Tom Pidcock has decided to forego his title defense at the cyclocross World Championships, however that decision has not come too well for the organizers.
Jan Prop, chairman of the organization, told BN/De Stem: "After the cross in Zonhoven there was a peak in ticket sales. It's gone now. We will see. I find it incomprehensible that Tom Pidcock is not participating. After all, he is the defending champion"
The course in Hoogerheide will favour the powerhouse riders and Pidcock, who won in Fayetteville last year, has decided to not attempt to defend his title against the likes of Wout van Aert and Mathieu van der Poel who have been dominating the field over the last few months.
You make a course the guy can't win and the guy doesn't go. Why is this shocking?
The course is not particularly relevant. Pidcock has never won a race in which both MVDP and Wout were present. This year I think he has only finished ahead of either of them once. He's really good, but like everyone else, he is just not on their level.
The person who should be concerned about the course itself is Wout. It favors Van Der Poel in every way -- lots of slippery, technical features, almost no mud or running. Van Der Poel has won on this course multiple times, but so far as I can tell Wout never has. If MVDP's back is good, it is entirely his race to lose.