Is Cyclocross actually growing in popularity without Mathieu van der Poel and Wout van Aert? "Nobody wants to come to cyclocross with the idea 'after one lap, the race is done'"

Cyclocross is a sport where, on the men's side, we have a clear dominant figure in Mathieu van der Poel currently. Behind, Wout van Aert perhaps takes second place; but within the 'traditional' CX field many argue that there is more exciting racing and this isn't only a belief, there is actually a higher number of viewers at this moment then when comparing with when the star duo has been present in the past.

Christophe Impens of race organizer Golazo has shared with Wielerflits: “It is a very strange phenomenon. The TV viewing figures are significantly better than the past two years. And then we had Wout van Aert and Mathieu van der Poel as winners respectively.” This refers to some of the races that have been tackled recently which has seen many riders take wins, several tight battles, races coming down to the final lap... Exciting racing, and the opposite of what we saw with Mathieu van der Poel last season in every race he started besides the Benidorm World Cup.

“There is a turning point that is very important for the future of cyclocross. You have a whole range of crossers in both the men's and women's categories who make each other's lives hard every week by fighting great battles time and time again. And people like to see that. It is exciting until the finish in every cross... We are now creating the top riders of the future. That means that the guys who are riding now are also worth their weight in gold and are becoming quite popular with the people," Impens argues.

It is impressive looking at the list of winners this year and how it evenly spreads out. This week Niels Vandeputte was rewarded for his consistency and Laurens Sweeck established his good form; whilst previously we've had Thibau Nys win several high-level races; and other winners such as Eli Iserbyt, Michael Vanthourenhout, Lars van der Haar, Joran Wyseure and even Felipe Orts win the crosses in the Netherlands and Belgium. There are surprising winners and also stupendous performances such as Orts at the Spanish European Championships which bring a whole other level to the discipline's popularity in Spain.

“Of course they (van Aert and van der Poel, ed.) are welcome, and we should not be coy about the fact that everyone wants to see those two super champions. But on the other hand, if we see so many great cyclocross races, then the dominance of Wout and Mathieu is not necessary now. The viewing and visitor figures are both better than when they were riding," he reveals, perhaps contradicting what's usually believed. "I hope that a few riders who are now doing well can also make life difficult for those two when they come back. Wouldn't that be fantastic?”

With riders like Joris Nieuwenhuis, Cameron Mason and Pim Ronhaar either not having started their season or still very far away from their best form, it could see new faces emerge too in the coming weeks and months. There will also be interest in the return to the discipline of riders like Tom Pidcock, Tim Merlier and other riders who focus mostly on the road or even Mountain Biking - whilst the same can be said of the women's field and riders like Puck Pieterse or Pauline Ferrand-Prevot.

Sven Nys sees the same trend in the field over the opening month of the season: “The cross has received a positive boost in recent weeks. The attention is increasing again, you can also hear that people are positive about the cross. You can just see it in the audience, you can feel it in the atmosphere. Perhaps we have finally been able to leave the least positive story of recent years behind us. For the first time in years, I now have the feeling that the build-up phase has started again.” CyclingUpToDate witnessed first hand the passion of Spanish fans during the European Championships as well, and how this is no longer a discipline that captures big attention and numbers in the 'Benelux'.

The rising stars of nations such as France, Italy, Czech Republic, Luxembourg and Hungary as examples also aid the internationalization of the sport quite a lot, and promise to bring even more new fans to cyclocross in the coming years.

“Those new top athletes who can win the crosses are also all in different teams. Just think of Felipe Orts at Ridley Racing Team, Toon Aerts at Deschacht-Hens-FSP and a number of youngsters from the Roodhoofts stable (Alpecin-Deceuninck, ed.), who have joined compared to last season," Nys continues. "That was a bit skewed in the past. Very often it was two camps that were fighting each other. That is completely different now. Everything is more right. Sometimes it just all comes together by chance.”

“When I stopped in 2016, that gap became very big. Especially because a lot of athletes who should have been at the top were no longer there due to circumstances. Niels Albert had to stop due to heart problems, Zdenek Stybar chose the road, Lars Boom too. That was the generation that was supposed to make things difficult for Wout van Aert and Mathieu van der Poel, and they were simply no longer there. That caused a dip. There were fantastic duels between those two, but behind that there was a huge void. That has now finally been filled.”

Although young riders take more time to reach the top here than comparing to the road, several young riders have already been delivering serious heat to the races with the experienced and seasoned elites. “I don’t just want to talk about Thibau [Nys]. But Jente Michels, Niels Vandeputte and Joran Wyseure should also be mentioned. There are still a few in the waiting room who I think will do well. It is a very strong generation, that has drawn motivation from the road-cross combination that Van Aert and Van der Poel have done in recent years".

But above all, Nys says what a large number of people agree but rarely say: “Nobody wants to come to cyclocross with the idea: ‘After one lap, the race is done. That was it and now it's standing in the cold all afternoon'," the Belgian legend argues. "Sometimes that was the case in previous years, especially during the Christmas period. And we haven't had that this entire season yet. Actually, I don't expect the image we have seen in recent weeks to change any time soon.”