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2025 Cyclocross Koppenberg (C-1)
Oudenaarde, Belgium

Saturday, November 1, 2025

Cyclocross Koppenberg podium history | 2024 edition | Course map

Weather at the race city of Oudenaarde at 1:30 PM, local time: 12C (54F), raining, with the wind from the south-southwest at 16 km/hr (10 mph). The rain is forecast to end about 1:45 PM, about the time the women's race is scheduled to begin.

Results: Men | Women

Men:

Thibau Nys solos across the line.

Plato's dialogue Crito is available both in audiobook and Kindle eBook versions. To get your copy, just click on the Amazon link on the right.

The race: The race is scheduled to start at 3:00 PM, local time. Here's a machine-translation of the organizer's report.

Thibau Nys won the first X2O Badkamers Trophy race of the season on the slopes of the Koppenberg. In a duel with Cameron Mason, he conquered the cobblestones. Mason finished an impressive second, ahead of Pim Ronhaar, Victor Van de Putte, and Toon Aerts.

Wout Janssen took the lead on the first climb of the Koppenberg, with a surprisingly strong Robin Alderweireld in his wake. Strong newcomers led the peloton, but the established riders quickly took control.

On the first lap, top favorite and European champion Thibau Nys took the initiative. He faced competition mainly from a surprisingly strong British champion, Cameron Mason. Baloise Glowi Lion Nys kept the pressure on, aiming to bring the Nys family's overall lead to 11th today. Mason managed to limit the damage, but repeatedly lost seconds.

In the final, Nys's lead only increased, and Mason was forced to concede defeat. Mason settled for second place in this tough classic. Pim Ronhaar climbed strongly once again and finally secured a podium spot in third place. Victor Van de Putte finished in a creditable fourth place, and Toon Aerts was fifth after a few mistakes in the early stages.

Nys savored this hard-fought victory afterward. "You have to fight against yourself for a whole hour. I quickly regained control, which was very pleasant. But that's still an hour of riding at the limit. If you let your focus drop even a little to build up some reserves or recover, mistakes simply happen. That's not possible, so it's an hour at the limit."

Complete results:

Where no team is listed I have posted the rider's country.

Women:

Lucinda Brand on her way to winning the Koppenbergcross for the first time.

Plato's dialogue Phaedo is available in both audiobook & Kindle eBook versions. To get your copy, just click on the Amazon link on the right.

The race: Here is a machine-translation of the organizer's report:

Lucinda Brand won the classic on the Koppenberg, but it wasn't without a fight. Even though her biggest rival, Fem van Empel, dropped out on the first lap, she still faced considerable resistance. Not least from the surprisingly strong French rider Célia Gery, who finished second. Sara Casasola climbed strongly and took third place in this legendary race.

World champion Fem van Empel could have claimed her fourth consecutive victory on the slopes of the Bult van Melden, but it didn't quite happen. The Dutch favorite slowed down on the first lap and appeared not to have fully recovered from her illness in recent weeks.

The French riders proved surprisingly strong. Célia Gery took the lead on the first lap, followed by her compatriot Amandine Fouquenet. Lucinda Brand had to give it her all, but was the only one able to keep pace with the French top riders. The 36-year-old Brand overtook the 18-year-old leader Gery and seemed to be on her own way to victory.

But in the final lap, the French teenager didn't give up yet. She closed the gap to within five seconds, and Brand had to keep giving it her all until the deep final stretch. Only on the final cobblestones of the Koppenberg was she able to let her power take over in this fiercely contested race. Célia Gery finished a very impressive and deserving second, Sara Casasola third.

Brand herself was surprised by her new opponent: "That climb up the Koppenberg doesn't get any easier. At first, I thought, 'nice,' but the last time up was so tough. Célia is so strong. It's great to see new talent emerge. I hope she can give us many more challenges."

Complete Results: The race started at 1:45 PM, local time.

Where no team is listed I have posted the rider's country.

Here's a map of the race course: