As being 1st of January, we couldn’t choose a more suitable rider for being interviewed than the Lord of Cyclocross, the Kannibaal, the current cyclocross world champion, Sven Nys. A man that when he quits from racing, possibly he will do it as the best cyclocross rider of all times.
Today Sven Nys was making his dèbut with his new team, the Crelan AA Drink Team, and he was also making it together with something that has bringed along big expectations and interest, his brand new Trek Boone bicycle. To celebrate the New Year we went to Baal, where Sven lives and where every 1st of January the Grote Prijs Sven Nys cyclocross race is held. Thousands of spectators come to enjoy this race every year and its enviroment and tradition is growing as the Sven Nys living legend does.
After the race, and the obvious podium ceremony, we had the pleasure to meet Sven and talk for a while. Let’s discover what he told us.
©Cobbles&Hills
How it was the race today Sven?
Well, I felt myself really strong, but I was really nervous… new team, new sponsors, new bike, my own race, all the people coming here to watch the race and expecting me to win… so there it was a lot of stress and now I am happy that it’s over. It wasn’t easy, but I was the strongest and I already saw that on last week with the victories in Loenhout and Diegem.
Indeed, taking a look at the last races, it seems like you are the strongest guy…
Yes, but actually most of them have been hard races, muddy ones, hilly ones, running with your bike on your shoulder, demanding technical skills, and these are the ones that I prefer. A race like the one in Zolder is a little bit difficoult for me, it’s too fast. But on races like the one today, latelly and for now I’m the strongest.
So your focus now is on keeping this level until the World Championship in Hoogerheide.
Sure, but it’s not easy. There is still a month ahead, I have to hold this level without getting sick. Nevertheless I believe that it’s better to be in this situation rather than the possibility of losing today’s race and being on need to improve my fit until the Worlds. For now I’m happy with my condition and I hope I can keep it.
What about the Belgium Championship?
Yes, it is on the next week, after the World Cup in Rome. So, normally when I get recovered of these last hard races I should be part of the top favourites. And to be honest I hope that it rains on next week to make a hard race, and in that situation normally the rider with the best condition can win the race.
And what do you say about the next race, the Rome World Cup. It’s not one of the best courses for you, is it?
Yeah that’s true, but my condition is good and I will try to have a good race over there. I don’t think about winning, just relax and maybe I can win, but we’ll see. I will try do to my best, but mentally for me, I have to admit that today’s race was more important for me.
Sven, I guess that you are very happy with the new team, Crelan AA Drink Team and the project and contract with Trek Bikes.
Indeed, I’m very happy, I’ve signed a contract for two years and I’m getting 38 this season. I feel myself very strong, and actually I think that I have never been so strong before. Apart from the contract, racing with new sponsors, new bikes and equipment, well, that is also good for my mind. So racing the last two years of my career with these new bikes and team is something really special.
What does it mean to you the fact of changing from Colnago to Trek Bikes after so many years?
It is not so easy. I liked and enjoyed Colnago bikes during the last 15 years, but now I have a contract with Trek and they have given me a very special bike. The technology that this Trek bike has, it’s way more developed and advanced than in any of the cyclocross bikes that we have seen so far. So when you are the world champion and you have the chance of signning a contract with the best bike, you have to do it. I had that chance and now I am happy that I am part of the Trek family, and I hope to help to develope the bike during the upcoming years.
But Sven, if I am not wrong, this is not just a new team with new sponsors and a brand new bike. This project is something else, isn’t?
That’s true. We are talking about a sponsor like Trek, that comes from another continent, a place where cyclocross is growing up really fast. In order to promote cyclocross over there, the fact of winning today with an US branded bike helps a lot to our sport, and that’s what we need to show a good image of cyclocross in the US.
Related to this matter of promoting cyclocross out of the Belgium borders, a few days ago you held a meeting with the UCI and some major belgium race promoters.
Well, we want to promote cyclocross in Europe, not only in Belgium, but in the countries where cyclocross was a popular and a well known sport in the past, like Switzerland, Spain, Italy, Czech Republic, etc. But for the moment there is a big interest coming out of the US. We have to take that interest and do something with it. There is a lot of races over there, many bicycle manufacturers interested in cyclocross, so we have to develope that potential. Hopefully I will do some races in the US in the beginning of the season to promote cyclocross there. And we’ll see what happens, but every small step counts to promote our sport.
I guess that the UCI has also a big interest into this worldwide movement, same as they have with the road racing scene in the US or Asia.
Definitely. Nowadays with the Internet and the livestream posibilities you can watch cyclocross races from almost any place of the world, and that’s what we need. Cyclocross is a great sport to be broadcasted on the t.v., it’s emotional and exciting. It’s just like what we have seen today here in Baal, in one hour race so many things can happen, everything can change, if you go to the toilet you might miss something interesting of the race. And I think that such a show is what people demand and maybe not sitting in front of your screen to watch a bike race for five hours until that finally something interesting happens. Cyclocross is a young sport, and we can grow, definitelly we can grow.
