Wout van Aert's withdrawal is a blow: world championships in Hulst won't run at full capacity
A little over a week before the Cyclocross World Championships in Hulst, the organizers can now start estimating how many people to expect in the Zeeland town. It will be a busy weekend next weekend, but not an overwhelming one with more than 50,000 people in Hulst, co-organizer Bram De Brauwer tells our website.
On Thursday morning, De Brauwer and his team are perfectly on schedule to make January 31 and February 1 an unforgettable championship weekend. In the afternoon, the UCI delegates will take their first lap on the course, after which the course builders will start the finishing touches and enter the final stretch towards the World Championships.
Mobility
Anyone who attended the Vestingscross in Hulst in recent years knows that it could feel very crowded on the course at times. "But it was our top priority to address that. We have made the course fully World Championship-worthy," assures De Brauwer. "In 2023, during the World Cup, we had about 22,000 spectators. Back then, people in the finish zone were completely stuck because there were so many of them."
"We then thought about improving the flow. We are doing this with a much more extended course, featuring seven pontoons and five bridges. That will make it much more pleasant for the spectators. It's a course we haven't seen often and one that won't appear frequently in future World Championships either."
The biggest challenge was mobility. "There is only one main road to Hulst, which meant we had to spread everything out as much as possible. We have heavily invested in Park & Ride, Park & Walk, and many shuttle buses. We also urge locals to come by bike and others by bus. This way, we can relieve that provincial road as much as possible. Thanks to these measures, everything will flow smoothly."
Maximum of 55,000 fans
To avoid overloading the center of Hulst too much, the organization commissioned a capacity calculation of the site. "In principle, we can safely accommodate 55,000 spectators on the course. We haven't reached that number yet today. In presales, we have sold 35,000 tickets for Sunday afternoon. We won't hit 50,000 or 55,000, but that was never the goal in itself."
The organizer thinks he knows why sales are not booming yet. "Due to his injury, Wout van Aert had to withdraw. We shouldn't downplay that his absence was a major blow. We even specially included a section that could have turned into a running lane on the course, perfectly suited to his style. National coach Angelo De Clercq already confirmed that it was an ideal course where he could have really challenged Mathieu van der Poel."
Van Aert considered the World Championships an option, but since his crash and resulting ankle injury in early January at the Zilvermeercross in Mol, we know he definitely will not be racing. "Now that duel isn’t happening, many might think: if Wout isn’t racing, there won’t be any tension. Wout also has a lot of fans in Flanders. Those factors likely play a role in why we won’t reach maximum capacity."
"Still the most beautiful World Championships"
De Brauwer and his team are aiming beyond just cyclocross fans. "The course is built to please the cyclocross enthusiast, but we also designed a program for people who aren’t primarily coming for the sport. The people from the Lokerse Feesten (one of the biggest festivals in Flanders, ed.) have booked our side events, there’s even a whole Kamping Kitsch tent. And Hulst has always been a race that attracts many families and children. We want to keep it that way."
That Hulst won’t be the most attended World Championships in history is therefore no disappointment for De Brauwer and co. "We won't get to the 65,000 people in Koksijde (2012, ed.), nor the 55,000 in Hoogerheide (2009, ed.). But we can’t accommodate that kind of crowd here either. We don’t want the highest attendance, but to deliver a World Championships that people will talk about for a long time. We’ve always said we want to organize the best and most beautiful World Championships. We are more than ready for that."
Early next week, De Brauwer will provide a detailed preview of the new course in Hulst.
