No less than eight allowed to start in Hooglede-Gits
By Brecht Decaluwé
The Belgian team for the cyclo-cross world championships will have a three-man advantage over most other countries, giving them an even stronger bid for the title than their top-heavy team already had. Normally, one country is allowed to start with five riders at the world championships, but due to the fact that the Belgians have the UCI-leader in their ranks - Sven Nys (Rabobank) - they receive an additional starting spot in Hooglede-Gits this month.
The team gets a seventh spot for having the defending world champion, Erwin Vervecken (Fidea), and an eighth spot because Belgium is ranked in the top three of the UCI's cyclo-cross rankings. Belgium leads those rankings ahead of the Czech Republic and The Netherlands.
Last year, Belgium was started with seven riders because Nys was both UCI leader and reigning world champion. The world championships are held on January 28th.
Thank you for reading 5 articles in the past 30 days*
Join now for unlimited access
Enjoy your first month for just £1 / $1 / €1
*Read any 5 articles for free in each 30-day period, this automatically resets
After your trial you will be billed £4.99 $7.99 €5.99 per month, cancel anytime. Or sign up for one year for just £49 $79 €59
Join now for unlimited access
Try your first month for just £1 / $1 / €1
