Sven Nys unconcerned about absence of Van der Poel and Van Aert in cyclocross - "If you look at how many exciting races we have had so far, then I am not worried"

Into December there are still no news on when Mathieu van der Poel and Wout van Aert will return to cyclocross. Sven Nys, father of European Champion Thibau and manager of the Baloise - Trek Lions is also not concerned about when that will happen.

"That is not new. That has always been the case in recent years and we now have to assume that they will be added somewhere. For Wout I expect it to be during the Christmas period, and Mathieu a little later," Nys told In de Leiderstrui. Van Aert's calendar is decided according to Jan Boven but not made public, whilst van der Poel's was supposed to be announced last week but there has been no communication from Alpecin-Deceuninck.

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But Nys shows very little interest on that event, instead focusing on what his team is doing and the many competitions currently taking place - as well as Thibau Nys' health, who crashed in Dublin and had leg pain afterwards. "Not at all. We are not thinking about it either. I also assume that they will only ride very limited, so we will see when they show up".

However of course, the Belgian cyclocross legend is well aware that the presence of the 'big two' makes quite the difference in the discipline and brings in a lot of spectators, but that in no way is cyclocross dependent on them. "It is good for the promotion of the sport, but a lot of attention is already being paid to it. Our sport will survive without those men. If you look at how many exciting races we have had so far, then I am not worried," he concluded.

On Baloise - Trek Lions' part, Lars van der Haar is leading the X2O Badkamers Trofee, and is tied in the lead with Niels Vandeputte in the Superprestige rankings. Lucinda Brand is tied with Fem van Empel in the lead of the World Cup and also of the X2O Badkamers Trofee.

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