Cyclocross World Championships 2023 Women U23 Preview

Sunday will see the Women U23 take to their battle to see who will be the heir to Puck Pieterse's title. With one towering favourite the win seems like a sure thing but behind Shirin van Anrooij the door is wide, wide open for anybody to step onto that podium.
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[@michaelready608]

❤Says Zoe for the win!

[@realshaoran4514]

I don't think that she can beat Shirin at her current form. But I think that 3rd or even 2nd are pretty much on the table with Zoe. She was amazing in Besançon, so I hope she can manage into the podium. Such an exciting talent she is 😃

[@michaelready608]

@@realshaoran4514 Totally agree. Shirin is in great form....

[@bencousins4687]

In two years…

[@frankschaack8750]

Come on Marie Schreiber

[@dennisbean-larson2403]

We know little about so many bc the cameras only follow the leaders. Plenty of good riders among the final 20

[@Andy_ATB]

Hard to see past Shirin for the win; but the battle of 2nd/3rd could be interesting. On what is a mainly flat course, it suits the explosive/ powerful riders, and Backstedt, Schreiber and even Bentveld could be in the mix. It's definitely not a course for Burquier; too flat, and not very technical....Wait until the summer on the MTB to see her at her best.

[@derekwildash2683]

She has every right to ride in the U-23. Why shouldn't she?

[@jonb3311]

Too right. Last year's U23 race was great and Shirin only lost it to Puck by a whisker. We will see many battles between the Big 3 in coming years. I'm looking forward to them.

[@realshaoran4514]

I understand what he's trying to say, because she's so good, almost at the same level as Puck and Fem, who are actually also U23 but decided to race elite. So an argument could be made, that Shirin also could make the jump into elite and she could also win it. But at the same time, I think that she is doing the correct thing and staying in U23. Like she said in an interview (don't ask me where, I don't remember where I read/heard it), she has all the time to fight for the elite world champ, this is her last chance for the U23.

[@TheFlyover]

Of course she has every right to, I think the issue (if you even want to call it that) is that the U23 category in general is a little obsolete. It's meant to be for riders still developing and not yet ready for the elite category. I don't think it's controversial to say van Anrooij is ready for the elites. The trend of riders getting good younger is not just van Anrooij, or cross at all for that matter though so I don't want to specifically criticize her for the decision. I also don't really like the whole "I'll have enough time to fight for the elite title" angle because who says she will? Alvarado was a technical wonderkid 2 years ago and nowadays she's pretty pedestrian compared to the likes of Pieterse and Burquier. There's 15 and 16 year olds who regularly jump the balkjes etc. In 2 years time who says van Anrooij is as good as she is now or as competitive, a whole new generation of wonderkids could well have arrived by then. In the end it's her decision and I, like everybody else should, respect that choice. I just disagree with it because I think in competitive sport you can never afford to leave an opportunity hanging. (I also think it makes for a boring race which is a bit of shame but oh well)

[@jonb3311]

@@TheFlyover Don't kick the U23 class into touch because of one rider in one year. I've never heard similar comments about Tadej Pogačar winning a basket of u23 classes along with his big tour wins. Alvarado had a long term illness, which she has just about recovered from.

[@derekwildash2683]

@@TheFlyover Thanks for your reply. I'm just thinking about getting the jersey when you can. I believe her choices for this World Championships were a possible 3rd place in the elites or a really good shot at the U23. I think she will keep improving because she just looks like that kind of rider whos competitive nature matches her aggressive style. However, I can be famously wrong when it comes to sporting predictions so you may well be correct.