanne Cant (January, BK)
2017: 
Katherine Compton
2016: Jolien Verschueren
2015: Jolien Verschueren
2014: True Cant
Previous edition
Last year the Polderscross was canceled due to corona. The last edition therefore dates from 2020, on the track at the Argus clay quarry.
Results men:
1. Toon Aerts (Telenet-Baloise)
2. Laurens Sweeck (Pauwels Sauces-Bingoal)
3. Eli Iserbyt (Pauwels Sauces-Bingoal)
4. Lars van der Haar (Telenet-Baloise)
5. Thibau Nys (Telenet-Baloise)
Women
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Prc2WLqk9gI
Results women:
1. Annemarie Worst (Team 777)
2. Yara Kastelijn (Team 777)
3. Ceylin del Carmen Alvarado (Corendon-Circus)
4. 
Anna Kay (Experza)
5. 
Alice Maria Arzuffi (Team 777)
Journey
For the first time since 2019, the original course at the Dulpop sports hall can again serve as the Polderscross track. In 2020, a one-off move was made to the Argex clay quarries. Last year the cyclo-cross in Kruibeke was canceled due to corona.
The Polderscross is mainly a meadow cross, where the surface is quite sensitive to the weather. Remember the BC, where the course was transformed into a veritable mud slurry due to the heavy rainfall. Also in the past week quite a bit of water has fallen from the sky, so it will probably be a bit slippery on Sunday afternoon.
“But it will of course not be a reissue of that BK,” said Bram De Brauwer of the local organizing committee. It has remained dry for too long in recent months. But when driving up and down the dike (on the right in the picture) it can shift a bit. Good for the spectacle.”
Program
Program:
Sunday 18 September 2022
09:00: youth initiation
10:00: local population cross
12:30 pm: Newbies freshmen
13h30: Newbies second year
14h45: Juniors
4.15 pm: Elite and U23 Women (Rectavit Ladies Cross)
5.30 pm: Elite and U23 Men (Exact Cross)
Location & entrance:
Sporhal De Dulpop, Beekdam, Kruibeke
Incoming: Free!
Website Exact Cross
Polderscross website
Provisional list of participants
Favorites
Men
The field of participants for this season opener is still far from complete. Of course we will miss the absolute toppers such as Wout van Aert, Mathieu van der Poel and Tom Pidcock for the next eight to ten weeks. The other ‘road racers’ such as Tim Merlier, Quinten Hermans and Gianni Vermeersch only enter the field much later. But we also miss a number of fixed cyclocross values, such as Toon Aerts (still waiting for a signal from the UCI after his positive pee), Thibau Nys and Corné van Kessel.
Of the party, and also the block to look forward to on Sunday: That is, Iserbyt, Michael Vanthourenhout in Ryan Kamp, the trio of Pauwels Sauces-Bingoal. Iserbyt is the undeniable leader within Jurgen Mettepenningen’s team, but Iserbyt already told us this week that the non-classification crosses might be ideal competitions to give the teammates a little more freedom.
Pauwels Sauzen-Bingoal starts on Sunday with a strong trio, including Eli Iserbyt and Ryan Kamp – Photo: Cor Vos © 2020
We believe that opposition must come from a number of individuals. Van Iserbyt’s ex-teammate Laurens Sweeck for example, which represents the colors of Crelan-Fristads since this month. Sweeck will be only too happy to prove that he made the right choice by looking for other places.
Lars van der Haar had Toon Aerts as a teammate at Baloise-Trek until the end of last season, but only has Aert’s brother Thijs in support in Kruibeke. Only next week in Beringen will he be joined by Thibau Nys and Pim Ronhaar. Nys will be out of competition for another weekend, Ronhaar will ride the Kleebergcross on Saturday. But brand new daddy Van der Haar is an opponent to be reckoned with anyway.
We hand out the last stars to Niels Vandeputte in Jens Adams. Vandeputte is the leader of Alpecin-Fenix on Sunday and already won a – albeit less strongly occupied – cross in Germany last weekend. In Kruibeke he can find out whether he has really made the connection with the top. From the entourage of Jens Adams we received signals that he was also doing well in recent weeks and months.
Just missed our stars: Toon Vandebosch, Anton Ferdinande and Tom Meeusen.
Favorites according to WielerFlits
*** That is, Iserbyt
** Laurens Sweeck, Lars van der Haar
*Michael Vanthourenhout, Niels Vandeputte, Jens Adams
Women
Not only for the men, it is still a while to wait for a number of toppers. The field of participants among the women is also far from complete. World champion Marianne Vos is working in Australia, where she hopes for an extra world title. Shirin van Anrooij also rides the World Cup and only dives into the field later. Lucinda Brand was the last winner in Kruibeke, but the Rotterdam rider will not start her cross season until next week in Beringen. Puck Pieterse and Ceylin del Carmen, the duo of Alpecin-Deceuninck, also have to wait a little longer. Inge van der Heijden will be there on Saturday in the Kleebergcross, but not in Kruibeke.
Four absolute toppers are present. And then we’re talking about Fem van Empel in Denise Betsema. Just like with the men, it is also with the women Pauwels Sauzen-Bingoal that in this preview will run with the most stars. Van Empel, who moves to Jumbo-Visma on 1 January, has grown a year older and stronger and is the top favorite for us.
Van Empel, here in Flamanville in duel with Puck Pieterse, is now a fixed value at the top – photo: Cor Vos © 2022
Belgian champion True Cant we put it on the same level as Betsema. The three-time world champion has had a more than creditable season on the road and that gives her the necessary motivation to continue that form in the field. Although she remains realistic. “I feel good, hope to show that too, but that offers no guarantees,” she said in an interview with WielerFlits.
Annemarie Worst (Team 777) we didn’t see much at work last summer, but at the end of June she suddenly won a stage in the Lotto Belgium Tour. She may well hope for a win for the Exact Cross in Beringen next weekend. A podium place would be nice for Kruibeke. Our last stars go to Aniek van Alphen in Marie Schreiber. The numbers one and two in the two German crosses (Lützelbach and Bensheim) that were completed last weekend.
Favorites according to WielerFlits
*** Fem van Empel
** Denise Betsema, Sanne Cant
* Annemarie Worst, Aniek van Alphen, Marie Schreiber
Weather and TV
Both the women’s and the men’s cross in Kruibeke are covered in Belgium by VTM. In the Netherlands you can go to Eurosport. Every time from the clock of 3 pm.
The weather continues to rumble like it has been all week. According to Meteovista.be it will be racing between the showers on Sunday. Fortunately, a number of sun hours are also provided.
