U23 Women’s Start List: 2018 Valkenburg-Limburg World Championships

The U23 Women’s race at the World Championships will have its third edition this year at Valkenburg-Limburg on Saturday, but it has already established itself as a race to watch. Last year, Ellen Noble (United States) shined and finished a close second behind Annemarie Worst (The Netherlands).

Noble and Worst go one-on-one. U23 Women, 2017 UCI Cyclocross World Championships, Bieles, Luxembourg. © M. Hilger / Cyclocross Magazine

This year, Noble and Worst have aged up to the Elites, but 2016 winner Evie Richards (Great Britain) is back and looking to improve on her third from a year ago. Richards finished third overall at Hoogerheide, so she enters the race as the likely favorite.

Evie Richards wins the first-ever women’s U23 race at the UCI Cyclocross World Championships. © Pieter Van Hoorebeke / Cyclocross Magazine

Other U23 Women who finished in the top ten overall in World Cups this season include Laura Verdonschot (Belgium) (3 times), Emma White (United States) (1 time) and Ceylin del Carmen Alvarado (The Netherlands) (1 time).

Emma White is one ofthe podium hopefuls for Valkenburg. 2018 Cyclocross National Championships. © D. Mable/ Cyclocross Magazine

The start list includes healthy American and Canadian teams. The U.S. will be represented by White, Clara Honsinger, Katie Clouse, Emma Swartz, Hannah Arensman and Laurel Rathbun. The Canadians are Ruby West, Siobhan Kelly and Magdeleine Valleries Mill.

Ruby West leads Canada’s U23 squad. 2018 Telenet UCI World Cup Nommay. © B. Hazen / Cyclocross Magazine

Full start lists are below. The U23 Women’s race is at 7 a.m. Eastern on Saturday.

For more from Valkenburg-Limburg, see our dedicated 2018 Cyclocross World Championships page.

U23 Women's Start List: 2018 World Championships