How better to spend New Year's Day than in front of the screen watching a fantastic cyclocross? The Grote Prijs Sven Nys on January 1st is a lovely tradition, and Mathieu van der Poel is always eager to line up. Home rider Thibau Nys is highly motivated to make it as difficult as possible for him. Among the women, Lucinda Brand is the one to watch. WielerFlits looks ahead.
| Year | Winner |
|---|---|
| 2025 |  Eli Iserbyt |
| 2024 |  Mathieu van der Poel |
| 2023 | Eli Iserbyt |
| 2022 | Wout van Aert |
| 2021 | Mathieu van der Poel |
| 2020 | Mathieu van der Poel |
| 2019 | Mathieu van der Poel |
| 2018 | Mathieu van der Poel |
| 2017 | Toon Aerts |
| 2016 | Wout van Aert |
Since the inception of the GP Sven Nys, the Balenberg has been the setting for the event. A location that breathes cyclocross. There is not only the permanent cyclocross course, where children have been trained in recent years, but in 2016 the Sven Nys Cycling Center was also opened. The Cycling Center is an experience center, including a café and museum. For completeness: the sports management company Golazo has been the full owner of the Balenberg since 2016.
The course on the Balenberg is, according to Nys himself, 85 percent natural terrain. The hill is climbed from all sides during the race and the clay surface makes it especially tough in wet conditions. Strength and agility are the main requirements for riders to perform well here.
This year's course is again a copy of last year's and previous editions. That’s logical too: since 2016 the circuit has been almost entirely permanently fenced, giving it a slightly more professional look.
Six years ago, a descent was enhanced with extra bumps (dirt jumps), which at times create 'risky' moments. But in recent years, these features have been made safer as well.
Men
At Diegem, world champion Mathieu van der Poel was still absent, but on New Year's Day he will be back at Baal. Last season, he pulled out at the very last moment after suffering some painful (later confirmed broken) ribs in a crash in Loenhout. The year before, MVDP was present and naturally won: already his fifth victory in Baal.
Considering Van der Poel's masterclass at the Azencross, we expect no one to come close to him again. Especially since his closest rival in Loenhout, three-time world champion Wout van Aert, is not racing here. Van Aert showed progress by breaking away with Van der Poel but then suffered two punctures and had to abandon hopes for a good result.
On climbing courses, Belgian champion Thibau Nys comes close as well. Not that he could almost deny Van der Poel the win yet, but Nys stayed involved until the last laps and was clearly a class above the rest of the field. Baal offers that extra element, as the GP is named after his father. It is also a true home race for the young Nys, who always shows extra motivation at Baal in front of his own crowd.
Furthermore, the starting list shows that choices must be made this time of year. Several riders are absent; others are injured. For Joris Nieuwenhuis, the X2O Badkamers Trofee has become the biggest goal of the season. His test race in Loenhout was more than okay after having to skip some races. Toon Aerts, Cameron Mason, and Emiel Verstrynge are the climber types who will also want to be on the podium here.
Some new names also appear in Baal. Think of Quinten Hermans and Gianni Vermeersch, who will - in the case of Vermeersch - be racing for the first time in the kit of his new team.
Women
When Lucinda Brand lines up at a cyclocross, you know what time it is. The 36-year-old veteran now has an impressive streak of twelve consecutive victories. In Loenhout, no one came close again, although the field was not very strong there. On the other hand, Baal is very competitively stacked.
Especially since Puck Pieterse gained a huge confidence boost at the evening race in Diegem. The Dutch champion won her first cyclocross of the season there, albeit in Brand’s absence, who is making smart choices. Pieterse, a mountain biker who loves climbing courses, will find the terrain in Baal very much to her liking. Will we see a true showdown?
Ceylin del Carmen Alvarado will also be racing in Baal. She could claim the third podium spot, especially as riders like Aniek van Alphen, Shirin van Anrooij, Inge van der Heijden, and Blanka Vas are absent. Italian Sara Casasola might reinvent herself here. Additionally, Manon Bakker has been performing exceptionally well in recent weeks.
We haven’t even mentioned the foreign outsiders, such as Swiss Jolanda Neff. The former mountain bike world champion excels on courses like this. After a tough day on her comeback in Dendermonde, Zoe Bäckstedt already showed her class in Loenhout. The progress she is making after a difficult period has been much greater than her team expected.
In line with weather conditions over the past few weeks, it will be quite cold in Baal on New Year's Day. Temperatures will rise to a maximum of 5 degrees Celsius, with strong winds blowing at Force 4 Beaufort. It will therefore be dry and fast, also because there has not been any precipitation for a while.
| Year | Winner |
|---|---|
| 2025 | Fem van Empel |
| 2024 | Fem van Empel |
| 2023 | Fem van Empel |
| 2022 | Lucinda Brand |
| 2021 | Ceylin del Carmen Alvarado |
| 2020 | Ceylin del Carmen Alvarado |
| 2019 |  Jolanda Neff |
| 2018 |  Katherine Compton |
| 2017 | Marianne Vos |
| 2016 | Sanne Cant |
X²O Badkamers Trofee - GP Sven Nys| Rank | Rider | Time |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 57:03 | |
| 2 | + 25 | |
| 3 | + 34 | |
| 4 | + 48 | |
| 5 | + 01:36 | |
| 6 | + 01:38 | |
| 7 | + 01:59 | |
| 8 | + 02:07 | |
| 9 | + 02:44 | |
| 10 | + 03:11 |
X²O Badkamers Trofee - GP Sven Nys| Rank | Rider | Time |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 46:51 | |
| 2 | " | |
| 3 | + 21 | |
| 4 | + 03:35 | |
| 5 | + 04:02 | |
| 6 | + 05:07 | |
| 7 | + 05:13 | |
| 8 | + 05:19 | |
| 9 | + 05:47 | |
| 10 | + 06:12 |
Nys and Van der Poel in Gavere - photo: Fotopersburo Cor Vos
| # | Rider | Probability |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 94.84% | |
| 2 | 0.94% | |
| 3 | 0.92% | |
| 4 | 0.83% | |
| 5 | 0.62% |
Lucinda Brand during the race in Loenhout - photo: Fotopersburo Cor Vo
| # | Rider | Probability |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 78.43% | |
| 2 | 11.62% | |
| 3 | 4.29% | |
| 4 | 3.46% | |
| 5 | 0.71% |
