UCI president attacks Thibau Nys and launches threat at cyclocross riders who do not race World Cups: "He will not participate in the next World Cup and therefore also not the cyclo-cross World Championships"
Cyclocross
The cyclocross world has seen some concerning words from UCI president David Lappartient, who is threatening new rule changes that will force the riders into participating in all World Cup races - following the ever-growing concerns of riders over the very long calendar.
“As far as the United States is concerned, I can understand that. That move for just one race is paralyzing. We must therefore create a combination with Canada as well. And for Val di Sole we also have to ensure that there is another cross nearby," Lappartient said in an interview with DirectVélo. His view on the topic is very clear, the UCI World Cup should be the priority for the main cyclocross riders, one way or another.
Read also
Over recent years even seasoned riders such as Lars van der Haar have ignored the classification on the World Cup, because of it's expansion from 9 to 14 races. The calendar has become too filled, many (riders, coaches, staff) agree with that and ask for a reduction once again of the World Cup so that it is possible to be competitive all throughout the season and not have to make sacrifices.
However a reduction in races is not what Lappartient has in mind, but instead the plan seems to be to introduce consequences for those who opt to skip races. “If a cyclocross rider prefers a national competition while there is a World Cup, he will not participate in the next World Cup and therefore also not the cyclo-cross World Championships," he says. "The World Cup is not a competition where you can choose what you want to ride. Everyone just has to participate.”
These words are certain to cause a big stir within the sport. Not only because of declarations from riders recently, but also because the main stars - Wout van Aert, Mathieu van der Poel and Tom Pidcock - race only a small portion of the calendar and thus would automatically be excluded from the World Championships. Hence it is unclear the reasoning behind these statements.
However they were quite clear and Lappartient also talked about rising star Thibau Nys who decided to skip today's Dendermonde World Cup, but has raced the Jaarmarktcross this Saturday. “Nys had a bad result at the European Cyclocross Championships and says he is tired, but why would you ride in Niel on Saturday? If you're tired, you don't ride. Now Thibau Nys is someone who needs cyclocross, but he is not the only one who ignores World Cups.”
Read also
Just in
Subscribe to our Daily Newsletter today!
Popular news
Latest comments
- Two riders unlike any others over the past few decades, during this era of carb fueling, seems relevant to me.RidesHills23-03-2025
- Funny that they shorten women’s races but have no qualms about letting U23 do the same distances.Jumpyjohn23-03-2025
- Why is that relevant when discussing speed?Mistermaumau23-03-2025
- But he wasn’t the only one ;-)Mistermaumau23-03-2025
- Obviously the questions are more important to some here than to them or the team so I suggest looking for answers instead of asking questions between ourselves. We’ll probably get them unless someone actually goes to ask the protagonists themselves. Here are some starters : They like riding together; they have their own rivalry that helps bring out the best in both; they might get more points helping each other compared to racing separate races. In any case, unless we hear MJ complaining about it, I don’t think it’s going to change, it’s the Sepp Kuss syndrome all over again, fans lobbying against the will of the rider.Mistermaumau23-03-2025
- Mine goes to MVDP for entertaining us all year round :-) Stellar race, Ganna impressive in his own way as many predicted after some oddly lacklustre times.Mistermaumau23-03-2025
- i remember when not too long ago mathieu was regarded as a real tactical knucklehead. i’m not sure that was ever quite accurate, but it’s certainly the case that over the years he has become a real master tactician. in the biggest races, van der poel rarely makes choices that don’t fully optimize every specific advantage he has.OCexile23-03-2025
- Whatever the result, I believe the strategy by UAE to launch Pogacar was absolutely the right one. Unfortunately, they just were not able to execute it the way they must have planned, being all over the place at the start of the Cipressa.Cooldude23-03-2025
- They are without doubt not just the best two classics riders of this generation, but amongst the best of all time. MvdP is more suited to MSR and PR (which Pog has yet to race), while Pog is now almost untouchable at LBL and Lombardia. RVV is the only one where both basically have an equal chance to win.Cooldude23-03-2025
- bravissima!
maria2024202423-03-2025