Cyclocross world championships 2026: Leonie Bentveld wins under-23 world title

Leonie Bentveld has done it: the 21-year-old Dutch rider is the new U23 women's cyclocross world champion. Bentveld managed to settle a thrilling duel with Viktória Chladonová in her favor. Célia Gery was a good distance behind, taking bronze.

For the first time in three years, Zoe Bäckstedt did not compete in the U23 women's category at the cyclocross World Championships, opening up opportunities for riders who have been close to that world title for several years. Leonie Bentveld was perhaps the most prominent in that handful of contenders, although she wouldn’t win the title in Hulst easily, with Célia Gery, Viktória Chladonová, and Fleur Moors as her main rivals.

Moors sets the pace
Moors was immediately on the ball, as the Belgian went into the field in second place after an excellent start and soon took the lead. Under the leadership of an active Moors, a quartet broke away, including Bentveld, Gery, and Chladonová. In other words, the top favorites for the world title separated themselves from the rest of the field early on.

Chladonová saw her moment in the following second lap to open the throttle for the first time. The Slovak - who normally rides for the Visma | Lease a Bike women’s team - built a solid gap, but Bentveld stayed composed. She kept the deficit to Chladonová within reach and rejoined her with just over two laps to go. Gery and Moors had meanwhile disappeared from contention, partly due to bad luck.

photo: Fotopersburo Cor Vos

Netherlands versus Slovakia for the title
Bentveld and Chladonová were very evenly matched in the final, so the last lap would decide the winner and loser. Chladonová clearly lacked confidence in her sprint, so she pulled out all the stops, hoping to shake off her Dutch opponent. However, the resilient Bentveld did not falter. In fact, with a bold move on one of the descents, she reversed the roles.

Now it was up to Chladonová to respond, but Bentveld used a combination of power, class, skill, and daring to pull the victory towards herself. She faced no problems in the closing minutes and had plenty of time to make the winning gesture. After two bronze World Championship medals, Bentveld finally struck gold. Chladonová took silver, and Gery had to settle for bronze.