"We spent more than a week completing that customs document" - Brexit red tape proving difficult to navigate for Cyclocross stars competing in Dublin

Very few riders are set to do the Saturday-Sunday double this weekend. One of the main reasons for this is the endless amounts Brexit red tape required just to get riders and bikes from Kortrijk on Saturday to Dublin on Sunday.

"To make that trip, you have to fill in everything down to the smallest detail on a customs form," explains Dutch national coach Gerben De Knegt in conversation about the difficulties with Sporza. "It goes so far that you have to indicate for your front wheel, for example, which tube and which hub it is. You really have to name every item in that bus. We spent more than a week completing that customs document. to get in order."

This has left riders and teams with a choice. X2O Trofee in Kortrijk on Saturday or UCI World Cup in Dublin on Sunday? "It's supposedly a 12-hour drive, but you have to cross the border twice. All kinds of things can go wrong there. Our team is on the road for at least a day," De Knegt adds.

"Everything is divided by two. That is the only solution," says Sven Nys, whose Baloise - Trek Lions team has both Lucinda Brand and David Haverdings doing the double. "All our riders have four bicycles, two of which stay in Kortrijk and the other two go to Dublin. That should cause few problems in Kortrijk, but Dublin - where a lot of rain is predicted - is a different story. If you have mechanical problems with a bike, or you have to change twice per lap, you are screwed."

"We have also sent a truck with materials to Ireland," concludes Nys. "He already left on Thursday morning to take the boat in Cherbourg. We are no longer allowing material or staff to fly over. Only Lucinda (Brand, ed.) and David (Haverdings, ed.) will fly over on Saturday evening's flight from Zaventem."