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Racing's back!
The 2021 XCO season kicks off this weekend in Albstadt with the short track qualifier today. Looks like it might be a wet one, but the main races on Sunday should hopefully be dry (unlike last year).
Coverage, as usual, courtesy of RedBull TV.
Pretty excited to see racing back, and so many questions to be answered:
= Will it be as random as last year (or will training regimes have settled into the new norm)
= Can Evie Richards make another step forwards and translate her short track successes of last year to the XCO distance
= Can Tom Pidcock give VDP a run for his money, and can Nino stick with them for yet another year
Lots to play for, including fighting for more Olympic places..
Kick off 16:20 today.. bring it on! 😎
I thought it was 3:20 so now i can have an extra pint when i head to West Berks Brewery later.... nice one.
MVDP got to be a contender, not sure Nino quite has the oomph in the shorter ones...
Pidcock coming from WAY to far back to influence the front today i'm afraid.
Pidcock not in the short track on my understanding - ranking too low.
He aims to get into the top level this sunday, to enable him to compete in the next short track, and from there get a good grid position.
Im wondering if Emily Batty will be able to come back to the form she had a couple of years ago. She was 2nd / 3rd for a whole season, then seemed to go backwards. Now on her own team with a new bike will she improve ?
I see Annie Last is riding, last time it was wet and horrible she actually won a race. So hopefully she has brought some mud tyre and can pull off another great performance.
As for the men's, well it should be a close race, now Nino may not be the favourite and there are a few worthy riders snapping at his heels.
Just jumped onto Red Bull TV to watch this - go Evie Richards!
Not the most inspiring of courses technically, but some serious fitness on show!
It was a shame to hear Malene Degn has tested positive for Covid.
Evie disappointed, especially as she was my lead rider in pinkbike fantasy xc.
VdP is just a ridiculous athlete though isn't he. Just bonkers that boy.
Interesting couple of races.. Indergand did well to hang in there for 2nd (although the field didn't want to sort itself out in pursuit for a while) and a good showing from Annie Last in 3rd.
Wouldn't bet against VdP for the main event.. half the time he looks like he's just toying with the field and can steam away at will at any point (like Nino used to do 4 or 5 years ago).
Oh, and the Bike Ahead carbon 6 spoke wheels on Anne Terpstra's Ghost bike looked fly!
Great result for Annie Last. Seems harsh she is a privateer this year when she can ride like that. I hope she has a good season and goes to the Olympics. I'm fans of Isla and Evie as well but they'll still be riding in 2024. Should make for an exciting few weekends.
Confidence personified
That clip of MVdP is amazing!
It's almost the same as me at a race start except I haven't got rollers and am too full of nerves to do any warm up! Which looks like the exact opposite to MVdP!
Fingers crossed that Evie Richards and Isla Short(obviously short track not Isla's favourite) have better races on Sunday. The climbing should be right up Isla's street.
Anyone know what happened to Evie? That’s a magnificent disappointment compare to her previous rounds. The few expressions on her face I saw showed she was trying hard, yet out the back.
Perhaps she was saving herself for the big race on Sunday.
Pidcock did an amazing job today!!
Incredible ride and got himself a start in the Short Track for next week too.
I’ve only really been interested in the women’s race, the last few years, so it’s good to have some new interest in the men’s.
The men's race was surprisingly the more interesting, a truly magnificent race.
Does anyone know if it's possible for Tom Pidcock to actually qualify for the Olympics? Britain is sadly far down the rankings at the moment and if I was a country that had a space that I wasn't going to use I am not sure tactically I not sure give it up for fear of Tom Pidcock getting a start.
Does anyone know if it’s possible for Tom Pidcock to actually qualify for the Olympics? Britain is sadly far down the rankings at the moment and if I was a country that had a space that I wasn’t going to use I am not sure tactically I not sure give it up for fear of Tom Pidcock getting a start.
This. Warner indicated on the commentary that (due to BC's neglect of anything that isn't track) the British team was unlikely to qualify anyone for XC, seemed to say that if others' results went their way there's a possibility.
Seems odd that Pidcock would go to all this trouble if there's no chance of qualification, or maybe he's just doing it for fun, which is quite possible I suppose.
Either way - it was an amazing ride by Pidcock today, would be great to see him, VdP, Schurter and the rest on the start line in Japan.
Anyone know what bike Pidcock rides? It seemed to be unbranded.
Anyone know what bike Pidcock rides? It seemed to be unbranded.
