The roots of Tadej Pogačar lie in cyclocross. He was never a top talent and technically he certainly won’t be able to rival the full-time cross riders, as of 2025. But does that stop the two-time world champion and four-time Tour de France winner? No, but his team does. At least, that’s what UCI Sports Director Peter Van Den Abeele claims in Het Nieuwsblad.
For years, the international cycling federation has been trying to globalize cyclocross. For example, World Cup races were held in the United States for years, and the World Championships have also taken place there multiple times. Yet the niche sport remains particularly popular in Flanders and, to a lesser extent, in the Netherlands. "I see that cyclocross still lives on here, but I’m especially pleased that it’s gaining popularity outside our region as well," says Van Den Abeele. "The World Championships in Liévin were a big success. Benidorm has become a blockbuster, Tabor remains a classic. But we can’t deny it: the races in Flanders are still the most successful."
"UCI and Flanders Classics are really making efforts to bring cyclocross to life outside Flanders, but it’s not that obvious," continues the three-time winner of the Koppenbergcross. "The cross riders here have been spoiled for years. They leave in the morning and are back home in the evening. So they aren’t exactly in a rush to go abroad. But I acknowledge the value of the Flemish races. They made cyclocross big. Still, adding another couple of major races abroad would create more balance."
Van den Abeele during the 2023 Tour of Switzerland alongside Lappartient and world champion Remco Evenepoel – photo: Cor Vos
Pogačar, hello!
To grow cyclocross, the UCI has come up with a new rule. Starting in 2027, UCI points earned in other disciplines will also count towards road racing. An interesting move for teams vying for a WorldTour license or wildcards. Suddenly, Van Den Abeele also mentions the name of Tadej Pogačar. "For Visma | Lease a Bike, the UCI points of Wout van Aert (in cyclocross, ed.) won’t be important, but for smaller teams, it is interesting. Jayco AlUla, for example, has the mountain bike world champion (Alan Hatherly) on its roster, just to name one. I also see that EF Education-Easypost has established a cyclocross team."
"These are all small steps in the right direction," the Belgian UCI official continues. "But the best example of the crossover is the Roodhooft brothers. They have track riders, mountain bikers, cyclocrossers... They show that a young rider can easily debut in a secondary discipline and still grow into a top rider on the road. This actually echoes the words of Eric and Roger De Vlaeminck. What we are seeing now was already predicted by them forty years ago. Don’t forget, Tadej (Pogačar, ed.) was also a cyclocrosser. It’s just that his team won’t allow it; otherwise, he would start racing cyclocross immediately."
In the past, the Slovenian has admitted that he follows cyclocross on TV. Around Christmas time, he participated in a cyclocross race in Ljubljana—the capital of his home country—in 2021 and 2022. In 2021, he even won that race right away.
— kris mahieu (@krismahieu) December 26, 2021
