Have you ever dreamed of riding an iconic Belgian cyclocross course and getting some tips from a Sven Nys mechanic? Cyclocross Magazine spent a week in Flanders, Northern Belgium, this summer, including a day at the Sven Nys Cycling Center in Baal, within the municipality of Tremelo, Belgium. This is the site of the GP Sven Nys Baal.
Following Tony de Haes around the Sven Nys Cycling Center. C. Lee/Cyclocross Magazine
In Part One of our trip to Flanders, we rode the Eddy Merckx Cycling Route and Sven Nys Cycling Route through central Flanders outside of Leuven, the host city of the 2024 UCI Gravel World Championships and the 2021 UCI Road Race World Championships.
The Sven Nys Cycling Center was created after Sven Nys retired from cyclocross in 2016 at the site of the Grand Prix Sven Nys cyclocross race in Baal, Tremelo, Belgium. The race, started by the Sven Nys fan club, has been held every January 1 since 2000. Sven Nys won his namesake race 12 out of the 16 times he raced. The race course in Baal, Nys’ hometown, is atop a hill called the Balenberg. After Nys retired in 2016, the Sven Nys Cycling Center was built on the Balenberg in partnership with Trek Bicycles.
Originally, the Center was a museum and cafe adjacent to the race course and surrounding trails. The Center and the land at Balenberg are a public/private joint venture and are staffed by a rotation of community members. Earlier this year, the center reopened after a remodel that added a locker room with showers, a bike wash station, an updated restaurant, and a multi-purpose conference center as part of the museum.
The GP Sven Nys Course winds around the Cycling Center. C. Lee/Cyclocross Magazine
Tony de Haes hosted me at the Sven Nys Cycling Center. He worked as a mechanic for Sven Nys from 2009 to 2016, and was a mechanic for the Belgian National Team for the 2012 Olympics in London. Since then, de Haes owns and operates BikeService Balenberg, which offers Trek bike rentals, workshops, repairs, and trips. In conjunction with the Sven Nys Cycling Center, he and his team teach clinics in off-road cycling and offer the appropriate Trek bikes for rent. He also founded and runs the Bike Repair Academy, a comprehensive online bicycle mechanic’s course for beginners and advanced mechanics alike.
Before the trip, I sent my measurements and preferred bike size. The loaner bike is a Trek Aluminum Checkpoint with SRAM Apex 12-speed mechanical with a 40 X 44 low gear and 42mm tubeless Bontrager Gr2 Team Issue tires. Even in the land of Euro 33mm cyclocross tire restrictions, is Nys warming up to the benefits of higher-volume rubber in cyclocross?
Aluminum Trek Checkpoint with SRAM Apex. C. Lee/Cyclocross Magazine
I asked what pressure was in the tires and mentioned I am notorious for riding low pressure. Tony said, “Yeah, me too”. My tires were 1.8 bar (26 psi), not that low, but maybe we’d get rowdy on the stairs or barriers. As we set out through the parking lot, he pointed out the bottle filling station and the sunscreen dispenser.
A sunscreen dispenser in the parking lot of the Sven Nys Cycling Center. C. Lee/Cyclocross Magazine
Cyclocross Workshop
The morning schedule was a one-on-one cyclocross workshop with Tony de Haes. This is a cyclocross clinic like we have in the U.S. We practiced turns wide and tight, left and right. We linked turns in a slalom in both directions, slightly uphill, then down, then at a faster speed. The Cycling Center has a large field in the middle of the cyclocross course, where the spectators would stand. We practiced skills on a small obstacle course, including the slalom, a few logs to ride over, and a teeter-totter.
We sessioned a pump track on the other side of the property. From there, we rode ascents, discussing where to shift for maximum speed and recovery at the top. During descents, we practiced modulating each brake while in or approaching a turn. Our next drill was riding off-cambers in both directions on progressively steeper slopes.
In the middle of summer, the course is bone-dry. As cyclocross racers know, remaining flexible with techniques for changing conditions is necessary, so basic skills practice is always beneficial. Those off-cambers will be tricky in muddy conditions, and I’d probably be begging for 33mm mud tires.
The Step-Through is Dead (Just Don’t Tell the GOAT)
Of course, dismounting and remounting are important for cyclocross barriers, run-ups, extensive muddy sections, and bike exchanges. Tony de Haes demonstrated the standard left-side dismount with “suitcase” carry over the barrier. De Haes’ method of shoulder portage is with his arm around the headtube. I prefer under the downtube even if my arm will be muddier.
