Today the cyclocross World Cup kicks off in Valkenburg but the competition is no longer the main criterion for consistency. "The interest outside Belgium is simply not big enough," says UCI coordinator Peter Van Den Abeele.

With only six crosses in three different countries (Belgium, the Netherlands and Great Britain), the cyclocross World Cup has lost importance over the years.

"The World Cup should be the leading race series but that is definitely not the case,"but it is now totally not," says Peter Van Den Abeele in the Mediahuis newspapers.

The UCI coordinator knows why.

"It is all about money. In Belgium, the TV stations are ready to broadcast cyclocross races but it other countries it is completely different.

"The organizers are responsible for the TV production which makes it very expensive. Plus if they ask for entrance fee in the foreign countries, no one is watching. As a consequence, the organizers give up."

Can the UCI do anything to solve the problem.

"Last year we covered a big part of the costs in Rome but all we got in return was critcism. Then it is of course difficult."

"The only positive about this edition of the World Cup is that we have found a new organizer in Milton Keynes (England). Hopefully it will not just be a one-off event. We hope that they will be part of more editions.

Yet Van Den Abeele deplores the current state of affairs. 

"As you don't have to pau an entry fee in the World Cup, you can organize a race with a budget of 150,000 euros. But very often this is still far too much for foreign organizers."

The new UCI rule that allows the top fifty of the UCI rankings to automatically gain entry to the World Cup races has already received a lot of criticism, also from Belgium.

"Whenriders tell me that it is impossible to get into the top fifty, I always say the same: "You have to dare to invest in your career. Plan a trip abroad to gather as many points as possible in a small race with a smaller field.

"After the season we will assess the measures. If it turns out that it is really impossible to get into the top fifty, we could create a category of races just below the World Cup where many points are on offer."