Wrapping up our previews of the six races this weekend at Dübendorf Worlds, we close up with the U23 and Junior Men.
Both races will crown new championships, as defending U23 champ Tom Pidcock (Great Britain) is racing in the Elite race, and two-time defending Junior champ Ben Tulett (Great Britain) has aged up to the U23s.
The U23 Men’s race takes place on Saturday at 7:00 a.m. EST, and the Junior Men’s race is at 5:00 a.m. EST on Sunday. Start lists and previews are below.
U23 Men
The top 2 riders in this year’s U23 World Cups have been home-country hero Kevin Kuhn (Switzerland) and the Netherland’s Ryan Kamp. Kuhn has won three of the seven World Cups and Kamp 2. Thomas Mein (Great Britain) and Neils Vandeputte (Belgium) are the other two riders who have won World Cups.
Kevin Kuhn sends it over the BMX feature. Elite Men, 2019 Trek CX Cup. © D. Mable / Cyclocross Magazine
Another rider with good results recently is Anthoine Benoist (France), who finished third behind Pidock and Eli Iserbyt in Bogense. Benoist finished second at Hoogerheide and second at Zolder to grab some mo’ heading into Worlds.
Tulett raced less than half the U23 World Cups, but he did finished 4th at Hoogerheide, so he comes in with a strong result as one of the youngest riders in the field.
U.S. Elite National Champion Gage Hecht (United States) and U23 Champion Eric Brunner (United States) lead the American contingent in Dübendorf.
Junior Men
The 2019/20 Junior Men’s World Cup belonged to racing age 17 phenom Thibau Nys (Belgium). Nys won the first six World Cups before experiencing some sad-Nys when he finished third at Hoogerheide on Sunday.
Thibau Nys puts on a show on his way to the UCI Junior Men’s win at the 2019 Trek CX Cup. © D. Mable / Cyclocross Magazine
Beating Nys on Sunday was another home-country hero in Dario Lillo (Switzerland). Lillo finished the World Cup overall in second and will have that home-country advantage.
Finishing third and fourth in the World Cup overall were Lennert Belmans (Belgium) and Emiel Verstrynge (Belgium).
American Andrew Strohmeyer is ranked fifth in the Junior Men’s UCI rankings and got strong results during Kerstperiode racing.