I asked if the step-through was taught. He looked at me a bit quizzically as I demonstrated the technique. His answer is no. The risk level is too high, and the amount of time saved is negligible. The step-through technique is not taught at the Sven Nys Cycling Center. You’ll still see Marianne Vos step-through, and when it’s a high-speed barrier, CXM’s Andrew Yee.
We practiced our technique at the famous stairs under the GP Sven Nys course flyover. This stairway is where Sven Nys himself demonstrated how to ride up. His son has also followed the same path, famously, with even more style.
GP Sven Nys
The GP Sven Nys is part of the X2O Badkammers Trofee series and takes place every January 1. The course winds around the Sven Nys Cycling Center and varies slightly from year to year. Tony de Haes took me around the course while pointing out how it has changed over the past 25 years. Permanent wooden railings outline most of the course. Sections of the course change direction and open sections of the course vary, perhaps with an added flyover or route around the spectator tent.
A spectator’s view of the permanent flyover. The approach is right-to-left from this perspective and drops into a fast downhill. C. Lee/Cyclocross Magazine
De Haes pointed out areas that are notoriously muddy in winter conditions, and where the best lines will likely be. Puck Pieterse made a POV course pre-view video for 2025. Having ridden the course, I now have a better appreciation and perspective when watching her video.
We rode a straight section with three small tabletop humps. The race’s usual direction is a moderate downhill approach where you can gain speed, and with each hump, you gain more. Despite de Haes’ direction to come in slowly at first, I came into the tabletops a bit hot, and I was in the air by the third hump and was lucky to have a good landing. This is where Tom Pidcock famously crashed and lost the race during the bell lap in 2023. I have more sympathy for him now, and perhaps, a little more in common with the former World Champ!
I wanted to do hot laps of the course, but the weather was hot, and we had more riding to do in the afternoon.
Belgian Gravel
Tony de Haes took me on a short gravel ride around Tremelo/Baal. These courses are at the Sven Nys Cycling Center, with QR codes for GPS maps, or cards printed with the courses for the less tech-savvy. I stayed on the borrowed Trek Checkpoint, but de Haes switched to his personal “gravel bike.” It is a 2020 Trek Crockett with 40mm tires. He runs an enormous 48-tooth chainring with an 11-34 cassette.
The ride is similar to something I might take in my locale. Starting from the center, we rode on pavement before turning onto a forest trail that winds narrowly through trees and brush with a few fallen branches to hop over. The trail is pancake flat. The single track becomes a wide dirt path, then back onto pavement before going between buildings onto another dirt path.
Dirt paths through the forests around Tremelo. C. Lee/Cyclocross Magazine
We rode by the site of Rock Werchter, the largest music festival in Europe, due to take place a couple of weeks after my visit. The path takes us along the Dijle River and through small neighborhoods. We dove between cornstalks to climb a few short single-track pitches before descending back to crushed gravel roads. At 25 km, we climbed less than 900 feet. The gravel and dirt were smooth and packed. When I remarked on the lack of rocks on the trails, Tony de Haes says, “We have no stones.”
Riding gravel along the Dijle around Tremelo and Baal. C. Lee/Cyclocross Magazine
Arriving back at the Sven Nys Center, the mountain bike trails have short, steep climbs and descents with minor ruts and a bit of a loose surface in the summer dryness. There are no stones.
Museum of Cyclocross and Belgian Cycling
The Sven Nys Center is a museum of cyclocross with a rotating exhibit of Belgian cycling stars. Thibau Nys, Remco Evenepoel, and Marianne Vos are featured now. Thibau wore versions of Sven Nys’ cyclocross suits cut and sewn to size by his grandmother. Thibau is the current 2024-2025 Belgian Cyclocross Champion and European Cyclocross Champion.
Sven Nys’ CX suits cut and sewn to fit by Thibau Nys’ grandmother. © C. Lee/Cyclocross Magazine
On another wall is the current Cyclocross World Champion Mathieu van der Poel’s speed suit. Van derPoel won GP Sven Nys 5 times, most recently in 2024.
Mathieu van der Poel’s jersey. C. Lee/Cyclocross Magazine
Around the Center, there are old cyclocross bikes and jerseys of off-road, mostly cyclocross stars, through the ages.
Part of a display of European Off-Road Legends. C. Lee/Cyclocross Magazine
Tony de Haes on Cyclocross, Tires and Olympics
Tony de Haes started racing cyclocross as an amateur late in life. I can relate to this. His connection to professional cyclocross is as a mechanic and with his new endeavors, he still has his hand on the pulse of European professional cyclocross.
