The UCI's flagship cyclocross series, the UCI World Cup, continues into 2025 with another round, this time coming in Dendermonde on Sunday, January 5.
The event is the eighth round of the 2024-25 World Cup and takes place in the Belgian town of Dendermonde, which saw Pim Ronhaar and Ceylin Del Carmen Alvarado triumph 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.
Mathieu van der Poel's first World Cup battle of the season against his long-time rival Wout van Aert was meant to be the headline attraction of the event, but the Dutchman has had to withdraw from his third race in a row due to injury.
Van Aert, who won at Superprestige Gullegem on January 4, is still part of a packed men's field that also includes the likes of 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, 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 Dendermonde on Sunday, January 5.
Cyclocross World Cup Dendermonde free streams
The UCI will once again be hosting a free live stream for the Cyclocross World Cup in Dendermonde on its UCI YouTube channel, which is available in many countries but geo-restricted in certain territories.
The UCI has been airing all rounds of its World Cup series on the channel, meaning fans can watch the top-tier cyclocross series totally for free. All you need to do is head to the channel and click play.
However, it won't work everywhere. In the UK, along with many of the countries that have separate TV deals, the feed is geo-blocked. Good news for fans in the US and Canada: this time, the feed is open to you.
Another free option comes in the form of VRT, which is a free-to-air public broadcaster in cycling-mad Belgium. The Dendermonde World Cup will go out on TV on VRT 1 and online on the VRT Max streaming platform - both free services. Likewise, national broadcaster NOS in the Netherlands will have a live stream on its NPO platform.
Away from home? You can still access your usual streams, by using a VPN – more on that below.
Watch cyclocross World Cup Dendermonde from anywhere
If you are outside of your home region and need to access your live streaming services to watch the action, you may find your access to be geo-restricted. But that doesn't mean you can't watch the races.
In this case, a VPN will come in handy. A Virtual Private Network – to give it its full name – allows your computer to pretend it's in a different country, letting you log into your streaming accounts to catch all of the racing action.
Our expert colleagues at TechRadar recommend using a VPN for streaming as well as enhanced cyber-security – they know a thing or two about VPNs and right now they rate NordVPN as the best VPN on the market.
Watch cyclocross World Cup Dendermonde in the US and Canada
There is coverage of the elite races at the Dendermonde round of the UCI World Cup on the traditional broadcaster Flobikes, but not on Max.
Also, the free live stream on the UCI YouTube channel is open to fans in the US, as in Canada.
Watch Cyclocross World Cup Dendermonde in the UK
Eurosport and Discovery+ are the places to go to watch the Cyclocross World Cup Dendermonde.
Eurosport is the TV channel, with prices varying by TV provider, while Discovery+ is the online destination for streaming that content. A 'standard' subscription to Discovery+, which is all you need to get Eurosport's extensive cycling coverage, costs £6.99 a month or £59.99 a year.
Fans in the UK don't have access to the UCI's free stream. If you're a Discovery+ subscriber wanting to get your coverage and commentary outside the UK, or you're visiting the UK and want your usual UCI YouTube feed, in both cases you'd need a VPN, such as NordVPN.
Watch Cyclocross World Cup Dendermonde from anywhere
For most of Europe, Eurosport's coverage is the place to go. This comes on your pay-TV package if you have one, but if you're streaming online it's in one of two places, depending on your location. In some countries it's Discovery+, while in others it's Max.
In Belgium the race is on VRT but not on French-speaking RTBF. RAI in Italy, meanwhile, only has highlights. Other broadcasters include TV2 in Denmark, J Sports in Japan, Astro in Malaysia, STVR in Slovakia, and CT Sport in the Czech Republic.
For a full list of international broadcasters for the World Cup events, the UCI publishes a list each round on the UCI website.
Don't forget, the cyclocross is available totally for free in the countries that don't have a broadcaster, hosted on the UCI YouTube channel. And don't forget, you can tune in from anywhere if you're on the move, by using a VPN.
CYCLOCROSS WORLD CUP DENDERMONDE SCHEDULE AND TIMINGS
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