Blacked out BMC 2 Stroke.
Anyway, I did some twitter searching on the qualification thing. Inconclusive but there is this tweet:
It's looking a long shot for him to qualify - but there is always 2024, providing he and Ineos are happy for that. However, as already said, it's a result of BC's obsession with going round in circles.....
Great racing this weekend, should be a interseting season. Pidcock was super impressive, especially considering that in his post race interview said he had a slow puncture and he needed to stop to put more air in his tyre.
But is it all BC's fault that there is no Olympic qualification spot? I think it is more lack of talented riders wanting to race XC. Look at DH racing, multiple world Cup and world championship British riders over the years, these riders have managed to perform well at the top level without the input from BC.
If BC had thrown money at other british XC riders do you think that they would be top level international XC racers and would have qualified for this years Olympics? Apart from Pidcock, the last British male XC rider capable of performing on at a high international level was Liam Killeen, and there has been many years since where we haven't had riders of that calibre.
I wouldn't normally defend BC, as I'm not really their biggest fan, but I don't think the lack of top level XC racers is necessary all their fault.
However, as already said, it’s a result of BC’s obsession with going round in circles…..
Their strategy of putting money into a sport that would get most success and most gold medals worked without question though didn't. One shot at an XC medal or 10 at track medals...
Is it BC's fault yes and no. There is no reason why we couldn't have had money put into xc mountain biking just as for the track and road but...
Go back to the 1990's we pretty much just had Chris Boardman for track and road where as we had Tim Gould, Barrie Clarke, Tim Davies, David Baker, Nick Criag, Chris Young, Caroline Alexander all who placed in the top ten at least at world cups if not better/winning them and then a hold host of talent behind them Tracy Brunger, Ian Cuthbertson, Allan Gunner, Andrew Wright, Sam Humphreys, Mathew Guy etc.
But around the mid 90's suddenly we weren't doing so well at mountain biking and sadly it was the likes of Miguel Martinez, Christophe Dupouey, Filip Meirhaeghe and the "Canadian Mafia" (Roland Green, Hesjedal, Chris Sheppard, and Seamus McGrath) who used "an extra boost" put the uk riders out of the rankings and jobs. Had drug use stayed out of mountain biking for longer I suspect that we would still be in a good position. Plus money in cycling in the uk started to be focused more towards the road with crit racing being on TV and in media, thus a lot of the younger riders went to the road to earn a living. Or into downhill. All of the above could be said for American xc as well, they too are only just recovering after the "doped years".
Xc just went into obscurity for ages in the uk and still hardly gets any coverage even in UK MTB media. And maybe Liam Killen had a bit more luck at the Olympics things would have been different, he was so close with bad luck twice (I think), thus the BBC hardly mentioned him.
BC could have chosen XC over the track (then road) but it's much more controllable and easier to take athletes from other sports and teach them to ride the track than an xc mtb course. Which they did and then success breed success.
It is sad that there hasn't been some focus on mtb as there is a very strong possibility that a medal winning athlete will not go to the Olympics. They probably should have given it a bit of weight but there are historical elements which has led it to not being a focus sadly.
Good women's race in some challenging conditions.. Lecomte looking strong at the moment and a good showing by Evie Richards for a podium place.
Looks like it was drying up so hopefully less walking on the climbs for the men's race this afternoon.
Was a good race and happy for Evie Richards, felt sorry for Kate Courtney with punctures. Looks like it was drying out nicely for the men's race.
I don't know what it is with Loana Lecomte and giggling when she talks, whether it's nerve's, happiness, or shock of winning all or three.
♂️ 🚀
Pidcock smashed it out of the park.. was waiting for VDP to mount a late surge but it just didn't come.
KaBooooooooM 🇬🇧
I was at a conference where one of the UK Sport people talked about how they examined each of the Olympic sports and focussed funding on those where there was a higher level of sports science investment would improve medal prospects. It isn’t by chance that rowing, sailing and track cycling gets the most funding or won more medals. There are two many uncontrollable variables to make XCO by comparison a ‘safe’ bet - course, track conditions, weather plus on the chance you might have an exceptional talent in your ranks. Also, where are the coaches and clubs generating a ‘pipeline’ of talent? You can’t spend a million quid over 4 years to then find you’ve pinned all your hopes on one rider.
Firstly I understand that we have one female XCO place for the Olympics. Do we now know whose going?
