Eli Iserbyt understands that cyclocross World Cup won't take place overseas in 2024/25: "Stakeholders see that there is actually no improvement in those areas"

UCI finally published the cyclocross calendar for 2024/25 season. This winter the riders will only compete in World Cup races on 12 occasions. Additionally, United States won't host any of the biggest events unlike previous years. And who better would WielerFlits ask an opinion on the changes made than the regularity competition winner Eli Iserbyt.

"What immediately became clear is that it has become more compact. Personally, I think that is a shame, because a shorter World Cup also means that outside attention will shrink even more in periods when no World Cups are being held. If I had been able to put together this calendar myself, I would have preferred to see the World Cup start a little earlier. But on the other hand, I think everyone knows why the UCI's focus is so much on December and January."

Did stakeholders even bother asking the rider's opinion? "There was no consultation with the riders, nor with the teams. It is actually purely the UCI and Flanders Classics that have made the decisions regarding the World Cup, in my opinion."

And so there will be no World Cup overseas this time. "Perhaps Flanders Classics has realized that the cross is really a Netherlands-Belgium story. That is also where the origin of the cross lies. I think they have been trying for about four years to make cyclocross more international and to spread the sport more widely throughout Europe and America. But now they also see that there is actually no change or improvement in that area."