"They are 2 weeks away from home, for 2 hours of competition..."; cyclo-cross teams face logistical puzzle

First are the riders, some of whom will skip the cyclo-cross in Cabras. In Dublin, we did not see Niels Vandeputte, Sara Casasola, and Ryan Kamp, among others, in action on behalf of the Roodhooft brothers, but they will compete in Sardinia. Laurens Sweeck will not be traveling to Italy.

And that is not all. Fem van Empel has chosen to do a training camp in Spain. SD Worx-Protime ladies Marie Schreiber and Blanka Vas are also leaving Sardinia behind, so not many top contenders will be there. Among the men, Sweeck and Thibau Nys, who are heading for the Spanish sun, are the biggest names in cancellations.

A logistical puzzle undeniably follows for those combining the Dublin cyclo-cross with Sardinia. Baloise Trek Lions team boss Sven Nys sees Lucinda Brand, Lars van der Haar, and Pim Ronhaar, among others, doing the double, but with that also another part of his organization: the staff, who can't just hop on a plane with all the equipment.

"We have one big truck available to travel between locations, where we put all the material," Nys clarified. "It was headed for Ireland by boat the Thursday before going to Dublin, and then it'll travel directly to Italy. They do that by taking the boat to France, driving there to Italy, and then Sardinia."

Quite an undertaking, then, that you don't immediately think about while sitting in front of the TV. "Those people are on the road for two weeks, for roughly two hours of competition... It's a tricky combination, but it's actually too complex. It does work, but all those people are busy for two weeks. Logistically, it isn't very easy because the riders choose different routes."

One flies home first, another via Spain, and another directly to Sardinia. "And then to get all that equipment there... Fortunately, we had a sports facility here in Dublin, and Flanders Classics also put in considerable effort with a charter flight for the riders to Sardinia. That plane leaves Saturday morning and returns Sunday evening."

Nys hopes all that effort will not be in vain. "I will have to wait and see how that race turns out. Hopefully, the cross in Sardinia will be a permanent event so we won't stop after just one race. I do worry about how the World Cup is jammed together. It should be a World Cup with eight heats from October to February. That Christmas period is just crazy now. You won't make the World Cup if you want to ride them all. You have to make decisions."

So Flanders Classics has extended a hand by offering the teams a charter, which some take advantage of. Others choose to use the cross in Sardinia for other useful purposes. Brand, for example, received clearance from her road team, Lidl-Trek, to train on the Italian island instead of Calpe.

Brand already flew to Sardinia via Dublin on Monday with a Barcelona transfer. "Not straightforward, but I choose to train there. This allows me to organize a training camp independently. In Calpe, it is nice training and lovely to discover the world. That gives energy anyway."

The other winner in Dublin, Michael Vanthourenhout, is also opting for an alternative travel plan. "I'll fly from Belgium to Sardinia on Thursday and stay there for a week, from Thursday to Thursday," said the Pauwels Sauzen-Bingoal rider, who - like Brand - will defend the leading position in the World Cup in Cabras.