Zdenek Stybar appears at world championships in Hulst as… DJ Stybbi
Zdeněk Štybar, with three world titles, is one of the most successful cyclocross riders of the past twenty years, but he is no longer active as a professional cyclist. Nevertheless, he will make an appearance again this weekend in Hulst at the World Championships. Not as a cyclocrosser, but as a DJ.
The now 40-year-old Czech will take to the decks on Sunday—the day the elite men will battle for the world title—at a special cyclocross edition of Kamping Kitsch Club. This is a music festival (described by the organizers themselves as the "most marginal festival in the country") known for its cheesy music and striking outfits.
"The only way the celebration of Mathieu van der Poel’s eighth world title could still be spoiled is with bad music at the pre- and after-parties," spokesperson Kurt Frederickx said in a press release.
"It won’t be our fault, because we’ve booked ‘DJ Stybbi,’ a record spinner who breathes cyclocross and knows exactly how to work a crowd. With his flair, timing, and natural sense of entertainment, he moved people before on the bike, and now he does the same behind the decks."
Štybar looks back on a particularly successful cycling—and especially cyclocross—career. In 2010, 2011, and 2014, he became cyclocross world champion in the elite category. After his third World Championship triumph in Hoogerheide, he made a complete switch to road cycling, with success. On the road, he won races including Omloop Het Nieuwsblad, Strade Bianche, E3 Harelbeke, and a stage in the Tour de France.
