"At the end they are only interesting for collecting euros" - Michel Wuyts criticism of current World Cup situation
Cyclocross
The format and status of the cyclocross World Cup are currently being discussed between some of the main figures of the discipline. VRT commentator and writer Michel Wuyts has expressed his opinion, and he admits he does not like the way the cup has been developing.
“A World Cup with eight crosses is enough. Whoever builds does it to the trunk. Not on a proliferating crown. 300,000 euros for crosses abroad cannot be handled annually," Wuyts told Het Laatste Nieuws. “Five of those World Cup crosses have to go abroad, the other three with us with competitions for juniors and promises. Young people are now left out in the cold in nine of the fourteen World Cup races and largely drop out. That is a shame."
After the World Cup race in Dublin, Sven Nys commented that "a World Cup every week is deadly for our sport" as only 27 female riders took to the start, with many of the main figures missing. The amount of races and dispersion of locations has seen several riders not make the commitment to race all 14 rounds. Lars van der Haar has criticized the format also earlier in the year.
Furthermore, very few riders fight for the absolute best position they can in the cup, with a limited amount of riders taking to the start line in all 14 races. As the Superprestige and X2O Trofee continue having 8 rounds, the growth the World Cup has experienced put many riders under pressure.
“Classifications miss their target. They do not crown the rulers. At the end they are only interesting for collecting euros. By men and women from the higher sub-top. In the perception of TV viewers, rankings are optional," Wuyts continued.
“There are several causes. The real high flyers, van der Poel, Van Aert and Pidcock are so versatile that they consider those rankings trivial. They race where their program allows and starting money smiles at them. Also in the World Cup. Not even a daring prediction: Fem van Empel and Shirin van Anrooij will also follow that path. They too are too versatile to go for the Full Monty in winter. Dutch young women rarely if ever do doubles in a weekend," he commented.
In the women's field the problem is perhaps stronger, as many of the top riders share a meaningful road calendar which does not allow them to race throughout the entire winter, and the early-season domination of Fem van Empel saw no real battle for the cup's victory, demotivating others to keep pursuing it.
“Straining yourself twice a week and daily during the Christmas period is your purest breakdown model. Only full-time crossers on years dare to do that. Types Van der Haar, Vanthourenhout, Adams [do it]," he concluded.
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A founding contributor to CyclingUpToDate since its launch in January 2022, Ruben Silva has played a central role in shaping the site’s editorial direction and long-term growth. Before joining the project, he built his experience through independent blogging at Echelons Hub and by producing race previews for Ciclismo Internacional, developing a strong analytical voice rooted in daily engagement with professional cycling.
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Over the course of his career, he has conducted approximately 100 interviews across road cycling and cyclocross, ranging from one-to-one conversations and online formats to press conferences and on-site pre- and post-race coverage. His interviews include leading riders, team managers, and prominent figures within cycling media: Tadej Pogacar, Jonas Vingegaard, Mathieu van der Poel, Primoz Roglic, Wout van Aert, Joao Almeida and Tom Pidcock; managers like Patrick Lefevere and Joxean Matxin; and YouTube personality Bryan Kennedy (BKXC)...
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- Are you MrMauMau 2.0? Nothing you are saying is really relevant. Vaguely connected, but irrelevant. The conversation is whether Schreiber impeded Brand or not.
Rafionain-Glas08-11-2026 - He is boring
leedorney08-11-2026 - To Twoje przemyślenia te bla, bla :)
Dariusz08-11-2026 - Uwielbiam patrzeć, jak wyjeżdża na czoło peletonu i zaczyna się rzeź...Dariusz08-11-2026
- Yeah, unreal.
parisbound0008-11-2026 - there needs to be space in life for pointless comments!Ketterechts08-11-2026
- That is a very lazy way of putting it but so far on this website it seems like everyone is happy to look at everything lazily, even things that annoy them intensely. All they want to do is state their feeling and position but ask most to analyse a problem or come up with solutions or improvements and you’re stunned by silence. Nobody even really knows how this all happens. It’s very simple and quick to just say the UCI did it but I bet you they didn’t, I bet you not more than 2 people were involved, more likely just 1. The UCI may be ultimately responsible but it is not their decision, this is about hierarchy, power and delegation. The fact that protest is possible also means it isn’t over and that MORE people could get involved for a thorough review which could throw up anything. It is highly likely it was a sole commissar who decided and has that power in a first round. Therein might lie the problem the UCI has to consider, is it acceptable to give so much authority to one single person when it is quite possible for them to have a natural bias or be too easily susceptible to imposed bias. Who is to say an individual in this position isn’t susceptible to collaboration with outside players with interests in the results, nations, families, teams, betting companies, etc. On the one hand we have sports where these problems have been worked on way more to reduce such problems, on the other hand we have sports with far stricter and more draconian rules not even concerning safety or obstruction that nobody really questions like false starts or stepping out of lane or zones in athletics. If cycling hastowork on itself, it would be good if protagonists (all kinds) would start doing a little more than just moaning over outcomes.Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- Yes, so why not make comments less pointless?Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
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🙌 What a spectacle to watch! ❄️ Thank you Val di Sole for a fantastic day! 🇮🇹🏆 #CXWorldCup
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