GCN Racing News Show: Should cyclo-cross riders be punished for skipping World Cups?

In this week’s GCN Racing News Show, the main talking point for presenter Joe Timms is the controversial comments from the UCI around rider participation in the World Cup Cyclo-cross series. He also takes a look at the mind-blowing power figures behind some of the top Track Champions League performances, and reveals how one road team is about to change its colours.

First on the agenda, though, are the intriguing statements from UCI President David Lappartient about young Thibau Nys (Baloise Trek Lions) skipping the most recent round of the cyclo-cross World Cup. After deciding to ride the Superprestige series in Niel on Saturday, Nys withdrew from Sunday's World Cup round, citing tiredness as the reason.

This prompted Lappartient to state: "The World Cup is not a ranking from which you can simply choose to your heart's content.” He carried on to suggest that riders may not be allowed to continue to race in future World Cup rounds or even the World Championships if they choose to skip World Cup rounds.

• Read More: UCI threaten cyclo-cross riders with Worlds exclusion for missing World Cups

As far as the actual race action went, the women's World Cup at Dendermonde saw Ceylin del Carmen Alvarado take her first World Cup of the year while in the men's Pim Ronhaar took his first ever World Cup win.

Interestingly enough, both those results were perhaps aided by the absence of two other World Cup winners this year, with both Fem Van Empel in the women's and Nys in the men's opting to skip the race.

So does the absence of big names open up the series? Or should riders be punished for skipping World Cup rounds? Let us know what you think in the comments below.

On the track, it was the final showdown in the UCI Track Champions League in London. After three rounds of racing, from Mallorca to Paris, all was to play for in the final two sets of races at the Lee Valley Velo Park across Friday and Saturday night.

For home fans, there was much to cheer for as Katie Archibald took the overall endurance win in the women’s endurance series, with an assured performance in the final races securing the title. In the men’s endurance series, Canadian Dylan Bibic cruised to the overall title on a comfortable final night, while New Zealand’s Ellesse Andrews and the Netherlands Harrie Lavreysen claimed the sprint titles.

• Watch: UCI Track Champions League: Highlights as Harrie Lavreysen and Katie Archibald reclaim titles

Lastly, road racing will be losing a big character after next year as Rigoberto Uran will retire after the Paris Olympics. The two-time Grand Tour podium finisher announced his retirement during his Giro de Rigo gran fondo on the weekend. Additionally, Luke Plapp is jumping ship from Ineos Grenadiers to Jayco AlUla in one of a number of last-minute transactions between teams to finalise team lineups for 2024.

Coming up this week on GCN+ we have more cyclo-cross and track action!

• Superprestigue Merksplas is on Saturday, 18 November
• World Cup in Troyes, a new venue for the World Cup, is on Sunday, 19 November. Watch the start line for that one!

As always, territory restrictions apply to all our race coverage.

Watch the best of the cyclocross season live on GCN+, with replays available on demand. Territory restrictions apply, check availability here.