On Sunday, the World Cup kicks off at the Caubergcross and this year the top 50 of the UCI rankings will automatically be allowed to start. "And there are nearly 20 Belgians in the top 50," said Dutch coach Johan Lammerts. "This rule comes at the expense of the internationalization of the sport."

For this season, The Cyclocross World Cup has been drastically reformed. Now only riders in the top 50 of the UCI ranking have automatic entry to the races.

And that is completely against the wishes of Dutch coach Johan Lammerts.

"The UCI hope that this rule will inspire more riders to try to get into the top 50," Lammerts tells NOS. "They want more riders to take part in international competitions, the races that are just below the World Cup level. But I do not expect that to happen. This rule only favours the Belgians."

"After all, there are nearly twenty Belgians in the top 50 of the UCI rankings. This rule comes at the expense of the internationalization of the sport."

In 2012, the internationalization was almost invisible at the Worlds in Koksijde. The Belgians occupied the entire top 7.

Lammerts has complained to the UCI but they refuse his suggestions. "

"Indeed, there are more Belgians at the start," said UCI coordinator Peter Van den Abeele. "But those thirteen Belgians are all pros."

"They are in the top 50 and deserve to participate. Moreover, each federation can increase the number of riders to eight, bringing riders that are not in the top 50.

There are also plenty of Belgian U23 riders among the 50 best riders in the UCI rankings, like Wout Van Aert and Michael Vanthourenhout. Like Dutchman Mathieu van der Poel (19), they will do the U23 World Cup.

"We will evaluate the new system at the end of the season. But our new rule cannot be dismissed before the races have started. We have to see how the entire season will pan out."