The BC thing is can of worms. The lottery money follows the medals. These are only 2 mountain biking medals on offer. There are 18 on the track. The maths is stacked against XCO
A Google suggests that the selection for the Olympics is by a panel
I don't think anyone expects BC to have a track style XCO squad and support team, but it wouldn't be unreasonable to have a minimum number of people being sent to high ranking events (or even just allowed to enter) so we at least qualified for an Olympic place or two.
The "enter races to get national places" thing is nothing new - when my Mrs raced the 95 worlds, the one stipulation was please finish the race as it could influence allocation for 96 (the first Olympic year). Just had a flashback to watching commentator Bart winning the men's race that year in Germany 🙂
Pidcock may also be the exception and if BC had spend the millions onXC instead of track they still may not have got one gold against the best XC racers of the time. They was an opportunity in track against the other countries based on how they were doing, what strategies they had, how much backing etc,. It was proven to be a very good strategy by UK and worked brilliantly but other countries are now catching up and the time is pretty much over.
I don't think Pidcock would care, as long as he got a kit and a flight 🙂 The rest i'm sure INEOS and personal sponsors would sort out for him. But would certainly be nice if he went as you'd be struggling to see him off the podium really.
He's going to be hard to keep off the podium; he ticks all the boxes - he's light, has very good power, and he seems technically good; when you've got multiple climbs, he's going to ride away. MvdP beat everybody he beat at the same venue in 2019....but he simply can't beat a lightweight climber.
It's a similar story in the women's; Lecomte is very similar; very light, and technically excellent.
However, the OG are a few months away, things can possibly change.
I wonder if Pinarello are thinking about if they should get designing a XCO MTB??
Tom P is first GB rider to win a men’s elite race in 25 years and I can see no substantive coverage of that on UK mtb websites - even STW bills it as one step below raphas new clothing in their dropping in article. Seems to be this should be more of a cause celebre! Suprising how little passion seems to exist. Or have I missed something?? Maybe Hannah is working on an exclusive interview as we speak.
It is because XC is boring isn't it, or that is what a lot of people think. A lot of people on this very forum, an MTB forum no less, think XC racing is boring!
It is because XC is boring isn’t it, or that is what a lot of people think. A lot of people on this very forum, an MTB forum no less, think XC racing is boring!
It was in the past, and like many outdoor sports it suffers from difficulty in making it look interesting on film.
The last few years I've probably looked forward to them more than the DH, from a couch spectator point of view.
Anyone thinking its boring should take an hour and a half to watch the Nove Mesto mens* race from this weekend.
*no sexism intended, this year the mens has been more fun. A few years back it was the women putting on a spectacle of lead changes and drama every race.
Anyone thinking its boring should take an hour and a half to watch the Nove Mesto mens* race from this weekend.
I would rather watch the short track, YouTube has ruined my attention span.
I think the modern XCO races have been pretty good; we've seen some fabulous races over the last 4-5 years. Add in the Friday evening Short track, it's looking good. My only complaint would be the number of World Cups; 6-7 is nowhere near enough. To me, that suggests the hosting fee is too much - and needs to be addressed.
I'd also say that, Red Bull do a good job of covering it; in fact, for years I hoped we'd see RB get the Cyclocross World Cup - and for one season they did - and it was immediately far superior to what we previously had. Sadly, last season, it went to GCN/Eurosport - and the coverage started with minutes to go, while they're on the start line.
As for the lack of coverage from MTB UK sites, one assumes XC isn't 'rad' or trendy. It's all about DH, Enduro and how many skills you can perform at a bike park skill centre.
I did see a comment on Twitter from Dan Jarvis regarding all the sudden interest in XCO because of Pidcock - "where have you been all these years?" I'd say that's down to the majority of cycling journalists being old school - and most definitely road only.
And this very forum has more comments on the Giro than the XCO World Cup......
Has anyone got that amazing gif of everyone franticly warming up on rollers and MVDP just chilling on his top tube?
And this very forum has more comments on the Giro than the XCO World Cup……
That's because it's full of roadies...
Along with Giro being on mainstream TV too.
I’ve thought that the women’s XC has been great for the last few years. Just hoping Lecomte doesn’t become too dominant as the constant lead changes were what made it so watchable.
If digging deeper on rider stats and results is interesting to you, Brujula bike put up this good article for what appears to be a relatively recent database (mtbdata.com):
https://www.brujulabike.com/analysis-results-mountainbike-mtbdata/