Tomas Van Den Spiegel: "If we don’t want to race only in Flanders by 2040, we must act now"
Ah, the World Cup! Every year it sparks countless discussions in cyclocross land, but the start – this Sunday in Tábor, Czech Republic – is above all a great moment to sit down with Tomas Van Den Spiegel, who as CEO of Flanders Classics organizes both the World Cup and Superprestige. What is his perspective on the current calendar and the future of cyclocross?
This season, Van Den Spiegel and his team once again went for 12 rounds, including seven in Belgium. "I think there is now a certain stability in the calendar. Last year, together with the UCI, we chose to start much later and center the World Cup between late November and the World Championships. That has been a good move; the intention is to keep it that way," says the businessman.
"At the same time, we still face the challenges of the calendar. The final decision-making power over the international calendar lies with the UCI. We formulate proposals, and they try every year to come up with a calendar where all parties, both national and international, can agree."
To get it out of the way right away, we present you with the two criticisms we hear most often. First: the calendar is way too packed around Christmas. 12 (!) races in 16 days – including five World Cup events and three Flanders Classics Superprestiges – is something no one can handle, says Sven Nys.
"It is packed, yes. I agree. But it seems important to us to put the World Cup as the highest-ranking competition front and center during the most important cyclocross period. The World Cup has its place there. It shouldn’t be the case that we have to shuffle the calendar for the season-long competitions that rank somewhat below, or for the standalone races that would then take those spots."
According to Nys, the World Cup would be better off starting earlier in the season than mid-November. That way, there would also be less concentration around Christmas.
"I always say that, in principle, we have no problem starting earlier. But then you come back to the same story I mentioned earlier. In the past, we have often made way to allow riders to go to training camps or to rest, but then you see other organizers scheduling on those dates. That doesn’t help when the World Cup makes way."
"Besides, we really want to be in the months when cyclocross is the number one winter sport in many countries. And that is not October and November, to be honest. Many road riders don’t stop racing until the end of October, and after that the focus gradually shifts to cyclocross, with a peak in December and January."
In recent years, there seems to have been a step back in terms of internationalization. We see no America, no Val di Sole, and now also no Dublin in the schedule. To what extent is that a conscious choice?
"It’s definitely not that we have written off international locations. With Flamanville and Benidorm, we have clear success stories; Besançon has expressed ambition to return to the World Cup in the future. And we have plenty of interesting courses lined up for the coming years. Also in non-traditional cyclocross countries. We have good hopes that we can bring the World Cup there."
Only you have to be able to sell that to the cyclocross teams, who already find foreign trips too expensive.
"I think it is still a good idea to globalize cyclocross, but as we have seen in the past with the American rounds, it’s not that straightforward. First of all, it must be compatible with the current calendar. You can’t just travel very far in the middle of the season, because the rest of the calendar then comes under pressure. If we go to a more distant location, it has to make sense as a coherent story."
Are you still thinking of countries in different time zones?
"There is always interest from other time zones, let that be clear. But between interest and feasibility lies the challenge for us. That is where we've often bumped into issues over the past years. Let’s say it will mainly involve a number of historic cyclocross countries, but also a few new ones. Much will probably also depend on a possible inclusion of the sport in the Olympic Games."
The Olympic idea seems more relevant than ever in recent weeks. What would it change for you if cyclocross became an Olympic sport?
"Of course, we are happy that back in Val di Sole we showed that cyclocross is a real winter sport, and we got cyclocross on the Olympic agenda like that. The sport really takes place in winter, and we still believe cyclocross belongs at the Winter Games. But well, that’s no longer in our hands. It wouldn’t change much for us as organizers, but for the sport itself, of course, it would."
"You see that budgets are allocated to Olympic sports in many countries. Now, many top riders have a cyclocross background in their youth, but they always get pulled away to other disciplines. The challenge is to keep those riders in the field. In theory, an Olympic status could give an extra boost to internationalize and strengthen the starting fields. Wout van Aert and Mathieu van der Poel are now the flag bearers of cyclocross, but they also have an expiration date."
In the short term, you’d of course like to see them in your World Cups?
"That is very important, yes. They are not only the best cyclocross riders of their generation but also among the top five road riders of the past decade on the road. Naturally, you want to see them at the start as often as possible."
"We understand very well that they can no longer start in October or November like in their younger years. But we do have good relations with their management to see what’s possible and what isn’t. We try to put that program together with them, without wanting to pressure their schedules. Over the year, we also have several other interests and events we would like to include them in."
Could the second evolution, namely that UCI points earned in cyclocross from 2027 will also count toward the road ranking, help you in the future?
"I find it interesting to see what impact it will have now. We still have to see in practice what it will mean. At the same time, I think it’s a no-brainer and very odd that not more WorldTeams have started a cyclocross division. I have been saying that for years. You can evolve from 8 to 9 months of visibility to almost the full 12 months of presence, for relatively limited budgets."
"I remember Heinrich Haussler telling me that not only could he maintain his winter condition by racing cyclocross, but he became a much better rider. And he didn’t even compete at the top level. Maybe this new rule, in that respect, could push some teams that hesitated to get into the sport over the edge. Especially if you see how hard it is for the classic cyclocross teams to remain competitive."
An international calendar, the Games, and UCI points: take those three factors together and something good might be coming?
"We certainly hope so. Everyone is slowly starting to see the impact cyclocross can have. Benidorm was a good example, Val di Sole at the time as well. There, with a relatively limited organization, we showed that cyclocross can be organized easily in many different locations. If we can link the factors you just mentioned to that and get the calendar a bit more structured and less crowded, then cyclocross has a very bright future."
Is that why Flanders Classics continues to fully commit to cyclocross?
"Of course. It remains a sport that takes place at a time of year when there is little other sport. Cycling is very popular internationally. We have many more assets at our disposal than we sometimes realize in Flanders. That is my big personal frustration sometimes. We are far from exploiting all the potential. If in 2040, we don’t want to be cycling only in Flanders and a bit in the Netherlands, then we have to dare to switch now. It seems to me that we are on the right track."
