The Big Picture | World Cup Zonhoven

Kerstperiode wraps up in de Kuil

Jan 11, 2023

The super-Kerstperiode finally drew to a close this past Sunday on the legendary course in Zonhoven. When people ask me which European cross races they should attend I typically suggest Koksijde or Namur. Those races combine iconic course features with large and enthusiastic crowds*. Now, after covering Zonhoven for the first time, I need to add it to the list.

I don’t normally write too much about my experience photographing a race, but Zonhoven was really special. The changes they made to the course significantly improved the racing, the spectating, and also the opportunities for photos. In the past the riders have simply dropped into the massive sand pit, ridden across and back (including another small drop-in) and then run back up the huge sand wall. This was fairly dramatic but it limited the amount of time the riders were in de Kuil. The new layout has them passing through de Kuil twice, replacing the short drop-in with an off-camber deep sand descent and then replacing the long steep run-up with a run up an s-turn climb.

These changes also meant that I could spend 80% of the race in the pit and never lack for opportunities. In fact, after a few laps, there was almost too much happening in too many places. Unless you only needed photos of the top 5 riders, it was a game of constantly swiveling around to catch people on the different features. It was overwhelming. And amazing. And although moving around the pit was difficult due to both the deep sand and the deep crowds, there were plenty of fan-free zones for photographers to work. A luxury we rarely get at any CX race.