What did the favourites have to say? - Nys, Vanthourenhout, Aerts and more share thoughts ahead of cyclocross Europeans

This Sunday's European Championships events eventually culminate with the men's elite race, one in which there are many potential candidates for victory. With no Mathieu van der Poel and Wout van Aert, and in a course where Thibau Nys isn't expected to dominate, it's an open battle field in Middelkerke where many riders will be eager to take what is a key title in the discipline.

"Winning certainly won't be easy. I realize I'll have to be at the top of my game to win. I'm here with the feeling I want to have. And yes, this is an important race. There are three jerseys up for grabs during the season. This is one of them, so this is a race where I want to be. Every jersey adds prestige". Nys won in a very fast and explosive course last year in Pontevedra, an expected triumph, but this time around its far from an easy or even expected outcome.

"There are courses that should suit me much better than this. But it doesn't deter me. I've had my problems in the sand in the recent past, and it's up to me to turn that around. In my view, this is also a sand cyclocross, but I'm equally convinced that I have a chance on this course as well. But everything has to be right."

However the ambition is high and the pressure he puts on himself is also quite high. The emotional Belgium admits that "not winning would be a disappointment. I can only lose, but I have no guarantee of victory. Luckily, I have another nice jersey in the closet that I can wear next weekend, if things go wrong on Sunday."

"A sand cross is something else entirely. I have to say I've trained a lot on the sand," said the winner of the last pre-Europeans cross in Lokeren. "On the other hand, I can't find much else about the course. I'll have to wait and see, but it goes without saying that Pim Ronhaar (the Dutchmen, ed.) and I will have to challenge the Belgians. Hopefully, I'll be a bit better than I was in Lokeren."

However Nieuwenhuis doesn't see this as a prime goal in the season, only one of many. "My goals remain the same as last winter: winning a regularity classification and becoming number one in the UCI rankings. I thought the X2O Trofee was over after the Koppenberg, but now I'm back in the lead. That's great."

"It's a bit less appealing to me, but it won't be a pure sand race. That could work in my favor," said the penultimate champion. "It didn't work out last year, but that's just extra motivation. […] Winning a championship is never easy, but this is one without Mathieu van der Poel. It might even be the easiest to win."

"Three years ago at the Belgian Championships, I got off to a really bad start. I never saw the front of the race again. That's why I have to get off to a good start this time. After forty minutes, the strongest will come forward, and hopefully, I'll be among them."

"I'm really craving a big win. After my win in Ardooie, I thought I could challenge for the podium in the following weeks, but things didn't always go as planned," the Belgian admits. However he has often been there, and can strike at any time.

"In Ruddervoorde, I crashed in the last corner, in Overijse in the first. The Koppenberg was disappointing, Lokeren was already better. Hopefully, I can finally pull it off again. I've taken it a bit easier this past week, hoping to be fresh on Sunday."

"Have I been playing hide-and-seek? I wish I were," Sweeck, a sand specialist, said ahead of a race where he can take on the best if he has his best legs. "My start to the season could have been better. I was good in Meulebeke, but after that, things didn't go so well. Hopefully, I can do my thing as soon as possible and ride in the sand as much as possible."

Sweeck would love to have the European jersey, at a point in his career where battling against the very best is becoming harder and harder. "That would mean a lot. I haven't won any international awards yet. This jersey can still be added to the list".