Thibau Nys (Baloise Trek Lions) finished seventh on Sunday in Troyes, France in the fourth round of the Cyclo-cross World Cup and while the Baloise Trek rider may not have been on the podium, he was still in the spotlight. The young Belgian used the occasion to react to recent harsh remarks directed his way by UCI Chairman David Lappartient.
"I just don't have that World Cup classification in mind. The result is that you choose match by match," the 21-year-old told viewers of VTM News after the race according to a report by Sporza.
A week ago Ny burst into the crosshairs of controversy when he opted to ride the Superprestige in Niel, Belgium on Saturday rather than the World Cup in Dendermonde, Netherlands on Sunday. Lappartient was not happy, saying to media that he thought every rider “has to play the game” and should commit to the World Cup series.
"The World Cup is not a competition in which you can pick and choose as you please,” he told DirectVelo last week.
“If a rider prefers to ride a national event during a World Cup, they perhaps won't ride the following World Cup rounds and therefore won't ride the World Championships.”
At the time, Nys was third in the World Cup standings, having won the opening round in Waterloo.
"I just think I should be able to plan my own program. Everyone has the right to that,” said Nys. "I'm not concerned with that [UCI comments] at all. They only break their own windows. If necessary, I won't start at the World Cup."
Nys did confirm he would travel to Dublin next weekend to compete at the fifth round of the World Cup. However, his teammate Van der Haar will not be present in Ireland.
"In the past you wouldn't think about skipping a World Cup race. Then people said it was a shame. But now? I sometimes have to. Otherwise I would destroy myself," Lars van der Haar told NOS after the controversy emerged.
Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, the cyclocross World Cup calendar had nine races. Now, the season includes 14, with competitions in the US several countries in Europe outside of the Belgium sweet spot for the sport. Riders now mix in rest periods or reduced travel, to handle the extended build-up to the World Championship, which also includes the Superprestige, X2) Trofee and Exact Cross series of events. The World Cup and Superprestige series of events are both under the umbrella of the Flanders Classics.
"I will also start in Dublin next week. So it is certainly not about the travel or the type of organisation,” Nys added that it was about sticking to his personal programme for the season.
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