"At the end they are only interesting for collecting euros" - Michel Wuyts criticism of current World Cup situation

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."

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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.

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“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.

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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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