During the past two weeks, Sven Nys has recharged his batteries in Mallorca. "He has laid the foundation to handle the holiday season well," coal Paul van den Bosch told Sporza. "This is definitely not a good year. In several races he has performed below expectations."

Two weeks ago, Sven Nys had a complete off-day and abandoned the race in Overijse. "It's still a mystery what happened there," coach Paul van den Bosch told Sporza.

"Sven underwent some checks and the osteopath revealed that his back was completely blocked. But that does not explains his poor performance in Overijse.

"We have not found a real cause so we stuck to our plan and Sven has been riding kilometres in Mallorca.

"It remains to be seen how he will perform this weekend, but I have every confidence that it is going in the right direction. In Mallorca, he could leave everything behind. I have the impression that his training went very well."

With the Bpost race in Essen on Saturday, the busy Christmas season starts for the cross riders. "In Mallorca, Sven has again worked on his foundation to handle this intense series of events," Paul van den Bosch explained.

"He can't peak for the championships. Now Sven can only hope that he will handle the many races that are held during the Christmas holidays in a very short amount of time. Then he can focus on the Belgian Championships and the Worlds.

"He can not make a decision about those championships yet. That is only possible if you are not interested in the overall standings in the series.

"In the next days, he will have to do three races in a very short amount of time. That is not easy. Every race is important for the classification."

Paul van den Bosch refuses the suggestion that Nys is too old. "When I look at his results, I would have signed for it at the time when he decided to extend his career," the coach said.

"Sven has won four races this season (Las Vegas, Neerpelt, Ronse and Niel, ed.), he was in the top 3 ten times and he is still in contention for two overall classifications (Bpost Bank Trofee and Superprestige, ed.). Many riders would be happy with that.

"So Sven does not perform badly but he has performed below expectations. But to say that this is they year when he is suddenly too old, is one step too far.

"Sven and I have a good perspective and are satisfied with a number of great victories and achievements.

"The pleasure of racing should remain paramount. The young people still have to take him into account.

"And whether he wins the Superprestige 14 or 13 times, whether he wins the Belgian championships 9 or 10 times and whether he wins the Bpost Bank Trofee for the umpteenth time makes no difference in his career."

Race schedule for Sven Nys:

Saturday, December 20: Essen (Bpost Bank Trofee)

Sunday, December 21: Namur (World Cup)
Friday, December 26: Heusden-Zolder (World Cup)
Sunday, December 28: ​​Diegem (Superprestige)
Tuesday, December 30: Loenhout (Bpost Bank Trofee)
Thursday, January 1: Baal (Bpost Bank Trofee)
Sunday, January 4: Leuven (Soudal)