'I'm super happy to be back' - Shirin van Anrooij on her first World Cup podium in over two years

Shirin van Anrooij clinched her first UCI Cyclo-cross World Cup podium for over two years and hopes to be competing for victories in the forthcoming weeks.

The 23-year-old has had a turbulent few years after a rib injury ended her season early in 2023, before missing last ‘cross campaign to undergo iliac artery endofibrosis surgery.

The former junior and under-23 cyclocross world champion last clinched an elite World Cup podium at Benidorm in January 2023. However, Van Anrooij continued her comeback to the sport with an impressive third place finish in Terralba, Sardinia on Sunday.

“I’m getting closer and closer back to a good cyclo-cross shape,” added Van Anrooij.

“I'm super happy to be back. It's really beautiful after two years to be back on the podium of the World Cup.”

The warm conditions in Sardinia followed earlier storms, making for a course consisting of a mixture of deep surface water and sand, mixed with hard wooded ground.

Race winner Lucinda Brand described the conditions on one section as more like ‘aqua biking’ than cyclocross.

Despite a slower start, which put her down in 18th, Van Anrooij came storming back through the chasing groups.

Just as Van Anrooij reached the leading quartet, her Baloise Glowi Lions team-mate Brand launched the winning move.

Brand built an unassailable winning margin as Van Anrooij put some stinging attacks into the chasing group, but was matched by Aniek Van Alphen (Seven Racing).

Van Alphen finished stronger to take the runner-up position, while in just her third ‘cross race of the season, Van Anrooij completed the podium in third.

“It was a nice battle with Aniek (Van Alphen),” said Van Anrooij

“I had some mechanical problems also in the final half of the lap, too much sand and mud around the chain. There was also a lot of time to change bikes.

“It was a really nice battle, she was just a bit stronger. After my really bad start it was nice to get back to the podium after two years.”

Van Anrooij recovered from her iliac artery endofibrosis surgery to have a successful road racing campaign during 2025, finishing third in stage 6 of the Giro d’Italia Women and fourth on stage 7 of the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift.

The Dutch national came into the ‘cross season after being cruelly denied a solo victory in the Gravel World Championships.

After almost two years away from cyclocross, Van Anrooij had to work her way through from the back of the starting grid to finish 16th in Tabor and sixth place in Flamanville last weekend.

The Dutchwoman will have her first assault on the elite title at her home world championships in Hulst, Netherlands, early in 2026.

She will now join her Lidl-Trek team-mates for a road racing training camp in Spain before returning to cyclocross for the World Cup at Antwerp on December 20.

The Dutch cyclocross specialist is hoping to challenge for victories during a busy racing block over the notoriously popular Christmas period in Belgium.

“I’m looking forward to going to Spain for two weeks of training and then returning for all the nice crosses,” she added.

“I'm just looking forward to having another training block for the Christmas period. And then just finally really get the real cross feeling back and participate for the victory.

“I'll be back for Antwerpen, Koksijde, Dendermonde, Gavere, Diegem and Zonhoven. Actually, almost all, lots of sand crosses. A lot of beautiful crosses are coming. Something to look forward too.”

The UCI Cyclo-cross World Cup was due to make its maiden appearance in Sardinia 12 months ago.

However, extreme winds on the coastal course wreaked havoc with the course infrastructure and resulted in the event being cancelled.

This year’s event went ahead as planned, but with a section of the course covered in deep surface water due to storms in the days before the race.

Ceylin Del Carmen Alvarado (Fenix-Deceuninck) pulled out of the race on the second lap, which Sporza said was due to illness, following her recent return after a knee injury.

Speaking about the course beforehand, Alverado said: “Some parts very good, some parts very s**t.

“The combination (of mud and sand) is of course, not ideal for the bike and material. A bit of the course is underwater, so that’s not nice of course, but we can’t change it.”

Meanwhile, eventual winner Brand added: “It’s almost aqua biking.

“It’s still a pretty fast course, there are a few hard sectors where you first have quite some water. Following up with some sand section, it will definitely add up.”