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"

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.

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.”