[Closed] Cross World Champs

Wasn't a fan of the course - but Worlds courses don't tend to be super technical, or have lots of climbs/descents. Think this is the third in a row which has been mainly flat, with a few bridges thrown in - and very little technical sections.

Agree about an earlier post about the commentary; makes you realise how good the Red Bull TV MTB coverage is, and Rob's enthusiastic commentary.
I get fed up of them going on about how great CX is for road racing.....

I thought the course was quite good, but I love sand riding, it’s a unique sensation and watching people do it well is so impressive. I thought they could have made some of the grass sections a bit wider, quite a bit seemed bang on 3m; reducing line choice and over-taking.

Whoever didn’t carpet the stairs before Saturday needs a bollocking. I don’t think that would get past a local league course inspection!

I love the regs. Carpet the stair for safety, but headlong down a 20% slope straight into deep sand - crack on! Not so much in the elites but in some of the other races if you looked beyond the camera subject into the background there were some mighty OTB moments!

Actually, I am sure that uci regs say you have to enter a sand section on the flat... although I guess there was a couple of metres Of compacted sand before the loose stuff 😂

Flat entry to sand is for artificial sand sections. Natural? Knock yourself out 🙂

Literally in some cases I suspect

I feel sorry for the mechanics who need to sort these bikes once they’ve been through the sand and seawater! 😳

Jet wash the hell out of them, throw away BB and jockey wheels after the race, sorted. Plus the vast majority of the SRAM riders seemed to be on AXS and the Shimano ones Di2 so at least there's no cables to bother about.

I thought the course was pretty good, yeah it played into the hands of those with mega power, but the way MVdP was riding the sand in the end was amazing, and the bridge at 21% was frankly brutal.

If you're brutally honest the overtaking opportunities are so few and far between the narrow course doesn't really matter as it gets so strung out by the disparity in ability between the top few and the rest of the field is amazing.

Slightly off topic, but for all the 'rivalry' between MvdP & WvA, I think he's got a 70% win record v Wout. However, there is a cyclist that he has a losing record against.....

A few years ago on the BBC Bespoke podcast he was called "the best cyclist you've never heard of; the one and only N1no.

Slightly off topic, but for all the ‘rivalry’ between MvdP & WvA, I think he’s got a 70% win record v Wout.

Yeah, although historically I think it's more even, WvA won three world champs in a row before MvdP started his current run?

Also arguably WvA still more succesful on road?

Unfortunate when a championship was decided by a puncture

Yes, but then arguably WvA only won Bieles because of the MVDP flats.

Re. the rivalry, I don't follow the cycling gossip to much, but it seems that they have a healthy respect for each other (contrast to the Pidcock - Iserbyt shit talking, squabbling dislike)

Yeah, although historically I think it’s more even, WvA won three world champs in a row before MvdP started his current run?

Also arguably WvA still more succesful on road?

VdP won it first and earliest though (2015).
On the road it's pretty even, one monument each, one classic each, but then it gets more difficult as VdP has been hoovering up semi-classics and smaller stages/races while WvA acts as super domestique/sprinter for Jumbo.

VdP won it first and earliest though (2015).

Aye true, I omitted that out of laziness. If we were talking pure CX terms I certainly wouldn't argue that it's honours even.

one monument each, one classic each

I'd still argue WvA edges it on the road if you consider TdF stages (out-sprinting sprinters, and was he not in virtual yellow until he skewered himself on that railing?) and results other than wins (2 podiums and a win at Strade Bianche? Lost Tour of Flanders by a hair's breadth to MvdP?).

I'll confess I'm a WvA fan-boi although I'm not actually sure why, I think he plays by the rules a bit more on the road so it's exciting but within the context of 'how it should be done' whereas MvdP's emergence on the road scene (that Amstel Gold win) has been described as 'playstation cycling' e.g. just riding faster than everyone else!

Personally I think it's great that we can even have such a discussion to compare two such outstanding riders. I made the point to someone the other day that if either had grown up in a different generation, they would have been 7x world CX champ by the age of 26.

Road is entirely subjective, I don't class Tour stage wins equal/higher to something like Brabantse Pijl but I know a lot of people would.
Flanders is the biggest race of the year for me so that edges MSR, but you're talking fractions of a percent.

