The busy Christmas cyclocross schedule is upon us and with it comes the next round of the UCI's flagship series, the UCI World Cup, in Hulst on Saturday, December 21.
The event is the fourth round of the 2024-25 World Cup and takes place in the Dutch town of Hulst, where Mathieu van der Poel and Puck Pieterse took victory last season.
This season, all the UCI World Cup action will be streamed for free live on the UCI YouTube page, so read on for information on how to watch the races.
Van der Poel won't be in action this time around, but the men's race should enjoy a packed field including the likes of series leader Michael Vanthourenhout, Eli Iserbyt, Toon Aerts, Laurens Sweeck, Felipe Orts, Thibau Nys, and Lars van der Haar.
In the women's race, look out for top names such as Pieterse, Ceylin Del Carmen Alvarado, series leader Lucinda Brand, Fem Van Empel, Zoe Backstedt, Annemarie Worst, Blanka Vas, Marie Schreiber, and Inge van der Heijden.
Read on for all the information on how to watch these star cyclocross riders do battle in Hulst on Saturday, December 21.
► How to watch cyclocross: Live streams, TV channels, schedule for 2024/25 season
Watch Cyclocross World Cup Hulst free stream
You can watch Cyclocross World Cup Hulst for free in many parts of the world. That’s because the UCI, which runs the World Cup series, is hosting a live stream of the races on its own UCI YouTube channel.
However, this is geo-restricted, so it won’t work from everywhere. In fact, it’s the countries where the UCI has a TV deal with a broadcaster that are excluded. That means that in the UK, Ireland, US, and Canada, the feed will not be available.
The Hulst round of the World Cup is not being shown live on free-to-air TV or streaming in Belgium, as is usually the case, so the UCI YouTube feed is the only free stream available for this one.
Away from home? You can still access your usual streams, by using a VPN – more on that below.
Watch Cyclocross World Cup Hulst from anywhere
What if you’re travelling at the moment and find the feed you’d usually watch geo-restricted? A VPN is a simple solution.
A VPN, or Virtual Private Network, is a piece of software that sets your IP address to appear as if it’s in a different country. Provided it conforms with your broadcaster’s Ts&Cs, you can therefore watch the streaming services you usually enjoy back home, and it also comes with added internet security benefits.
Our colleagues over at TechRadar know a thing or two about VPNs, and they rate NordVPN as the best VPN in the world right now.
Watch UCI World Cup Hulst cyclocross in the US
Fans in the US can watch the Hulst round of the cyclocross World Cup on Flobikes.
A subscription to the streaming platform costs $29.99 a month or $149.99 for the year, with which you get a good array of road cycling.
Unlike with previous rounds of the World Cup, the UCI YouTube live stream is geo-blocked in the US.
Watch World Cup Hulst cyclocross in Canada
As in the US, Flobikes will broadcast the UCI World Cup Hulst cyclocross race.
A FloBikes subscription will set you back CAN$29.99 a month or CAN$150 a year.
There is no UCI YouTube free stream for this one.
Watch World Cup cyclocross Hulst live streams in the UK
In the UK, the Hulst round of the Cyclocross World Cup will be broadcast on Eurosport 2 and Discovery+.
Eurosport is the television channel available on most pay-TV packages, while Discovery+ is the online streaming platform that hosts Eurosport’s cycling coverage.
A 'standard' subscription to Discovery+, which gets you all of Eurosport’s extensive cycling coverage throughout the year, costs £6.99 / €4.99 per month or £59.99 / €49.99 per year.
The broadcast deal means the UCI’s YouTube live stream will be blocked in the UK.
If you're travelling outside the UK and want your Eurosport commentary, or if you're visiting the UK and want access to your home stream, you'll need to use a VPN, such as NordVPN.
Watch World Cup Hulst cyclocross around the world
In much of Europe, like in the UK, you can watch Cyclocross World Cup Hulst on Eurosport, Discovery+, and Max. While Eurosport is the TV channel, Discovery+ and Max are the two streaming platforms that are variously available in different territories but essentially do the same thing. Check your region for details on plans and pricing.
The races will not be on VRT / Sporza in Belgium, and the French-language Belgian broadcaster RTBF only has highlights, as is the case for NOS in the Netherlands TV2 has live rights in Denmark, and L’Equipe TV will offer a live stream in France. STVR in Slovakia, and CT Sport in the Czech Republic are among the other European broadcasters. In Asia, J Sports in Japan and Astro in Malaysia are the places to go.
In the countries where there is no broadcast deal, the UCI's YouTube free stream will be available to watch. The following countries are where it is geo-blocked - everywhere else, it will work.
UCI YouTube feed geo-blocked areas:
Albania, Andorra, Antartica, Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Aruba, Australia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Bahamas, Barbados, Belarus, Belgium, Bermuda, Bolivia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Brazil, Brunei Darussalam, Bulgaria, Canada, Caribbean Netherlands, Cayman Islands, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Croatia, Curaçao, Cyprus, Czechia, Denmark, Dominica, Dominicam Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Estonia, Falkland Islands, Faroe Islands, Finland, France, French Guiana, French Polynesia, French Southern Territories, Germany, Gibraltar, Greece, Greenland, Grenada, Guadeloupe,Guatemala, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Isle of Man, Israel, Italy, Japan (only for men elite), Kazakstan, Kosovo, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Madeira, Malaysia, Maldives, Malta, Martinique, Mayotte, Mexico, Moldova, Monaco, Montenegro, Netherlands, Netherlands Antilles, New Caledonia, Nicaragua, North Macedonia, Norway, Palestine, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Poland, Portugal, Puerto Rico, Reunion, Romania, Russia, Saba, St Barthélémy, St helena, St Kitts & Nevis, St Lucia, St Vincent and The Grenadines, San Marino, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Africa, Spain, Spitsbergen, St Martin, St Pierre et Miquelon, Suriname, Switzerland, The Azores, The Canary Islands, Trinidad and Tobago, Turkey, Turkish Rep N Cyprus, Turkiye, Ukraine, United Kingdom, United States, Urugay, Venezuela, Wallis & Futuna.
Cylocross World Cup Hulst timings and schedule
Men Junior: 9.30am CET / 8.30am GMT / 4.30am ET
Women Junior: 10.30am CET / 9.30am GMT / 5.30am ET
Men U23: 12.00pm CET / 11.00am GMT / 6.00am ET
Women Elite: 1.40pm CET / 12.40pm GMT / 7.40am ET
Men Elite: 3:10pm CET / 2:10pm GMT / 9.10am ET
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