And the USA, the land of Trek Bikes…
That is something that helps, it helps a lot.
Also the last season, the world title that you won in Lousville.
I think that it was the start of everything. For the very first time the Wolrd Championships were being held in another continent, US was the country and I think that they saw that cyclocross is something really special. And it was a great race to promote our sport, there, there it was emotion until the last lap.
At the beginning of this season I went back to Vegas with the aim of promoting cyclocross, and on that time, already as World champion. So all these things help to develope cyclocross at all levels and I am happy for being part of that and helping my sport.
Sven, how did it go with the new bike today, the new Trek Boone? As far as I know you could only tested it for just a few days.
Yeah, and always on the road. I’ve never trained with it on the woods or in the cyclocross track. So I was nervous, but the bike was really well and I’ve had no problems with it, it was fine on every corner, I jumped the obstacles, it was fine on the downhill section… Definitely it’s a good start with the new bike.
And from now on, are you going to race only with disc brakes?
No. When there is a fast race and you don’t need to brake that much I will race with the cantilever brakes bike. The reason is that the cantilever bike is still lighter than the disc brakes one. For the most demanding courses, with very technical sectors and tricky downhills, I will use the disc brakes bike. And well, It’s great that I have the possibility for every race to choose the bike that I want to ride with.
©Cobbles&Hills
What about the new project of the Sven Nys Cycling Center here in Baal?
It is under construction and development, starting it with the today’s race on the track. In principle it should be finished and working when I finish my racing career. We are going to build a house on the top of the hill, a permament cyclocross track where the young kids, but also a mountain bike track, bmx, trial bikes. And also conceived for the tourists, with a cyclocross museum, a cantina where parents can wait while the kids are training. It’s going to be really nice and I hope that it works out once that I am done with racing.
Therefore, is that possible that you focus on this project when you finish your racing career?
No doubt about it, that’s what I want to do. I have many other ideas and we will see what happens, but this project is the main idea, a project within the sport and I do have a lot of experience about cyclocross and to transmit that to the young kinds… that’s what I want to do.
Talking about rookies and young talents, who do you think that are the upcoming future on the ciclocross scene?
Wout Van Aert and Mathieu Van der Poel. Both of them are really strong and the are very talented, and I think that they are growing up quite fast. In the next years you are going to see them on the top level. That’s a good thing for the sport, new people and names. And it’s also a good thing that there are new people from out of Belgium, like Van der Poel. Let’s hope that he keep on racing cyclocross… his father Adri was a race cyclist so let’s see what happens. But well, we also have Lars van der Haar, UCI ranking leader, World Cup leader, third place at the last World Championship,… he’s also a young guy that can help to develope and promote this sport.
Nevertheless Lars Van der Haar is signning now with a road team. As it happened to Lars Boom or Stybar by switching into road racing, what do you think about this movements?, maybe a threat for cyclocross?
In the case of Lars I don’t think so, he is going to race only cyclocross and he just will prepare himself on the road with the road team to be ready for the winter. And if there is interest from road teams, like the Quick Step with Stybar, that’s not bad, he’s still doing some races and it’s a good thing that there are more teams racing cyclocross. This sport is a small world but if you have more teams it just looks bigger. When you have eight riders or more from the same team, I don’t think that it’s a nice thing in such an small world.
It’s like a monopoly…
Right, that’s the reason why I believe that is better if we have more teams.
Regarding to your trainning plan this season, have you gone to Mallorca from time to time as in previous seasons?
Yes, always, I go there every year. I think that I stay there for about ten or twelve weeks every year. I have an apartment in Mallorca so I can go whenever I want.
But the decission of training there, does it depends on certain moments of the seasons, specific targets?
Indeed. For example, if I think that there are some races on which I can’t focus or compete at my best, than I might travel to Mallorca, I train there and I put the focus at hundred per cent into other goals. I was there on December and I may come back on January to get ready for the Worlds.
From now onwards, with the new project with Trek, how do you plan the off season, from March to September?, are you changing your usual planning?
Definetely I will go a few times to the US for promoting and marketing reasons. We want to expand cyclocross there. They also have the Trek World show and I will stay there a few days to promote the bike, and also with the road guys. I’m gonna do more races in the US in the beginning of September. Trek has its own race in Madison, where I am going to race. And after that we will see, if they have another proposal maybe we can do something else.
And for the training… from May to September I will take part on some mountain bike races and some road races. Nothing changes on this sense, same as last years.
On last week, you achieved a nice milestone, 350 victories since you started your professional career. Do you have a personal goal of victories or record?
That was nice but no, it’s not that I want to beat some records. I try to win every week, every race and to develope my sport. And let’s see what happens at the end of my career and how many victories I have. So far I am very happy with what I have achieved.
Note: Cobbles&Hills and Enrique Abelleira would like to thank Sven Nys for his time, to Benny and also to the Trek Bikes and team members at Baal.