Elie Iserbit fears the new World Cup: “It may be a drama for traditional teams”

interview After a long wait, the International Cycling Union (UCI) finally announced the cyclo-cross World Cup calendar for the 2024-2025 season last week. Many stakeholders, such as riders and teams, have requested changes, and they have now been made. The World Cup now consists of only twelve rounds, which will be completed between the end of November and January. Competition is also more focused on the Low Countries. But what do the riders think of this new World Cup? We asked Eli Iserbyt, number one in the UCI rankings and always a man with a well-formed opinion.

Eli, what is your first conclusion after seeing the new calendar?
“What became immediately clear is that it has become more compact. Personally, I think this is unfortunate, because the short duration of the World Cup also means that outside interest will be further reduced in the periods when the World Cup is not taking place. If I could prepare this calendar Personally, I would have preferred to see the World Cup start a little earlier but on the other hand, I think everyone knows why the UCI is focusing so much on December and January.

You point out the intended participation of Mathieu van der Poel, Wout van Aart, and Tom Pidcock. Have the real riders forgotten much in this story?
“I don’t think we have forgotten, but I noticed that not enough attention has been paid to the real exhibition teams. For sponsors, this World Cup calendar can be described as a drama.”

Why do you mean difference specifically?
“It's not too bad for the riders. Personally, it doesn't matter to me if the World Cup doesn't start before December or January. I can also ride for the road team which is happy that I'm riding in the World Cup. On the other hand, I assume the cross season will start at the same time Almost like previous years and that I would be able to compete enough in the X2O Cup or Superprestige in those first months, but not at World Cup level.

Belgian champion Elie Iserbyt – Photo: Cor Vos

“But for the 100% true cross teams, like Pauwels Sauzen-Bingoal and Baloise Trek Lions, a big part of their international media exposure disappears. The period when they really get a significant return for their sponsorship at international level has really begun in recent years in racing Cross country in America. Now this period has been shortened significantly and has become solely dependent on the Flemish media for a longer period of time and this will really be a topic we should no longer look to the cross country teams. Hopefully this will not mean the bankruptcy of a team “Real Cross”.

Have you been contacted by the UCI?
“There was no consultation with the riders nor with the teams. In fact, it was the UCI and the Flanders Classics that made the decisions regarding the World Cup, in my opinion.

What should they have done differently?
“In my opinion the cross should remain as it was. There have been seven or eight World Cups. I think there could be twelve or fourteen, but I would have liked to see a wider spread. Look at the Mountain Bike World Cup, which runs from March to “August: Every time the temperature is one or two the same, it extends the season and keeps things interesting for a long time. Now you can limit the middle part of the season to just two months. We’ve seen it over the course of a whole year, and that’s very little.”

In addition to compactness, there was also a second important observation. No more cross in the United States. That's what most riders wanted, right?
“In the end, the majority of the riders were listened to, yes. If two or three World Cups were held there, I would still think it was worth going to. I said that every year as well. But for one cross, it was a bit crazy to do.” “On the other hand, now that the World Cup is starting so late, including the United States in this story is no longer an option.”

So suddenly it became a very Belgian story. Passengers asked for a reduction in the number of flights, and they got it.
“Absolutely, but I think everyone has an interest in doing it this way. Maybe the Flanders Classics realized that the Cross Country is really a story between the Netherlands and Belgium. And here also lies the origin of the Cross Country. I think they have been trying for about four years to make the sport of cross country more international and spread Sport more broadly across Europe and America but now they also see that there is really no change or improvement in this area.”

No more Val di Sole at the World Cup – Photo: Cor Vos

“I think there are two reasons for that. One: Cyclo-cross is not Olympic. And they obviously left that Olympic track by not including Val di Sole in the World Cup. The second reason: If you really want to qualify for the World Cup as a kind of Champions League for cross country, You have to make sure that the best riders always want to ride there and how do you do that by also playing in a financially higher league? There has been no communication about this at the moment, but it seems logical to me that something should be added. Otherwise it will just remain a classification like everything else. Van Aart, Van der Poel and Pidcock may come, but don't you always want to see other motocross riders in the World Cup?”

Isn't it a shame that there is also some confusion in foreign competitions in Europe?
“We still have four beautiful locations: Dublin, Italy, Benidorm and Besançon. In places like France or Benidorm, I think there could be more of the cross, because it already lives there. But obviously they are adding those locations to make it a little more international. And there are areas Others where they are actually waiting for the cross, like England, Spain and France are also missing. I hope they go there more in the coming years.

Can I then conclude that you are still a little disappointed in various areas by this calendar?
“For me, it is particularly important that there is a good balance in the calendar in these different areas. I think the UCI and the Flanders Classics are still looking for that. I have the impression that they are still in the experimental phase, trying to figure out the right way to organize the World Cup. Maybe it will change “Plenty again next year, or the year after that.”

“It's now very compressed, but I would only draw my conclusions once we know what the full calendar looks like. When does our season start? What about Superprestige and X2O Trophy? I suspect we'll have a lot of them in October and November. That way we can still have a good calendar “And a good balance, at least for us as riders. However, it remains a difficult story for the sponsors and the teams.”