Plus you can add in VdP's MTB results just for giggles!

I'd love to see the data files for either on that course - some of the power outputs must have been immense. There was an analysis of one of the top women CX riders' races a year or two ago and the figures were just crazy, normalise power was basically FTP but there were huge surges in amongst that and very little recovery.

Interesting to see just how significant even tiny mistakes were - VdP dabbed once in the sand on an early lap and WvA was suddenly another three or four seconds ahead. I was a bit surprised at VdP's OTB on the grass - he seemed to take a completely different line, with a highly visible rut, to every other lap.

Looks like a good course for Van der Poel. If he gets any sort of gap on Van Aert the race is over. Not sure if Pidcock is good enough in the sand to beat Vanthourenhout or Toon Aerts for third.

This comment aged like fine wine...

Watching them come down the ramp into the sand there didn't look to be any transition but the camera shot of them going up the ramp showed there was 15 foot of solid flat ground before the sand.

wipperman95
Free Member

Slightly off topic, but for all the ‘rivalry’ between MvdP & WvA, I think he’s got a 70% win record v Wout. However, there is a cyclist that he has a losing record against…..

A few years ago on the BBC Bespoke podcast he was called “the best cyclist you’ve never heard of; the one and only N1no.

The test of that is who you would bet on at the Olympics. (It's MVDP BTW)

MVDP is losing to Nino as the first year he was starting on the back row, lapping at the same speed as the leaders while passing 20 riders a lap, then the subsequent year he's coming into the first world cups he starts as training races to get back up to speed on a MTB.

MVDP is clearly better than WVA.😄😄..was it the Bink Bank Tour last year where he just rode away from the bunch solo with 50km to take the stage and overall, just ****ing incredible. And he just looks sooooo much better on a bike, the smoothness of his cross riding is a joy to watch.

Actually, I am sure that uci regs say you have to enter a sand section on the flat… although I guess there was a couple of metres Of compacted sand before the loose stuff
I read that for the Belgium championships a few years ago the transition was direct from the bridge into the sand which apparently produced absolute carnage.

I’d love to see the data files for either on that course – some of the power outputs must have been immense.
GCN pointed towards a data analysis website about the race which, though didn't talk about power, said that WvA was the fastest in the sand sections, MvDP was fastest in the non technical sections and Pidcock was the fastest over the bridge and technical sections.

Today's race has snow and sand!!!

Superb womens race!

Yes, cracking race

My favourite won too!!

Here's the analysis for all the riders at each of the sections:-

https://twitter.com/velofacts/status/1356008778181861376/photo/1

My thoughts are that Mathieu rode a pretty flawless race bar that rut incident - and think even without the puncture for Wout, would have won (I'd say karmic that one given that we were in Bieles and, watching him close up, I feel he was in another class on that course but the 5 punctures to Wout's 1 decided that one)

Also think Mathieu learnt from the last race before World's where he blew hhis engine trying to bridge back up to Wout after he'd punctured - whereas Wout did completely blow his engine chasing back in this race - so maybe that previous race was a bit of a short sharp reminder for MVDP.

But that was some ride from Tom Pidcock - fastest or second fastest everywhere except the beach where he lost 1.44 - so my prediction is he wins World Champs in Tabor 🙂

Great course where strongest riders won in each category - and the 3 memorable moments for me were:-

Fem Van Empol slowing down to check her pulse last lap - very cool at 18

Annemarie Wurst riding a blinder - great to see her back up pushing for the win

And Tom getting a quick reminder that there's no mates in a race when he got the shoulder barge from Wout first bend Lap 1

Looking forward to next year.

whereas Wout did completely blow his engine chasing back in this race

You could see the moment he cracked, up till then he'd been flawless in the sand!

Krawatencross? Where are you watching todays race in UK - is there a replay?

GCN racepass

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Great racing - bet their toes are still frozen solid

Interesting how much faster Sweek is now. He must be pissed off that he didn't have the same form at the WC

Where are you watching todays race in UK

Eurosport player

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Make sure you watch the moments race, itsca cracker