"If the World Cup is seen as a toy, then we have a problem" - UCI CEO unhappy about the vast cancellations of riders

Although the UCI World Cup has long been seen as arguably the premier series on the cyclocross calendar, UCI CEO Peter Van den Abeele is growing more and more frustrated at the increasing number of cancellations from riders.

"Lars van der Haar said after his victory in Maasmechelen that he is dropping the World Cup rankings. Thibau Nys prefers the Superprestige in Niel over the World Cup in Dendermonde. I respect riders who say they choose to take a rest. But penalizing the World Cup for a different ranking? If the World Cup is seen as a toy, then we have a problem," laments Van den Abeele in conversation with Sporza.

Two World Cup crosses have been so far this season at the time of writing, Nys victorious in Waterloo and van der Haar taking victory in Maasmechelen. With the big names such as Mathieu van der Poel, Wout van Aert and Tom Pidcock yet to debut this campaign and the likes of the aforementioned World Cup winners debating whether or not to really compete in the competition this season, Van den Abeele is concerned.

“That is not good for anyone, not even for cyclo-cross as a discipline. However, nowhere can they win as much prize money as in the Cyclo-Cross World Cup. Then something goes wrong, right?" Van den Abeele comments. "We will also look in the mirror ourselves."

So how to fix this issue? “Should performance in the World Cup be rewarded with more points? Should we bundle the World Cup cross races in a shorter period so that all the top riders can be there, for example from December to the last weekend before the World Cup? These are all matters that I urgently want to discuss with Flanders Classics and other major players from the cyclo-cross world,” the CEO assesses.

“We will make those decisions with the highest priority so that they can be approved at the World Championship (early February in Tábor, ed.). This way they will come into effect next season.”