Hulst WC: Dutch Relay Dominance & Czech Finish | MTBS.cz

Cyclocross World Championship officially started. The picturesque town of Hulst in the Netherlands heard the first sharp start on Friday at 1:30 p.m. In the six-person relay race, in which a record number of teams – twelve – took part, the home team from the Netherlands won, the Czechs finished sixth.

“Compared to last year’s World Championship, we lost one position. However, the relays were very well filled, so we are satisfied with the final result,” said Michal Bednář, the coach of the Czech cyclocross team, who had to deal with several changes due to excuses before the start.

The riders in the Czech jersey appeared on the track in the following order: František Hojka, Kateřina Hladíková, David Svoboda, Eva Drhová, Kristýna Zemanová and Maximilian Kerl.

Hojka reached the finish line in fifth place, but Hladíková, who belongs to the category of women under 23 years of age, rode more or less against male superiority and, although she clocked a very decent time, fell to tenth place. Junior Svoboda subsequently improved the position of the Czech relay team by three places, while junior Drhová passed the reigning Czech champion Zemanová to ninth position.

Junior Eva Drhová passes an imaginary relay pin to Kristýna Zemanová

“I’m very happy that our relay managed to win 6th place, I think it’s a nice result. It’s just a shame that some people refuse such an opportunity. The whole team did a great job and I’m very happy that I was a part of it. Many thanks go to them. My performance could have been a little better, I didn’t have very good legs, but I see it positively as a start before tomorrow’s race. Tomorrow is a different day and a different race and I believe that it will be good. The track is very hard and fair. But it’s very well prepared,” said Kristýna, who finished eighth, Maximilian Kerl, who belongs to the under-23 category, first overtook the representative of Canada, and then beat the Spaniard Fernandez.

Maximilian Karl raced to the last meters

“I drove better on this year’s circuit, it was better than last year’s. I caught the Spaniard in the middle of the circuit, I was a little better in the corners, I hooked him and sent him there at the finish line. I think that 6th place is not bad. In the end, we couldn’t field the best people, so for me it’s a very solid result,” Max evaluated briefly at the finish line.

The gold remains in the Netherlands, the silver belongs to the Italians, and Belgium takes the bronze.

The home team set up a very strong relay team at the start, and it was also in the lead right from the start. The finisher was also Tibor del Grosso, one of the contenders for a medal in the men’s elite race, who also showed his strength with the fastest lap time. He led the land of tulips to the finish line fearlessly in 1st place ahead of 2nd Italians and 3rd Belgians.

• 30. 01. 2026
• Cyclocross World Championship
• Photo: Michal Červený, Jan Němec