The Superprestige round in Merksplas is the Vlaamse Aardbeiencross, the Strawberry Cross, which began in 1987 in nearby Hoogstraten, in a part of the Kempen where strawberries are a local speciality. After the February 2020 edition was cancelled because of storm Ciara, it moved that November to the Kolonie in Merksplas, the grounds of a former state colony where vagrants were once housed. Its sandy strips regularly decide the race, and in heavy rain it becomes a mud race. Sven Nys holds the record with eight wins, all in Hoogstraten. Joris Nieuwenhuis has won twice at Merksplas in very different ways: in 2023 he rode away early in incessant rain and won by about a minute and a half, and in 2025 he crashed, damaged a shoe and had a mechanical problem before pulling clear on the final passage through the sand. The race usually goes to a rider at home on soft ground.