20 photos from November: The best cycling pictures of the month
European Cross-Country Championships in Namur
The cross-country season is in full swing. The European Championships took place in Namur at the beginning of November. Lars van der Haar and Michael Vanthourenhout dominated the men's race, with the Belgian Vanthourenhout ultimately prevailing over his Dutch opponent. Fem van Empel won the women's race after an impressive chase. The 20-year-old Dutchwoman suffered a puncture at the start of the race, but managed to catch up with the front runners again and was crowned the new European champion ahead of Ceylin del Carmen Alvarado.
Pidcock & van der Poel report back
Another highlight of November's cyclo-cross season: Tom Pidcock's season debut. The British cycling artist first started at the Superprestige event in Merksplas on 19 November, where he finished seventh after starting difficulties and a crash. One day later, the cyclocross world champion took second place at the World Cup in Overijse behind the newly crowned European champion Vanthourenhout - even though his chain came off immediately after the start.
One week after Pidcock, Mathieu van der Poel also celebrated his season debut - and how! In Hulst, the Dutchman showed the competition the limits and won ahead of Laurens Sweeck from Belgium. Pidcock was also able to keep up with van der Poel for a long time, but at the latest after he hit the rear wheel of his Pinarello cross bike on a boundary post, Pidcock probably realised that he would not be able to catch van der Poel. The Briton tried to reach the transition zone on foot, but abandoned the race after a few metres.
Wout van Aert will soon be the third big star of the cyclocross scene to start the season. The Belgian will start his 2022/2023 cyclocross season on 4 December at the UCI World Cup stop in Antwerp. However, Van Aert has already told a Belgian newspaper that his main goal this season will clearly be the Cyclocross World Championships on 5 February 2023 in Hoogerheide.
UCI Track Champions League
There was also a race on the track in November as part of the UCI Track Champions League. The race series kicked off in Palma de Mallorca. Lea Sophie Friedrich finished the competitions on the Balearic island in fourth place. Team sprint world champion Pauline Grabosch from Cottbus finished eighth after the first of five laps.
For Friedrich, however, it was over seven days later. The German sprinter had to end her season in the Track Champions League prematurely after the second round in Berlin. "I had a bad cold and had been trying for a few days to revitalise myself and find new energy - but that didn't work", said last year's overall runner-up in tears.
The last stop of the UCI Track Champions League in November was Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines near Paris. In the third of five rounds of the racing series, the Stefan Bötticher defended his third place in the overall standings thereHowever, he lost ground on the two top riders Harrie Lavreysen from the Netherlands and Matthew Richardson from Australia. The final of the UCI Track Champions League 2022 will take place on 2 and 3 December with two consecutive rounds in London.
