There is only one UCI race on the road schedule for December 2023: the Vuelta a Costa Rica. The tour is classified in the lowest 2.2 category, but has a long tradition. The race has been held since the 1960s. Ten stages are ridden, this year from 16 to 25 December. Most recently, local riders and Colombians fought it out among themselves.
The national road championships of Saudi Arabia and India will also be held in December. While the title fights in Saudi Arabia will take place from 17 to 23 December, the Indians will be competing from 28 to 31 December.
Cyclocross season at its peak: Van der Poel and van Aert enter the race
None of these competitions will make the headlines in the international cycling scene. The situation is different for the cyclo-cross riders. The season, which started in October, is also in full swing and has its decisive months in December and January. What's more, the races are attracting additional attention because a large number of the road pros active in cyclo-cross are getting into the action. First and foremost, of course, road and cyclo-cross world champions Mathieu van der Poelhis great rival Wout van Aert and Tom Pidcock.
However, it is still the cross specialists who are usually ahead in the important races. Only Thibau Nys, current U23 world cross champion and son of two-time elite world champion Sven Nys, who mainly rides on the road and celebrated his first victories there in 2023 in his first year as a professional for Lidl-Trek, has so far been able to compete with the pure cross riders.
He won the first World Cup race in mid-October in Waterloo, USA, as well as the first Exact Cross in Beringen, Belgium. Nys also won the first X2O race at the beginning of November.
Iserbyt the best so far
Otherwise, the winner was predominantly Eli Iserbyt. The 26-year-old Belgian has only won one of five World Cups so far - the others have gone to Dutch riders Pim Ronhaar (2) and Lars van der Haar - but he is top of the overall standings. This is also because van der Haar skipped the last stop in Dublin.
In the Superprestige, on the other hand, things are clearer: he has won three out of four races, plus a second place in the last race so far. In the X2O series, Iserbyt and Nys are the only winners in two races so far. However, van der Haar leads the overall standings there, as it is not about points, but about the total time from all eight races of the season.
The most important cyclocross races in December 2023 at a glance
The cross season is divided into several race series. The most important of these are the UCI World Cup, the Telenet Superprestige, the X2O Badkamers Trofee and the Exact Cross.
UCI World Cup
- 3 December - Flamanville (France)
- 12 December - Val di Sole (Italy)
- 17 December - Namur (Belgium)
- 23 December - Antwerp (Belgium)
- 26 December - Gavere (Belgium)
- 30 December - Hulst (Netherlands)
Superprestige
- 2 December - Boom (Belgium)
- 27 December - Heusden-Zolder (Belgium)
- 28 December - Diegem (Belgium)
X2O Trofee
- 16 December - Herentals (Belgium)
Exact Cross
- 9 December - Essen (Belgium)
- 22 December - Mol (Belgium)
- 29 December - Loenhout (Belgium)
The abundance of appointments makes it clear that one driver can hardly cover all of them. That's why there has recently been stress between David Laprartient and professionals who have skipped World Cup races. The UCI president threatened to impose sanctions such as exclusion from the cyclo-cross world championships, but was immediately met with a counterattack from the scene.
Especially in the week between Christmas and New Year - and sometimes even on public holidays - there is an important race in the calendar every day.
