Will cyclo-cross become an Olympic sport from 2030 or not? It’s a question that has been lingering for several years and is becoming increasingly concrete, but the decision hasn't been made yet. The UCI has been lobbying for years, but Thibau Nys doesn’t seem to be a proponent at the moment.
The UCI and the athletics federation World Athletics have been lobbying for years to add both cyclo-cross and cross country running to the Olympic Winter program, since both sports mainly take place in autumn and winter. The International Olympic Committee has repeatedly expressed enthusiasm about including both sports in the Winter Olympics.
However, Nys has his reservations. "I find it so forced," responds the Baloise Insurance–Het Poetsbureau Lions rider in an interview with Sporza, when the Olympic ambitions come up.
"Don’t know if the sport will benefit from it"
"I don’t know if I’m a fan of it and I don’t know if our sport will be better off because of it. We are very big in Belgium and it has worked perfectly like this for years," says Nys.
"I think we should rather look closer to home to see where things are going wrong. And try to grow the sport that way, rather than forcing it onto the Games. I don’t know, but there’s too little time now to respond to it."