Tony de Haes. C. Lee/Cyclocross Magazine
During lunch, I had a casual conversation about the state and future of cyclocross. Of interest was the discussion of tires. I asked if he thought the 33mm UCI tire width would be lifted. Road cycling has very generous tire restrictions, ending up around 40mm, which probably won’t limit racers for any event except perhaps the cobbled classics. Notably, SD-Worx-Protime used 35mm tires in the 2025 edition of Paris-Roubaix. I also mentioned that outside UCI-sanctioned cyclocross races, USAC has no restrictions beyond 38mm for age groupers at Nationals. De Haes was unsure what the future held for European cyclocross, but was confident that modified tire width restrictions would be considered.
Tubular tires are still de rigueur for cyclocross racing in Europe. I asked de Haes if he sees more racers training on tubeless clinchers and if he knows anyone who uses them for cyclocross racing. I reminded him that Zoe Backsteadt won the U23 World Cyclocross Championship with Schwalbe Tubeless clinchers. According to de Haes, they experimented with tubeless clincher tires for cyclocross at the Sven Nys Cycling Center. Most riders were not confident with the tire handling at 1.2-1.5 bar (17-22 psi) pressure, which is common for some cyclocross conditions. He also said there is greater security in riding to the pit after a puncture on a well-glued tubular. That said, he sees more riders training on tubeless clinchers with their cyclocross bikes, a crossover from the almost-universal use of tubeless on gravel bikes.
I mentioned the use of tire inserts for security and ride flat capability, and I argued for the easy tire changes compared to changing a tubular tire with its complicated gluing process. We discussed the complication of tire removal with an insert in the tire, but though I agreed a liner adds complexity, it is not that hard. Inserts do leave a lot to consider on a remote gravel ride, as I concluded in Part 4 of the CXMagazine insert series. For cyclocross, tubeless clinchers have promise with or without an insert, and de Haes agrees that the sport may evolve to that.
Regarding Cyclocross as an Olympic sport, de Haes was less certain. I asked if he was privy to any news, or if he knew if Sven Nys had any influence in that matter. He did not admit to knowing either way.
Gallery: 42 Years of Cyclocross Technology
Roland Liboton’s 1982 Gios Torino. 49/44 Campagnolo chainset with a 6-speed 13-24 freewheel. C. Lee/Cyclocross Magazine
Notice the double thickness toe clip, especially for ‘cross. C. Lee/Cyclocross Magazine
The original benchmark, the Mafac cantilever. C. Lee/Cyclocross Magazine’
The venerable Suntour Barcon with cotton tape on the Gios Torino. C. Lee/Cyclocross Magazine
Paul Heryger’s 1994 Colnago-Alan aluminum 47/42 Suntour Superbe with 13-24 6-speed freewheel. C. Lee/Cyclocross Magazine
Shimano PD M-737 from 1990 on the 1994 Colnago-Alan. The original SPD pedal. C. Lee/Cyclocross Magazine
Niels Albert’s 2009 Stevens Carbon Cyclocross Team 46/42 Shimano Dura Ace 7800 with 12-28 10-speed cassette. C. Lee/Cyclocross Magazine
The TRP EuRo-x Magnesium, new in 2009. Does the design look familiar? C. Lee/Cyclocross Magazine
Sven Nys’ 2016 Trek Boone, still with cantilever brakes. 46/39 Dura Ace 9000 12-28 11-speed. C. Lee/Cyclocross Magazine
Thibau Nys’ 2024 Trek Boone. 48T SRAM Red AXS D1 10-33 XDr cassette. C. Lee/Cyclocross Magazine
The Verdict
If you come to Flanders, be sure to make a stop at the Sven Nys Cycling Center. See and touch some cyclocross memorabilia, rent a bike and ride the GP Sven Nys course, or the surrounding trails and gravel roads! The Sven Nys Cycling Center can be your hub for a couple of off-road adventures, and then you can shower, change, and relax with a meal and libation upstairs.
The Center is outside of Leuven, which is a half-hour train ride from Brussels Airport (BRU). From Leuven, the Sven Nys Cycling Center is a 25-minute taxi ride. There is no charge to enter the museum, gather ride information, and ride the course or trails. There is a small fee to use the showers or the bike wash station
The Sven Nys Academy operates camps for young cyclists (up to age 14) at the Sven Nys Cycling Center during the summer and school holidays.
More info: https://svennyscyclingcenter.be/
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