Van der Poel and Vos do not come close to Stamsnijder and Van den Brand on the honors list of the National Cyclo-Cross Championships

Tuesday January 9, 2024 at 9:00 AM

Every year in mid-January it is time for the national championships. The Cyclo-cross National Championships is also a household name, especially because the Netherlands has produced more and more world top athletes in cross-country in recent years. Winning gold at the National Championships really means something. CyclingFlits takes you into the history of the Dutch championships.

The first official edition of the Cyclo-Cross National Championships was held in 1963. In Elsloo, Limburg, after a competition in which professionals and amateurs competed together, it was home rider Huub Harings who won the national title. It would be the first of five national titles for the Limburger, who was part of a cycling-rich family with his brothers Hay, Frits, Jan and Ger.

Between 2015 and 2020, the tricolor was prey for Mathieu van der Poel six times in a row. That is extremely impressive, but not yet a record for MVDP. Hennie Stamsnijder won no fewer than nine national titles between 1977 and 1988, making him the record holder.

Richard Groenendaal follows in a creditable second place behind Stamsnijder with eight titles. Lars Boom won six national titles between 2007 and 2012, while Adrie van der Poel also won the red-white-blue six times between 1989 and 1999. And so Van der Poel junior has been on par with his father and Boom for two years now.

In between, in 2013 and 2014, Lars van der Haar was the lucky one twice. The Jack Russell from Woudenberg is the only one who managed to win the Dutch title before and after the Mathieu van der Poel era. Because for MVDP As the World Cyclo-Cross Championships and road cycling became increasingly important, he increasingly missed out on the National Championships. Van der Haar also took full advantage of this in 2022 and 2023, meaning he now has four National Championship titles.

In 1988 it was still asked whether cyclo-cross was ‘a sport for women’
For women, the National Championship has only been officially on the program since 1988. So it took exactly 25 years before a Dutch championship for men also had a national title for women to compete for. Anita Hakkert from Gelderland won the first National Championship title ever in Hulsberg, Limburg, just north of Valkenburg.

A year earlier, Hakkert had also stood on the podium of the women’s race that was held during the National Cyclo-Cross Championships, but in 1987 ‘only’ seven women were at the start. Cycling union KNWU judged that this was too little to label it as an official National Championship. Hanneke Lieverse won, but did not receive a jersey, and Hakkert came third. A year later, Hakkert was officially the first winner, after which she burst into tears out of emotion. She had made history.

What followed was Hakkert asking whether cyclo-cross was a sport for women. “Of course,” she said, according to tradition. “Surely there are more heavy sports that are practiced by women, such as triathlon and marathon running? It has even been proven that women are ideally suited for endurance sports because their fat content is higher. However, most girls do not participate in enough competitions and you cannot of course participate in such a championship without training.”

Many big names eventually followed in Hakkert’s footsteps as Dutch cyclo-cross champion. Daphny van den Brand has been the record holder for many years with eleven victories, achieved between 1998 and 2010. Marianne Vos won the National Championship seven times, the first in 2011 (at the age of 23) and the last in 2022 (at the age of 34). . Vos achieved her first podium finish in 2003, when she was only 15 years old.

Lucinda Brand was Dutch best twice in 2018 and 2019, while talents such as Ceylin del Carmen Alvarado and Puck Pieterse are also on the honors list. Thalita de Jong also broke through Vos’ hegemony in 2016, but after that she mainly turned out to be a one-hit wonder.

Last ten winners National Cyclocross Championships
Women
2023: Puck Pieterse
2022: Marianne Vos
2021: No edition due to corona pandemic
2020: Ceylin del Carmen Alvarado
2019: Lucinda Brand
2018: Lucinda Brand
2017: Marianne Vos
2016: Thalita de Jong
2015: Marianne Vos
2014: Marianne Vos
2013: Marianne Vos

Men
2023: Lars van der Haar
2022: Lars van der Haar
2021: No edition due to corona pandemic
2020: Mathieu van der Poel
2019: Mathieu van der Poel
2018: Mathieu van der Poel
2017: Mathieu van der Poel
2016: Mathieu van der Poel
2015: Mathieu van der Poel
2014: Lars van der Haar
2013: Lars van der Haar