Preview: Superprestige Diegem 2025 – Nys-Del Grosso duel with 'big two' absent?

Course

The course in Diegem has not changed compared to the previous edition. Characteristic are the sloped sections alongside the football field. These can become very slippery quickly, which requires the riders’ technical skills to really come through.

Then there is also the Regimentsberg, which has to be tackled every lap. On a bad day as a cyclocrosser, you might be tempted to park there. Besides these two typical sections, there are several technical parts – including a short passage through sand – in Flemish-Brabant’s Diegem. With 1013 meters of asphalt, you can also put your power to good use.

Last year, the organisers decided to implement a small change. “At the place where the small beams used to be, there is now a bridge for the safety of spectators. The public can pass underneath,” organizer Francis Bosschaerts told us at the time. “That was a problem before. Now, the beams are in line with the Regimentsberg, where the zigzag used to be. But this won’t change the race dynamics.”

Mathieu van der Poel in the Diegem evening cyclocross - photo: Fotopersburo Cor Vos

For over two decades, the Superprestige in Diegem has been one of the classics in cyclocross. Not due to a brutally tough course like the Koppenberg, Namur, Koksijde, or Zonhoven, but because of its unique character. It is the only Belgian cyclocross held in the evening, and that pays off. For years, the evening race has been by far the best-attended cyclocross of the season. Some editions saw over 15,000 spectators.

Diegem organized its first evening cyclocross in 2000 at the request of outgoing mayor Roger De Wulf. “A stunt, to celebrate the new mayor,” organizer Francis Bosschaerts told WielerFlits a few years ago.

“Back then, we lit the course with 55 light balloons. A few years later, when broadcaster VT4 covered cyclocross, we definitively switched to evening racing. With even better lighting, tailored for TV coverage. Meanwhile, it has become our trademark.”

Event website

In presale, tickets for the Superprestige Diegem cost €16.50. On the race day at the box office, tickets cost €18.50. Children born after 2013 enter for free.

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For the second year in a row, the Superprestige race in Diegem must do without Wout van Aert and Mathieu van der Poel. Aside from Gullegem, it is—even with its long tradition—actually the only stage race between mid-December and mid-January that does not feature these two great rivals at the start. Organizer Francis Bosschaerts is heartbroken.

“It’s already the second year in a row that they don’t come,” the organizer reacts. “I really thought Wout would come this time, but apparently he never races three days in a row. That’s a huge disappointment, I can’t say it any differently.” The reason is a mystery. According to Bosschaerts, it definitely is not a financial issue. “But no offer was made. That’s very unfortunate.”

For any race organizer, it is always a bitter pill if Van der Poel and/or Van Aert do not start—they bring lots of people, after all—but it should not spoil the fun. In fact, last year taught us that a cyclocross without the ‘Big Two’ is often even more unpredictable. The Diegem evening race was only decided in the final meters after a nail-biting thriller.