Koksijde Cyclocross

An unrivalled crowd-pleaser in the Belgian sand dunes

- Hannah Bussey

There are three things that make a good bike race: the course, the depth of field, and the crowd. Since 1969 Koksijde has delivered all three in spades... bucket and spades to be precise.

Set in the sand dunes of coastal northern Belgium, the race contains exceptionally long sections of beach-quality sand spread across a course that contains climbs, descents, tricky off-cambers as well as a smattering of 180° turns.

It’s the flagship of Belgian cross races and is like no other. The course requires an extraordinary amount of strength, skill and pluck, and as a result has always drawn an exceptionally strong field.