Long list of absentees for Sardinian World Cup round: Nys, Van der Heijnden or Mason all skip this weekend's race

The cyclocross World Cup is fully underway with third round already on the horizon this weekend. The riders will travel to the exotic Sardinia for a World Cup Terralba.... But not all of them. As it happens most years, the first December week coincides with road teams' first pre-season camps, and those with and without road responsibilties alike tend to pick the option to get in some quality training kilometers over racing in the cold. Although weather forecast predicts a fairly warm (15°C) and sunny weekend in Sardinia...

The biggest absentee will be by far Thibau Nys this weekend. The leader of World Cup with victories from both Tabor and Flamanville under his belt will prioritize road season preparation with his road team Lidl-Trek and thus will travel to Spain rather than Italy. But the start of Nys next week at World Cup Namur seems to be on the table, according to Baloise Glowi Lions team manager Eric Braes.

"A full program up to and including the World Championships," Braes told In de Leiderstrui about the plans after the on-going training camp. Thus we will get to enjoy the Belgian champion in action more than enough during Christmas and in January. "There will still be a few cyclocross races in between, but it's not like he'll be skipping a weekend anytime soon."

Furthermore, Nys' teammate Lars van der Haar, currently 3rd overall in the World Cup ranking, will be also absent from the Terralba cross. Therefore, only Pim Ronhaar and under-23 rider David Haverdings will represent the Belgian team in the men's elite category. Under-23 & Junior categories will not have separate races in Sardinia.

But the list of absentees in men's race doesn't end with Baloise Glowi Lions men. Of course Mathieu van der Poel and Wout Van Aert's season debut is still two weeks away, but Van der Poel's teammates from Alpecin-Deceuninck - Cameron Mason (3rd in Flamanville) and Jente Michels (4th in Tabor) - are absent too. This leaves Niels Vandeputte as the sole representant of the Belgian road/cross team.

To conclude the World Cup ranking top-10, 8th overall Emiel Verstrynge will not make the trip to Sardinia either. Main favourites for the men's race will therefore be Joris Nieuwenhuis, Joran Wyseure, Vandeputte, Ronhaar and the struggling European champion Toon Aerts.

However the overall lead of Nys (80 points) is so large, that even in absence, his rivals will be able to just about pass him for the overall lead in case of a victory.

If we talked of a massively weakened startlist in men's race with only 11 out of the World Cup top-20 expected to start in Sardinia, the situation isn't much brighter over in the women's category.

Although the big-hitters - overall leader Aniek van Alphen and superstar Lucinda Brand - are both present, the list of absentees is notable. Most important is that of European champion Inge van der Heijnden, but the runner-up from Flamanville Amandine Fouqenet, nor her compatriot Helene Clauzel, will participate in the upcoming World Cup round.

A consolidation prize is the return of Sara Casasola and Brand who both skipped the French round, while Ceylin Alvarado seems back to her former self after a podium finish in Flamanville.