After a much smaller elite men's field at the UCI Cyclocross World Cup in Dublin last year compared to other rounds - though the crowds still flocked to the venue - the world governing body has granted "protected race" status to the Irish fixture.
Dublin is among four rounds of the shortened and more compact World Cup series this year to be conferred with protected status alongside Sardinia, Besançon and Benidorm.
The aim of the measures is to ensure those four rounds of the World Cup - which are all located outside the strongest and most traditional cyclocross nations - is to ensure cyclocross grows in those regions.
But what exactly does "protected" status mean for these races and how will it boost them this season and in future years?
Advertisement
"Protected" status
One big measure spoken about by many stakeholders in cycling, and the media, was that riders who want to compete in the UCI Cyclocross World Championships would have to ride some or all of the "protected" races.
However, the UCI has stopped well short of this. Indeed, there is no obligation on riders to compete in any of the four races - never mind all of them - to qualify to start the Worlds.
Granted, that would have been an extreme measure, but it would have meant very good news for Dublin, and perhaps Sardinia, as they look like the easiest races to miss for the top names.
They involve significant travel, to locations unfamiliar to riders and teams, and both also fall within a week of each other early in the World Cup series. They are rounds 2 and 3, falling in December 1st and 8th, and follow the opening round in Antwerp this weekend.
Related News
One of Wout van Aert's coaches at Visma-Lease a Bike spoke about the possibility he might return to racing from the start of December. However, that was discounted, in favour of a later start, because only two major races were being held during that period and both with World Cup rounds involving a lot of travel.
Hopefully riders like Van Aert, Tom Pidcock (Ineos Grenadiers) and Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Deceuninck) will compete earlier in the season next winter and point their bikes in the direction of Dublin. But, for now, they are not being forced to do so and such a step does not look likely, according to Peter Van den Abeele, the UCI's sports director.
“If we see that the trend continues and that rule is being played with, then we can play it even harder and see if we can take even tougher measures," he said of top riders missing some World Cups, especially the early season ones. "But in all honesty: I don't think that will be necessary."
What comes with "protected" status?
One of the big benefits is that the weekend the four "protected" races fall on must be kept free of any other major UCI cyclocross racing. That measure is designed to ensure riders cannot decide to go to largescale races, where appearance money is on offer, instead of riding the World Cup event on that weekend.
In other words, if the top riders want to race on those four weekends, their only option is World Cup racing, where prize money is on offer rather than appearance fees.
“To be clear: we don’t want to wipe out other races, mind you," Van den Abeele told Het Nieuwsblad. "But you have to understand: it’s a shame when you go to new areas and then you have to disappoint those people because there are few or no top riders at the start. Nobody benefits from that and certainly not the discipline itself."
Under new rules, teams are also compelled to send a minimum number of riders to World Cup races. Those registered as UCI cyclocross teams must send at least one elite man or woman to at least five rounds of the World Cup.
And UCI Pro cyclocross teams - Baloise-Trek Lions, Deschacht-Hens-Maes, and Pauwels Sauzen-Bingoal - are all obliged to have at least three riders in each round of the World Cup.
