The Christmas block is the busiest period of the cyclocross season and for good season, as fans swarm into the races due to the festivities and more freedom. Hence, from the 26th to 30th of December there will be racing every single day, and
Niels Vandeputte will be at the start line for each of them.
The
Alpecin-Deceuninck has been racing a large calendar this year, featuring some events outside of the cups where he's also fighting for results. This sees him in fifth in the UCI rankings despite not being a proven winner like some of his rivals, however he has been consistent all throughout the winter so far and has net a World Cup podium in Val di Sole. He sits fifth in the World Cup and currently second in the Superprestige - although distant from Eli Iserbyt, and a set of coincidences has led him to make the call to race all five crosses that take place following Christmas day: World Cup Gavere; Superprestige Heusden-Zolder; Superprestige Diegem; Exact Cross Loenhout and World Cup Hulst.
“It was not initially intended, but plans have changed. At first the intention was to skip Diegem and therefore ride two crosses, have a rest day and then ride two crosses again. But after Boom I was second in the Superprestige rankings, so of course I don't want to pass up Diegem," Vandeputte shared with Wielerflits. "The World Cups are also very important, so missing them is not an option. Then there is the cross in Loenhout. That is my home cross and there are a lot of supporters for me there every year. So I definitely want to participate in that race. Hence the five crosses in a row."
However, he believes that he is ready to tackle such a challenge and not sacrifice his physical abilities: “I have basically done enough training in recent weeks to be ready. I feel good, fresh and healthy. We'll see what happens. In any case, it will be a tough challenge, both physically and mentally. I'm especially looking forward to it at the moment and I'm curious to see what it will do to my body. Normally I don't get worse by riding a lot of crosses, so I'm not worried."
"Christophe Roodhooft (Alpecin-Deceuninck manager, ed.) was the first person I spoke to about it. He actually didn't think that was a problem right away. He also thinks it is a good opportunity to get to know my body better. So no, they were certainly not opposed to that idea. On the contrary. I have the feeling that my level only continues to rise. I hope to achieve good results in the coming weeks, although the outliers will be fewer due to my busy schedule.”
