World champion Sven Nys shoulders his custom-painted Colnago during the 2013 Jaarmarktcross in Niel, Belgium(Image credit: AFP)
Sven Vanthourenhout, team manager Jan Verstraeten and Sven Nys show off the Crelan AA Drinks new colours(Image credit: AFP)
Sven Nys talks about his new team and switching to Trek bikes (Image credit: photopress)
Sven Vanthourenhout and Sven Nys show off their new jerseys for 2014(Image credit: photopress)
World champion Sven Nys is an ambassador for cyclo-cross and does his part to help the sport cultivate new champions(Image credit: AFP)
Sven Nys has confirmed he will race until the spring of 2016, during a press conference where announced that he will ride for the new Crelan AA Drinks team from January 1 and use Trek bikes and Bontrager components. Nys was recently voted the best cyclo-cross rider in the annual Cyclingnews reader poll.
Crelan has been a long-term backer of Nys and will be joined by the Netherlands-based soft drink maker and the US-bike brands. The team is built around the veteran world champion and also includes Nys' friend and training partner Sven Vanthourenhout. The team has created a special supporters' club to help promote cyclo-cross, especially with young riders, via special events.
Nys and Vanthourenhout will make their debut on their new Trek bikes at the GP Sven Nys in his home town of Baal on January 1. Nys will also create a special Sven Nys Cycling Centre in Balenberg to help promote cyclo-cross and develop future talents.
"Everything is in place: good sponsors, superb equipment and an ideal back-up squad, which will allow us to concentrate on quickly welcoming new members. It's all going to motivate me to even more so that I give my best on the bike right to the last day of my career."
"The partnership with Trek and the work we put into the bikes is another dimension for me in cyclo-cross. I am really happy to be part of the family of Trek and to do something special with them."
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Stephen is one of the most experienced members of the Cyclingnews team, having reported on professional cycling since 1994. Before becoming Editor-at-large, he was Head of News at Cyclingnews. He has previously worked for Shift Active Media, Reuters and Cycling Weekly. He is a member of the Board of the Association Internationale des Journalistes du Cyclisme (AIJC).
