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.
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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.”
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Over the course of his career, he has conducted approximately 100 interviews across road cycling and cyclocross, ranging from one-to-one conversations and online formats to press conferences and on-site pre- and post-race coverage. His interviews include leading riders, team managers, and prominent figures within cycling media: Tadej Pogacar, Jonas Vingegaard, Mathieu van der Poel, Primoz Roglic, Wout van Aert, Joao Almeida and Tom Pidcock; managers like Patrick Lefevere and Joxean Matxin; and YouTube personality Bryan Kennedy (BKXC)...
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- He should have been allowed to go to Movistar. Right now both arent a good fit for each other and are just wasting each other's time and effortabstractengineer08-11-2026
- Thibau Nys does exactly what Iserbyt is calling for
Rafionain-Glas08-11-2026 - i did not see it. was the relegation justified or an overly hard decision? and don‘t cross riders deviate from straight lines all the time? bumping into each others when they cut corners, etc … why being more strict with the rules on the finish sprint?Ketterechts08-11-2026
- seems like we are advertising the website with pointless comments…Ketterechts08-11-2026
- So?Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- The UCI do have their favorites.
Front24208-11-2026 - On a positive note, you maybe notice turning this topic into a discussion has the benefit of eliminating certain participants who do not see how they can turn it back to their sole interest ;-)Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- People see what they want to. I am actually the opposite of your accusation, probably more of a rebel than most of you who don’t get the big picture. The difference is, I don’t go moaning publicly about the consequences of my transgressions, I understand the need for rules and I take my OWN responsibility when deciding to ignore or break them or doing so involuntarily. I will also not hesitate to state my case or argue vehemently when relevant, sometimes it works, sometimes it makes things worse but that’s the price to pay for principles and having character.Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- That may be but that was unknown to others and nothing says that’s the whole truth. Again, don’t try to misinterpret, it is a call and technically it is correct. Besides, even if there is a valid reason, that does not disqualify the ruling or punishment as far as the rules have been developed. I don’t think they’re as far as in football where for handball there is a distinction (in some ways and specific cases) between intentional or not. And football can be just as harsh and people live with it, eg the offside rule, also judged to within tiny fractions but often wrong or ignored. It’s the nature of every collective organisation and sometimes I wonder if our rebellion against it isn’t seated in the feelings we carry from the injustices we’ve felt personally, like being flashed driving 1km/h too fast when we are explained limits are just a security measure but we are absolutely certain not to have endangered anyone with our transgression. The problem is, nobody has better solutions and no 2 people have the same interpretation of where a limit should be.Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- Because for you deviated implies the other rider MUST have been made to fall and fail to finish ??? I don’t know if you ride a bike but next time someone carves you up or drives dangerously close, just hold back from those feelings of changing something, reporting or filming or even complaining. Everyone will just say, hey you’re still here undamaged, doesn’t seem like anyone did anything.Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
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Ready for Round 3️⃣ of the 2023/24 @UCIcyclocrossWC ? 🙌 Dendermonde is all set to host some incredible racing 😎 #CXWorldCup
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