The Citadel of Namur has a way of stripping cyclo-cross down to its essentials: climbing power, nerve on the descents and the ability to ride at threshold without a single technical error. As the 2025‑26 UCI Cyclo-cross World Cup reaches round four, the season’s most iconic hillside becomes the backdrop for two pivotal storylines: Mathieu van der Poel’s return to the mud and a stacked women’s field where Lucinda Brand, Aniek van Alphen, Puck Pieterse and Ceylin del Carmen Alvarado collide on the same grid.
The course: gravity as the main selection
The Namur lap threads around the 19th‑century fortress high above the Meuse, and almost every metre is either up or down. The race opens on a fast start on the plateau/cobbles funnels into the first technical pinch points.
From there, the lap becomes a loop of attrition:
- Long, double-digit percentage climbs that demand repeated 30–60 second efforts deep into the red.
- A signature off‑camber traverse on the hillside, which in dry conditions turns into a high‑speed balance beam; one dab can mean five seconds lost.
- Rutted descents where committing early to a line is faster than braking and correcting.
- Cobbled and gravelled ramps back to the citadel, where raw power rewards road engines like Van der Poel and Brand.
On a relatively dry course, as forecast this year, the mud won’t be ankle‑deep but the underlying clay will still be greasy, especially in shaded sections. That pushes tyre choice towards intermediate treads at relatively low pressure, trading rolling speed for side‑knob bite on the cambers and under braking.
With ~7–8 minute laps, you’d expect roughly 7–8 laps for elite men and 6–7 for women, depending on the commissaires’ calculation after lap two.
Men: Van der Poel vs the World Cup machine
Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin–Deceuninck) opens his cyclo-cross campaign on a course he has dominated in the past. Namur’s climbs and full‑commitment descents are custom‑built for his blend of sustained power and mountain‑bike handling. After another road season built around classics and Grand Tours, freshness rather than sharpness is the question: he tends to need one lap, not one race, to recalibrate to cross.
Arrayed against him is the most organised CX outfit in the sport: Baloise Glowi Lions. Thibau Nys is a top contender with two wins after wins in Tábor and Flamanville and a strategic skip of Terralba for training.
The most credible spoiler is reigning Namur winner Michael Vanthourenhout (Pauwels Sauzen – Altez). His last‑lap sand move in Terralba, dissected in our report on that race here, showed he has the patience and race craft to profit if van der Poel and Nys over‑mark each other. He is historically one of the best pure climbers in the field when conditions are greasy rather than deep.
Behind that trio sit the metronomes of this World Cup: Joris Nieuwenhuis (Ridley Racing Team) and Laurens Sweeck (Crelan–Corendon). Nieuwenhuis has been the benchmark for lap‑to‑lap consistency. Namur, where repeated climbing can dull explosive accelerations, plays into that diesel style if the pace stabilises after Van der Poel’s first big move.
Further back, Ryan Kamp, Tibor Del Grosso, Mees Hendrikx and a resurgent Toon Aerts are all candidates for the top ten if the front of the race detonates.
Notably absent is Wout van Aert, still pacing his return. His absence, along with that of all‑rounders focusing on road and MTB, concentrates the battle between the specialist cross squads.
Women: Brand, Van Alphen, Pieterse and an Alvarado question mark
If the men’s race is about a superstar’s return, the women’s is about a balance of power shifting by the week.
Aniek van Alphen (Seven Racing) leads the World Cup thanks to consistency and a sharp victory in Flamanville, but her advantage is under threat. Lucinda Brand (Baloise Glowi Lions) has been the form rider of the autumn and turned Terralba into a solo exhibition, as we covered in detail here.
Layered onto that duel is the season debut of Puck Pieterse (Fenix–Deceuninck). Her off‑road skillset might be the closest the women’s field has to Van der Poel’s: explosive climbing power, the ability to bunny‑hop obstacles at race pace and a background in elite mountain biking that makes Namur’s downhills feel almost familiar.
Defending Namur winner Ceylin del Carmen Alvarado (Fenix–Deceuninck) adds another layer of complexity. She has already taken big wins this winter but pulled out of Terralba while under the weather. At full health, the combination of her punch on steep ramps and light touch on technical descents makes her at least Brand’s equal here.
Reigning world champion Fem van Empel remains absent as she continues to manage health issues and a road‑centred programme, while Shirin van Anrooij has likewise prioritised training and the road calendar. Former Olympic MTB champion Jolanda Neff is on the startlist for a Namur return, as we reported previously, and she will certainly be a wildcard in the field.
Conditions, wildcards and race dynamics
Forecasts point to 4–8°C, mostly dry and only light wind. That should mean relatively fast lap times but a thin film of moisture on the grass, especially under the trees.
Tactically, the first descent and the long climb that follows will define the front groups. Expect Baloise and Crelan to try to flood the top ten wheels into the first off‑camber, then use team depth to keep the pace high and prevent solo chasers from bridging. Any rider starting outside the first two rows will need an exceptional opening lap just to reach the fight.
Predictions
Men
Namur almost always rewards the strongest rider on the day, and with his track record on this hill it is difficult to look past Mathieu van der Poel. Expect him to open the throttle on the main climb by lap two, forcing a selection that only Thibau Nys and Michael Vanthourenhout are likely to match initially. Over an hour, Van der Poel’s repeatability on the climbs should tell.
With Joris Nieuwenhuis and Laurens Sweeck close behind, the top five should be separated by seconds rather than minutes.
Women
On this layout, with this weather, Lucinda Brand’s combination of power and composure makes her the rider to beat. Puck Pieterse’s ceiling is arguably higher on a course like Namur, but rust and race rhythm tilt the odds slightly in Brand’s favour. Aniek van Alphen’s consistency should keep her on the podium and in the World Cup lead, albeit with her cushion significantly reduced.
The joker is Jolanda Neff, who could make a serious splash on her much-anticipated return to cyclocross.
Cover mage credit: Simon Wilkinson/SWpix.com
