Zdeněk Stybar to race select December cyclocross dates
Three time world champion will start Zolder World Cup and other events before returning to the road
Zdeněk Stybar, three time cyclocross world champion turned full-time road racer, has announced he will return to cyclocross for select events this December.
“I am really looking forward to my return to cyclocross, a beautiful discipline that I love taking part in”, Štybar said. “It will be some really hard and competitive racing and hopefully I can have some good form and try to have some fun.”
Štybar will start several races through the post-Christmas Kerstperiode, 12 days of intense, near-daily racing known as the “Holy week” of Belgian cyclocross. The Deceuninck – Quick-Step rider’s cross calendar will begin with the Zolder World Cup on 26 December. Štybar is then scheduled for Loenhout on the 28th, Diegem on the 30th, and Baal on New Year’s Day.
The 33-year-old will use the block of racing as part of his training for the 2019 road season. Following the Baal race, Štybar will return to his Deceuninck – Quick-Step teammates for a January training camp in Calpe, Spain.
It’s not the first time the Czech rider has returned to what he describes as his “first love. ” Štybar has made several short cyclocross appearances since switching to the road in 2011. Often these stints cross racing ‘cross seem to produce better performances when he returns to race the road spring Classics.
Štybar first won UCI cyclocross world championships in 2010, when the event was held in his home nation of the Czech Republic. His earned a second world championship title the following year in Sankt Wendel, Germany. He continued to race an extensive cyclocross calendar through the 2011-2012 season before reducing his off-road appearances to try improve his early season Classics results.
Štybar won his third world championship title in 2014. After making a late decision to race, the Czech was on the start line in Hoogerheide, the Netherlands. An intense race-long battle played out between Štybar and Belgian star Sven Nys, with both looking to earn their third world championship.
