National Teams present their best cyclists at the European Cyclo-cross Championships in Pontevedra

This Sunday, November 3, the junior, under-23 and elite male and female races will take place in the Illa das Esculturas. The fight of the National Teams to proclaim the new European Champions will have a spectacular setting with a circuit that will have already hosted on Friday the master races and on Saturday the Team Relay.

185 riders from 19 countries will take part in the different races. The six titles at stake will bring together the great majority of current champions of the continent, looking to defend their jersey, as well as the best aspirants with the illusion of becoming European Champions.

In the elite men’s race, a new chapter of the challenge between Belgian and Dutch riders is expected. Both teams will field several of their top riders, with a special mention for Spain’s Felipe Orts, who will be looking for a podium in a great start to the season. The Belgian team, in addition to the reigning European Champion Michael Vanthourenhout (also first in 2022) will count on former European champions Toon Aerts (2016) and Eli Iserbyt (2020), as well as the young Thibau Nys (son of the legendary CX champion Sven Nys) and Niels Vandeputte. Lars van der Haar, winner of the first European elite title in 2015 and European champion in 2021, will lead the Dutch team, which will also include Ryan Kamp and Pim Ronhaar.

Current world champion Fem van Empel (Netherlands) and her compatriots Lucinda Brand and Ceylin del Carmen Alvarado will be the stars of the women’s race, along with Denise Betsema and Annemarie Worst, as well as Belgium’s Sanne Cant, France’s Hélène Clauzel and Italy’s Sara Casasola. Spain’s Lucía González will be fighting for a great result in this competition.

In the under-23 category, Jente Michiels (Belgium), Marie Schreiber (Luxembourg), Célia Grey (France) and Kristýna Zemanová (Czech Republic) will be the references. The Galicians Miguel Rodríguez and Tomás Pombo will be the Spanish references. In the women’s race, Laura Mira and Galician Aroa Otero will fight for the title.

Among the protagonists expected in the junior events are Kryštof Bažant (Czech Republic), the Belgians Arthur Van Den Boer, Mats Vanden Eynde, Giel Lejeune and the Austrian Valentin Hofer. As for the Spanish representation, Néstor Frías and Raúl Puelles will be the participants. The young Anja Grossmann (Switzerland) is the favourite in the junior female category, but she will have a very high level rival such as the Galician Lorena Patiño.