Fewer World Cups next winter: “The goal is to have 14 crosses left”

Fewer World Cups next winter: “The goal is to have 14 crosses left”

Friday, January 21, 2022 at 08:47

The Cyclo-Cross World Cup will be reduced to next season. This was stated by Thomas van den Spiegel, organizer of Flanders Classics Sforza. “We are not deaf to criticism, so there should be fourteen crosses left next year,” he says.

This season is the first year of the renewed World Cup, with only sixteen rounds canceled in Antwerp. Van Den Spiegel is currently serving the 2022-2023 season. “We have to be between fourteen and sixteen crosses as per the contract,” he explains. “We are not going to cut crosses, we are not working with ‘standard’ crosses. For example, some organizers want to organize every two years, for example, Nammur will host the European Championship.

New World Cups
To join the World Cup, various cyclocross organizations have already applied to the Flanders Classics. “People are now seeing the possibility of organizing the Top Cross outside of Belgium. You can see the candidates and what countries they come from. There are many notable candidates. Surprises, but I’m going to keep it that way.”

“But now we need to recreate the calendar and see what is possible for riders and entourage. We’re trying to match the new candidates, “said van den Spiegel. This is the anchor point of cyclocross and we are not going to damage it too soon.

‘Leaving historical competitions at their value’
Van Den Spiegel is happy with the choices made. “The cross needs to be identified, and a year later we notice that it already exists. […] Now the viewer knows: Sunday is the World Cup. It’s about marbles. It’s a regular meeting, “he says.” But we do not want to lose sight of the classic cyclo-cross. As we have said, we will reduce the number of matches to a minimum and value the many historic matches that are not yet part of the World Cup. “