If you have never heard of the X2O Badkamers Trofee Herantals Crosst, that’s understandable, at least for now.
Herentals, which takes place on January 5, 2022, is in its second year as a race. The first edition took place in December 2020, falling into the calendar position of the X2O Badkamers Trofee Loenhout Azencross, which was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Loenhout is one of the most-spectated races on the international calendar, a huge party over the Belgian Kerstperiode. The start/finish and course are in the city center. As such, the risks to public health during a pandemic were obvious. In October 2020, the mayor made the call: Loenhout would come off the calendar.
While the cancellation was disappointing, X2O Badkamers organizer Golazo made lemonade from lemons, putting together Herentals Crosst in just three months. Golazo Sports Director Erwin Vervecken was the driving force behind the new event—yes, that Erwin Vervecken: three times World Champion. A Herentals native, Vervecken had trained and raced the trail. He also already had a working relationship with the city, having organized other events there. Herentals wanted a cross race and Golazo had one of the best spaces on the calendar wide open.
Starting a new UCI race in Belgium is no easy task. New races must work their way up the prestige ladder, making due with last-choice, midweek race dates, competing with work schedules for an audience. Herentals was extremely lucky to skip those slow growth years and jump straight into a prime calendar position. Because of its successful 2020 debut, Herentals has earned a permanent place on the calendar, in one of the better spots: the end of Kerstperiode.
For context, it’s important to understand the significance of the town and the venue. Herentals is the hometown of not only Vervecken, but also Wout van Aert and Sanne Cant. The venue is owned by Sport Vlaanderen, has a mountain bike track, and has been used by the national team for training.
The course has two distinct parts divided by the start/finish stretch. The first half is flatter and meanders through “Netepark,” a recreational park. The second half goes north, crosses a running track and then makes two passes up the “Skiberg.” Now defunct, the Skiberg was a year-round downhill ski facility where skiing was possible on carpets.
Being east of Antwerp, the Herentals soil leans more toward sandy than muddy. Netepark is quite sandy and the Skiberg slightly less so. As such, even in very wet conditions, the grip is surprisingly good. Expect riders to have sufficient traction on Baby Limus or Grifo even in wet course conditions.