The 1979 IAAF World Cross Country Championships saw him attempt to win a second title and he held the lead briefly, before being overtaken by eventual winner John Treacy and ending up in fifth overall. Having entered as the national champion, he was the best of the Belgian team that year, which came fifth in the rankings. He retained his 10,000 m national title with a personal best run of 27:47.01 minutes. His career best came later that season in the IAAF Golden 10,000 m hosted at the Memorial Van Damme. Schots ran 27:41.34 minutes to place third behind Britain's Mike McLeod and Brendan Foster.