Elite women's race - Full race coverage re-run

ALL the favourites for World Championship medals are expected to start this afternoon in Hoogerheide (where the snow of yesterday has now disappeared). Sanne Cant will be looking to finish ahead of or as close to Katie Compton (and Ellen Van Loy for that matter) as she can to ensure that she clinches the World Cup title for the first time (a top five finish should ensure Cant wins).

World champion Marianne Vos will, of course, be looking to win on home soil, but as well as Compton and Cant she faces Pauline Ferrand-Prevot, Katerina Nash (who beat her in Namur), Helen Wyman, Ellen Van Loy, Eva Lechner and Nikki Harris amongst others.

Elite men's race - Full race coverage re-run

KEVIN Pauwels needs to score just a single point today to claim his second World Cup title. Theoretically Lars van der Haar could take the title if he was to win and Pauwels failed to finish in the top 50, but that's unlikely especially as Van der Haar raced on Saturday, taking the victory in Rucphen.

The medal contenders for Tabor (in a weeks time) will all want to perform well today if only to exert some psychological pressure on the two newly 'upgraded' senior elites - Wout Van Aert and Mathieu van der Poel (read our feature on the leaders of the 'new generation' here). Pauwels, Klaas Vantornout, Sven Nys, Van der Haar and Tom Meeusen (hopefully not affected too adversely by this week's Belgian selection chaos) will all be very attentive today should Van Aert and Van der Poel look like they want to ride off into the distance.

For a number of other Belgians it's the last chance to impress selectors before the Worlds team is announced on Monday by Rudy De Bie.

It should be an intriguing contest today and one which will hint at next Sunday's podium - or not perhaps if Tabor becomes snow or icebound in the meantime.

Main photo: ©kramon/cyclocrossrider.com