The World Cup in Terralba faced several withdrawals this past weekend. Among others, GC leader Thibau Nys preferred a week or two of training in Spain, and thus sees the rest creeping closer.
Notably: despite this, Nys remains the leader in the World Cup standings, after his victories in the first two rounds in Tábor and Flamanville each earned him 40 points.
Joris Nieuwenhuis and Laurens Sweeck are currently the closest followers, with four and five points behind respectively. Both have competed in all the rounds so far, and it is not expected that Nieuwenhuis will skip any more races.
Importantly: starting Sunday in Namur, Mathieu van der Poel returns to the race. He could become Nys’s biggest rival in the fight for the overall World Cup victory. Last year he finished fourth (!) in the standings, despite racing only five of the eleven rounds (and winning them all).
If Van der Poel performs just as strongly in the eight (out of twelve) rounds currently on his schedule, more might be possible. There are still 320 points up for grabs for Van der Poel—who, for now, plans to skip only the race in Dendermonde on December 28.
| Rank | Rider | Points | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Thibau Nys | 80 | |
| 2 | Laurens Sweeck | 76 | |
| 3 | (1) |  Joris Nieuwenhuis | 75 |
| 4 | (7) | Michael Vanthourenhout | 68 |
| 5 | (2) | Niels Vandeputte | 59 |
| 6 | (3) | Ryan Kamp | 55 |
| 7 | (4) | Lars van der Haar | 49 |
| 8 | (6) | Toon Vandebosch | 43 |
| 9 | (4) | Mees Hendrikx | 42 |
| 9 | (4) |  Cameron Mason | 42 |
