Up to seven men will represent the Netherlands at the Cyclocross World Championships in Liévin this winter. Mathieu van der Poel's start is obviously merely a matter of being healthy, but some of the other six spots might still be up for grabs.
National coach Gerben De Knegt has tightened the selection requirements last winter for those who would like to join the fight for a World Championships lineup spot. In recent years, the minimum was multiple top-16 results in the World Cup, but now the riders need at least two top-12 results at the highest level.
Based on this year's results, the nominations of Pim Ronhaar and Lars van der Haar seem a certainty. In addition, Corné van Kessel and Mees Hendrikx can slowly pack their bags with view to World Championships. This leaves two more spots available.
Joris Nieuwenhuis, who has only just returned to racing at the National Championships, would be normally out of contention but De Knegt cannot turn a blind eye to his impressive ride to a third place at the Dutch Nationals.
"After that performance, he is beyond dispute, of course," the national coach is honest in a quick reaction for WielerFlits.
With that one more spot can be filled and the front runner to be nominated for the race in Liévin might be Ryan Kamp. The 24-year-old hasn't quite met the set criteria, yet his two 13th places (in Antwerpen and Zonhoven), combined with other solid performances throughout this winter, might turn out just enough to make the cut on De Knegt's list of seven.
In any case there are still three more World Cup rounds ahead of riders and there's always a possibilty of surprising revelations. And De Knegt is obviously absolutely open to adjust the selection in such scenario. "I can always add riders based on other arguments," the national coach emphasized. He plans to announce first draft of the World Championships lineup after the World Cup Beindorm this Sunday.