On Saturday, the 2010 World Cyclocross Championships will kick of with the Juniors and Under 23 Mens races. Here’s a preview of what to expect and who to look out for this weekend:

Juniors

The juniors will kick off the World Championships this year, and it promises to be the closest races of the event. Last weekend’s World Cup was won by David van der Pol (son of legendary Dutchman Adrie van der Poel ) and thus, establishes him as the favorite to win. However, the juniors rarely compete against each other, especially compared to the elite and under 23 men. Therefore, this race will be open to more surprises and could provide for some spectacular action. Here’s a breakdown of the juniors we expect to lead the charge on Saturday:

• David van der Pol (Netherlands) – The clear favorite heading into this weekend, van der Pol won 11 races this season. As a result, he’s the UCI points leader and could be the future of cross in the Netherlands. At this point in the season, it’s vander Pol’s race to lose.
• Gert-Jan Bosman (Netherlands) – If van der Pol slips up, or has any issues, Bosman will be the rider most likely to take charge of the race. Bosman sits second in the UCI rankings and has been one of the few riders to beat van der Pol this year.
• Mike Teunissen (Netherlands) – Teunissen has won only one race this year, the Superprestige in Diegem, but is a consistent podium finisher. Coupled with van der Pol and Bosman, he provides the third party in a dangerous, Dutch triple-threat.
• Julian Alaphilippe (France) – Alaphilippe is another junior who has only done a handful of UCI races this year. While he hasn’t picked up a major victory, he’s been a podium contender and finisher in all the World Cup races. He could be one of a few juniors to pull off the upset.
• Vojtech Nipl (Czech Republic) – While Nipl sits a mere 18th in the UCI points rankings, he’s the current Czech National Champion which should give him a bit of a lift in front of a hometon crowd.
• Radek Polnicky (Czech Republic) – Polnicky has only done two UCI races this year, the Czech National Championships and the Grand Prix Julien Cajot in Luzembourg. Polnicky lost the National Championships to Nipl and picked up the victory in Luxembourg.

Other riders to watch: Laurens Sweeck (Belgium), Emilen Vinnet (France) and Cody Kaiser (USA).

Under 23 Men

Bridging the gap between junior and elite classes are the the Under 23 (U23) Men. Some of the best elite riders have dominated this class on their way to greater things. While it isn’t always a tale-tell-sign of who the next great cross racer is, this years field appears to contain some future elite superstars. TomMeeusen has already proven he can race with the likes of Nys, Albert and Stybar , but hasn’t dominated the U23 ranks as much as one would expect. Perhaps their is an upset in the making. Here’s who we’re keeping an eye on:

• Tom Meeusen (Belgium) – All signs point to Meeusen picking up the victory for Belgium after dominating the bulk of his races this season. In addition to being the UCI points leader and World Cup winner,Meeusen finished third in the Elite men’s race at the Belgian National Championships, a mere four seconds behind Sven Nys. All eyes will be on Meeusen this weekend.
• Kacper Szczepaniak (Poland) – While Meeusen picked up the World Cup overall last Sunday, it was Szczepaniak he drew the most attention by picking up the victory. The Polish rider decimated the field in Hoogerheide and bested Meeusen by nine seconds. If he can hold his form, Szczepaniak will be a force to be reckoned with.
• Jim Aernouts (Belgium) – Aernouts got the best of Meeusen at the World Cup race in Koksijde earlier this year. Since then he’s been a regular podium finisher and is always in the mix for the win. His only other victory came at the U23 Belgian National Championships (Meeusen didn’t race however).
• Robert Gavenda (Slovokia) – Gavenda put together a pair of victories earlier this year with a World Cup win in Treviso and at the European Championships the following week. If he can regain that form he may be able to pull of the upset.
• Lubomir Petrus (Czech Republic) – Petrus pulled off his own coup early in the season with a win at World Cup #2. He’ll have the hometown crowd on his side and could find himself in a battle for the lead.
• Danny Summerhill (USA) – Summerhill took the Stars and Stripes jersey in December in dominating fashion. Since then his results have been mixed, but the 2007 Junior World Championships Silver medal winner knows how to put it all together when it counts the most.

Other riders to watch : Corné Van Kessel (Netherlands), Micki van Empel (Netherlands) and Arnaud Jouffroy (France).