The UCI World Cyclo-cross Championships kick off on Friday, and across the categories, riders will be battling for the chance to win a rainbow jersey. Mathieu van der Poel is the hot favourite as he aims to take a record-breaking eighth world title. The elite women's race is a little more open, but Van der Poel's compatriots Puck Pieterse and Lucinda Brand should also be at the front of the action.
Cyclo-cross is a unique discipline, and one where the right equipment choice is crucial; this, of course, includes tyres which are limited in size to 33mm by the UCI.
Tubeless is king on the road, and pro WorldTour racers have used tubeless tyres exclusively for several years after switching from tubulars, but that isn't the case when it comes to cyclo-cross.
Glued-on tubular tyres are still almost exclusively used in professional CX racing. However, a few teams are using tubeless setups to good effect, most notably Zoe Bäckstedt, who won a U23 cyclo-cross world title in 2025 using tubeless tyres.
Why do CX racers still ride on tubulars when road and even downhill MTB riders have switched to tubeless setups?
I spoke with two pro cyclo-cross mechanics on the differences between tubular and tubeless tyres for 'cross, and whether the days of tubulars may be coming to an end off-road, too.
Cyclo-cross racing can be technical and muddy; races are hardly ever cancelled due to the weather, and courses like Zonhoven feature deep, challenging sand sections. Cyclo-cross machines are very similar to road bikes, and the relatively low-volume and narrow 33mm tyres used make things more challenging and technical. It also means that the lower the tyre pressure racers run, the more grip and traction they can take advantage of.
There's a balance to be struck, but tubular tyres can be run at low pressures with zero risk of the tyre coming off the rim or burping air if the sidewall deforms when attacking a corner. It's also a little easier to ride back to the race pits on a punctured tubular in the event of a flat.
At face value, there's a risk of running tubeless cyclo-cross tyres with too little pressure, the nature of the tyre beads interface with a wheels rim and the lack of an inner tube to aid the fit, mean that there's a bigger risk of a tubeless tyre that's being run at low pressure coming off the rim, or burping and leaking air (and sealant) in a tight turn, potentially ruining a riders race.
Improvements in tubeless tyres and the way they fit onto wheels mean that there are now at least two teams using tubeless cyclo-cross tyres largely without issue. Could the tide be turning against the cyclo-cross tubular?
I spoke with Rob Meeuwessen, one of the Dutch team's head off-road mechanics and talent coach for the off-road talent programme. Meeuwessen is also the owner of one of the coolest toolbox setups around.
To hear more about cyclo-cross tubeless setups, I got in touch with Jochen Lamade Canyon-SRAM zondacrypto's head mechanic for both road and cyclo-cross.
A tubular tyre is comprised of a latex inner tube that’s sewn inside a cotton casing, which then has a rubber tread applied to it. The tyre is then glued to a tubular wheel rim with specific tubular glue. This was what road racers used for decades, and some still do. The special feel of a lightweight tubular is often celebrated, and one advantage is that in the event of a puncture, the tyre will not come off the rim if glued correctly.
Tubeless tyres rely on an interference fit between the tyre's bead and rim wall, as well as the tubeless sealant inside to seal punctures and, in some cases, contribute to the system's overall seal, along with a tyre liner in some cases. Tubeless tyres are used exclusively in the WorldTour road peloton these days, but in cyclo-cross, they have yet to be fully embraced.
Meeuwessen explained why riders still use tubulars for cyclo-cross. One reason, predictably, is just because it's the way it's always been done, often a common theme in cycling. The second is the improved cornering ability and insurance that tubulars provide.
"98 per cent of the riders at the World Champs will ride tubular tyres," he explained.
"I think there are two main reasons. The first reason is that cyclo-cross comes from a road cycling background, which has a bit of an old-school mindset. And the other is when the tyre is glued to the rim properly, you can really push it in the corners, because you always have contact with the surface of the tread pattern.
"That's the reason why tubs are still preferred by all the riders. In a muddy race, normally, you need to run very low tyre pressures. And there are only a few combinations of tubeless wheels and tyres that really work compared to tubulars."
Lamade echoed these sentiments on cycling being a little too conservative sometimes, and often slow to change. It seems tubulars are used in part because that's the way things have always been, but there's no escaping the fact that fewer manufacturers are producing tubulars now.
"The whole sport is quite conservative, especially in cyclo-cross, that's why a lot of teams use the system of glueing tyres on rims. Our sponsor Schwalbe doesn't produce tubular tyres anymore, we tried the tubeless system, and it worked out well," he explained.
Most pro racers use Vittoria Dugast, FMB or Challenge tubs. Tubular cyclo-cross tyres can be run at such low pressure that the tyre compresses enough for the rider to feel the wheel rim in certain sections. Meeuwessen explained that learning this skill is something he tries to teach the younger Dutch riders.
