We have arrived at the most anticipated event of the winter season, the Cyclocross World Championships in Liévin, France. This is a town of just over 30,000 inhabitants just below Lille, in the Pas-de-Calais department, where cyclocross is certainly no stranger.

In Liévin, national championships and even a European event have been held in the past, and the city has hosted the World Cup four times. On this mud, Sven Nys won in 2003 and 2006, Lars Boom in 2008, and Zdenek Stybar in 2012.

There will be over 35,000 spectators this race weekend, but the most anticipated race is the last one, where we can witness the showdown between Mathieu van der Poel and Wout van Aert.

The circuit will be 2.5 kilometers long and is spread across twenty hectares of unspoiled nature in the Parc du Val de Souchez, in the southeastern part of the city, with a track that at first glance might seem easy and not very technical, but which actually hides some challenges.

Appearances can often be deceiving, because the 75 meters of elevation change per lap represent a real challenge and overall the riders will have to deal with a slippery terrain that continuously goes up and down, with some explosive bumps. In addition to the two bridges that will make the scenery more suggestive, there will be two non-artificial stairs, vertically delimited by wooden boards and horizontally using the existing surface. The first, thirteen steps, appears in the first section, after passing the large VIP tent and a short, winding approach climb.
The second stair section will be fourteen steps, slightly higher and steeper than the first.

The heavy rains in recent days have effectively made the course marshy, with deep and heavy mud, although the weather situation seems to be improving.

The finish will be on a slight uphill on Rue du Percot and given its characteristics, will offer the final spectacle: approaching the finish line, 190 meters on asphalt with a gradient of about 6% will be covered, thus suitable for top-class riders.

Rain in recent days has alternated with a pale sky without precipitation, but the test runs have certainly made the ground even more unstable and treacherous. There should not be long walking sections: a section with obstacles on the ground on a straight and with heavy mud, could force riders to run with their bikes on their shoulders.

What will be the Belgian team's tactics to counter Van der Poel? De Clercq, the national team coach, has been very precise about this and wants his guys in the first two front rows to ensure passage for Van Aert, who will instead start from the second-to-last row. This way, the Visma-Lease a Bike champion can reach Van der Poel more quickly. All Belgians at the front will naturally try to let Wout van Aert pass, but there could be an exception. That would be Nys, who as national champion will race his own race.