Van der Poel, Van Empel lead powerful Dutch team at home Cyclocross Worlds

Composite image of Dutch cyclocross favourites Fem van Empel and Mathieu van der Poel (Image credit: Getty Images Sport)

The Dutch national team are in a prime position to sweep up the rainbow jerseys offered at the upcoming UCI Cyclocross World Championships held on home soil in Hoogerheide from February 3-5.

The obvious favourites include Mathieu van der Poel in the elite men's race and Fem van Empel and Puck Pieterse in the elite women's race, but the 37-rider national team is expected to dominate across all seven categories.

"It was still difficult to select for the women in the end because we are so strong there in terms of depth," said de Knegt. "For the last place, I still had to choose between Aniek van Alphen and Manon Bakker. Although Manon has certainly also shown good things this season, the form of the past few weeks has been decisive in favor of Aniek. I think we have two riders in the women's category with Fem van Empel and Puck Pieterse, who have stood out in form in recent times and start as favorites for the world title."

Kirsten Frattini is the Deputy Editor of Cyclingnews, overseeing the global racing content plan.

Kirsten has a background in Kinesiology and Health Science. She has been involved in cycling from the community and grassroots level to professional cycling's biggest races, reporting on the WorldTour, Spring Classics, Tours de France, World Championships and Olympic Games.

She began her sports journalism career with Cyclingnews as a North American Correspondent in 2006. In 2018, Kirsten became Women's Editor – overseeing the content strategy, race coverage and growth of women's professional cycling – before becoming Deputy Editor in 2023.