2026 cyclocross worlds: Del Grosso and Van Anrooij lead Netherlands to mixed relay world title

The Netherlands has won the Mixed Relay World Championship on home soil. After nearly fifty minutes of racing, Tibor Del Grosso skillfully sealed the victory in Hulst, following Shirin van Anrooij's lead the previous lap, who had broken away from the Italians.

In the mixed relay, each national coach was allowed to select one male and one female junior, under-23, and elite rider, making up teams of six riders who took turns completing laps on the World Championship course. With thirteen teams participating, Hulst welcomed a record turnout, and after a two-year hiatus, the Netherlands returned as the top favorite.

However, it was the Italians, led by junior Filippo Grigolini, who got off to the strongest start. The Netherlands, Canada, and the United States kept pace well, while surprisingly, Zoe Backstedt representing Great Britain immediately fell far behind. In the second half of the opening lap, Guus van den Eijnden came through strongly for the Netherlands. After a minor issue from Grigolini on the barriers, he dropped his rivals and rode solo toward the end of the opening lap.

After one lap, the Netherlands had a reassuring gap of about five seconds over the Italians and Americans. For comparison, dark horses Belgium, Great Britain, and France were already trailing by three-quarters of a minute.

Bentveld and Versluis lose time
In the second lap, under-23 rider Stefano Viezzi took on the Italian push. He performed excellently, but could the Dutch junior Delano Heeren shake him off? That wasn't without a fight. One lap later, pro rider Sara Casasola tried the same with junior Isis Versluis. At first, she defended flawlessly, but experienced a setback in the latter part of the lap. Partly due to a crash, she came through 15 seconds behind.

Not a disaster—it was clear at that point. Position changes are common in a Mixed Relay. Up front, the Italians had under-23 rider Elisa Ferri in lap four. On paper, this gave the Netherlands a unique opportunity to gain ground with European under-23 champion Leonie Bentveld, but she only lost more time. Bentveld even had to let the Slovaks pass.

With two laps/riders left, the Italians were comfortably placed. Only their weakest link on paper, junior Giorgia Pellizotti, had yet to start. She had to defend a seven-second lead over Slovakia and seventeen seconds over Dutch rider Shirin van Anrooij.