"When it's muddy, we always say to the young riders, 'it's okay to feel the rim', because you need the low pressure to maintain grip, but to ride smoothly, to not puncture all the time."
An amount of experience is needed to ride with pressure like this. Feeling the rim of the wheel via the tyre can be a disconcerting feeling; ride too aggressively in certain sections, or hit a hidden rock, and a flat tyre may not be far away.
Lamade confirmed that it's now possible to race cyclo-cross with certain tubeless tyres with the same low pressures as tubulars without issue, and the racers that are running tubeless are almost all using Schwalbe tyres currently.
He also explained things had been difficult initially, but that his team had only experienced two punctures this season, and the success of their tubeless setup came down to the improved fit between the team's Zipp 353 NSW rims, which are tubeless and hookless and Schwalbe tubeless tyres, though they don't currently feature on Zipp's approved tyre list for the wheels.
"At the beginning, we were doubting it a little bit, how it's going to work with the pressure. So we were always running a little bit more pressure because we were a little bit afraid of the tyre burb, but it actually didn't happen.
"We are running even below 1.5 bar [21PSI], and we have no problem. No sealant is getting out or anything, and during the race, there's no loss of pressure. The combination is really solid."
Amateur racers around the world may well have had excellent results from a range of tubeless tyres and rims for cyclo-cross, but at the top level, where equipment is sponsor-dictated, this is the tip of the spear when it comes to tubeless use.
Tubular tyres need to be glued onto a rim; a poor installation could result in the tyre coming off the rim in a race. A disaster for a rider, and highly embarrassing for a mechanic, Meeuwessen explained his own technique that uses tubular glue and adhesive tape together. He also adds his own custom formula of tubeless sealant to tubular inner tubes for a best of both worlds mix.
"The key is to use enough glue. When you look at examples where the tyre comes off the rim in a race, you mostly see that it's a very old tyre, or they didn't use enough glue.
"We usually glue the rim, glue the tyre, then we use a tubeless mastic tape, another layer of glue on the tape, and then we put the tyre on the rim.
"If you really want to be safe, that's the best way, because the tape falls apart because of the glue. So it will be one sticky mess, and that’s what makes it really, really stick. The downside is you get one chance to put a tyre on the rim, because it's a big mess."
Lamade's tubeless setups sound very simple, the team don't use tubeless tyre liners and around 50 millilitres of Schwalbe tyre sealant. The key, it seems, is in the fit between the tyre's bead and rim, and the strength of the sidewall.
Lamade also made the point that tubeless setups, as well as saving time, add a lot of flexibility and benefit riders who don't have the luxury of having dozens of pairs of spare wheels, a common sight in cyclo-cross, all glued with different tubulars to suit different conditions.
If a course requires a mud tyre, or dries out overnight, in minutes a mechanic can switch tubeless cyclo-cross tyres over on the same pair of wheels, something that isn't possible with a glued-on tubular, which requires more work and preparation.
"The tubular system took a long preparation time, and now with tubeless, in 10 minutes, one tyre is changed, and you can react to the race situation. If in the morning the weather is good, but then it starts raining, it's easy, it's really fast to change the tyre, and it's race-ready. With glueing tubulars, you have to think in advance," he explained.
Is the end coming for tubulars?
Tubular tyres may reign supreme for now, and they clearly work very well. Plus, racers copy other racers. When Mathieu van der Poel wins every race on Vittoria Dugast tublulars, others will want to copy his setup, knowing it works for the best.
However, fewer manufacturers are producing tubular wheels and tyres in particular. Tubular cyclo-cross tyre manufacturers are in the minority, and both mechanics agreed that over the next few years, more and more teams will switch to tubeless, especially if the fit between tyre and wheel rim can be guaranteed and proven.
Meeuwessen predicted a slow death for the cyclo-cross tubular in the coming years and anticipates a switch to tubeless.
"My prediction is that we have to switch to tubeless tyres in the coming years, because now that tubeless is the main source for wheels on the road, there's no real benefit for big manufacturers to make it for the very small group that is cyclo-cross. So it will slowly come. It will be a slow death."
Lamade agreed and made the point that tubeless just provides an easier experience and provides more flexibility whilst needing less equipment.
"Yes, for sure, companies producing tubulars are becoming fewer. I think the whole system will change to tubeless. In pro road cycling, the time of tubulars is gone; year by year, it will be the same for cyclo-cross. Smaller teams will also see the benefit of tubeless; instead of 10 pairs of wheels, they can do it with three or four and just change the tyres before the race."
The tubular may still be king, but change is on the way. In the next few years, we may very well see more and more pro cyclo-cross racers running tubular setups.
