The organisers of this Sunday’s World Cup cyclocross race in Kalmthout, Belgium are hoping that they will have no repeat of last year’s heavy snow, according to Sporza. While snowy racing may look spectacular on the television, and most riders manage to cope with the conditions, the fans are deterred from turning up to the race because of the dangerous roads.
The heavy snow experienced just before the 2009 race meant that may fans stayed at home, with only the locals and the real diehards managing to get there. Kalmthout is a village to the north of Antwerp, close to the border with the Netherlands.
“That we had 2800 spectators instead of the more than 9,000 in 2008 was not surprising,” the Kalmthout organisers told Sporza. “You had to be almost completely crazy to get through the snow to Kalmthout.”
As well as the loss of race atmosphere, for both those present and those watching on TV, the lack of spectators means a considerable financial loss for the organiser.
“The savings that we had built up were more than used up,” the organisation added. “Fortunately we had a benefit that added €7000 extra income, but we can do without another blow like this. We hope that the weather gods save us a little bit.”
Niles Albert (BKCP-Powerplus) goes into the race with a commanding 59 point lead over nearest rival Kevin Pauwels (Telenet-FIdea). Last year’s race was won by Sven Nys (Landbouwkrediet), but the Belgian champion is surely too far behind Albert in the overall standings to be able to challenge for the World Cup at this stage.
Albert finished last year’s race in third place, behind Nys and current World champion Zdenek Stybar (Telenet-Fidea); Stybar had previously led the series this year before being forced to take a rest with his injured knee. If Albert does not manage to win the race on Sunday his main priority will be to avoid losing too many points to Pauwels.