Seven-time cyclocross world champion Marianne Vos (CCC Liv) will make her cross debut next Tuesday at the Ethias Cross in Essen. The versatile Dutchwoman started her abbreviated 'cross season in Essen last year with a solo win on the muddy course.

Vos competed in five cyclocross events last season, winning two and finishing fifth in the Dutch national championships. A groin injury prevented him from competing at the World Championships in Switzerland; Vos, who won his first world title in cyclocross in 2006, last finished on the podium at the World Championships with a bronze medal in Denmark in 2019.

In 2021, she will enter her 16th professional road racing season and lead the newly formed Jumbo-Visma women's team; in 2020, Vos won three Giro Rosa races, finished second in La Course, and fourth in the women's road race at the UCI Road World Championships. Her last road race competition was the Liège-Bastogne-Liège in October, where she finished fourth.

Race organizers also allowed Mathieu Van Der Pol (Alpecin Phoenix) to add this race to his program. Van der Pol started his cross season a week ago by winning the opening round of the X2O Trophy Scheldecross.

The race in Essen marks the 55th year for cyclocross in the Belgian city. Scheduled as the fifth round of this year's Ethias Cross series, it was the fourth of eight races to be contested after the opening round in Lokeren in September was rescheduled and cancelled due to COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic concerns.

Ethias Cross Essen, like all cyclocross events across Europe, will close its gates to spectators due to ongoing concerns over coronavirus. Belgian fans can watch live on hln.be, and Cyclingnews provides a resource for cyclocross fans to catch the race action around the world using ExpressVPN.