“10 men can win here”: Paul Herygers sees a European Championship course “for the average citizen”

An important appointment awaits today with the European Cyclo-Cross Championships in Pontevedra. It is a new course for many, so Paul Herygers explored the circuit on foot. His finding? “It’s not as specific as the Koppenberg.”

“I think it’s a chic course,” Paul Herygers is clear about the circuit in Pontevedra on which the European cyclo-cross championships will soon be held.

“I don’t participate in the talk that goes around that it is too easy or that they could get more out of it. It is a course for ordinary citizens, 10 people can win here. And in the end only one can win.”

There is a sandbox on the course, but according to Herygers this will not cause major differences. “It will be the most difficult for the first person to cross it. In between the crosses, a tractor will no longer drive over it, so it will be a piece of cake.”

This is a normal cross with the European jersey as the stakes.

Paul Herygers

So the sandbox will not be crucial, but where can a difference be made?

“Some technique is needed at a certain point and there are also passages in the nature reserve that are very narrow. But the riders will have to determine the cross themselves. Are they going to use team tactics? Are they going to play the country game? That will be an important point something to look forward to. There is a very steep section at the end, where you can still push yourself a bit.”

“But I can’t imagine that there will be many of them there if they pull out all the stops. It will be an exciting cross because it is a course for so many crossers. It is not as specific as the Koppenberg or Beringen. This is an ordinary cross with the European jersey as the stakes.”

With your favorite?

“We shouldn’t put names on it. But a lot of Belgians and a few Dutch, we will have to make do with that.”