Cyclocross world cup eyes Czech evening race as season opener

Tomas Van Den Spiegel, the CEO of organizer Flanders Classics, was clear in an interview on the website late last year: the Cyclocross World Cup could become somewhat more international in the coming years. For the upcoming season, it seems a second World Cup will be added on Czech soil, according to RoadCycling.cz.

The cycling site reports that Ostrava - the third largest city in the Czech Republic - will host the World Cup in the 2026-2027 season. More specifically: it would be the very first race of the overall classification.

This is not a 'regular' World Cup cyclocross. The Ostrava World Cup will be held in the evening under artificial lighting, similar to the Night of Woerden and the Superprestige in Diegem.

Double Ostrava-Tábor
The opening round in Ostrava will take place on a Friday, but the cyclocross riders will stay in Czech territory for a few more days, because two days later, another Czech World Cup round follows in the well-known Tábor. This town is an absolute classic in cyclocross and has hosted many World Cup races and even World Championships.

The mapped-out Dutch National Championship course in Ostrava - photo: organization/CyclingFlash

Ostrava will first host the Czech cyclocross championships this coming weekend. Among the men, Michael Boroš hopes to defend his title, while Kristýna Zemanová is the clear favorite among the women to defend hers.

World Cup holds talks with ‘non-traditional cyclocross countries’

The Cyclocross World Cup could become somewhat more international in the coming years. Organizer Flanders Classics and the UCI continue to strongly advocate for rounds in countries that previously didn't (often) have their place in the overall series.

"We have lots of interesting courses lined up for the coming years. Also in non-traditional cyclocross countries. We are hopeful that we can bring the World Cup there," Tomas Van Den Spiegel, the CEO of Flanders Classics, said in November to our website.

The organization already has some ideal locations in mind. "There is always interest from other time zones, let's be clear about that. But the challenge for us lies between interest and feasibility. Let's just say it will mainly involve some historic cyclocross countries, but also a few new ones."