CX worlds *spoilers

specialgueststar
specialgueststar Posts: 3,418
edited February 2020 in Pro race
wow for Pidcock
1 VAN DER POEL Mathieu NED 1'08'52
2 PIDCOCK Thomas GBR + 1'20
3 AERTS Toon BEL + 1'45
4 VAN AERT Wout BEL + 2'04

Comments

  • m.r.m.
    m.r.m. Posts: 3,473
    MvdP godlike per usual. Strong comeback for WVA.
    PTP Champion 2019, 2022 & 2023
  • jimmythecuckoo
    jimmythecuckoo Posts: 4,718
    Good race despite the uninspiring setting.

    http://fendrieneu.home.blog
    My blog and pod...
    Beers of Belgium Cycling Club UK
  • gsk82
    gsk82 Posts: 3,599
    jimmythecuckoo said:

    Good race despite the uninspiring setting.

    i think the biggest problem cross faces is the number of races that look like a school sports day
    "Unfortunately these days a lot of people don’t understand the real quality of a bike" Ernesto Colnago
  • rick_chasey
    rick_chasey Posts: 75,661
    gsk82 said:

    jimmythecuckoo said:

    Good race despite the uninspiring setting.

    i think the biggest problem cross faces is the number of races that look like a school sports day
    It feels exceptionally contrived.
    _
  • andyrac
    andyrac Posts: 1,197
    gsk82 said:

    jimmythecuckoo said:

    Good race despite the uninspiring setting.

    i think the biggest problem cross faces is the number of races that look like a school sports day
    Much as I'm a fan of the sport - far too many races are held on flat, farmers fields/ parks; most of which are pretty uninspiring. The only elevation changes tend to be from man made bridges, as was the case over the weekend.
    I'd like to see more courses with natural elevation changes, and maybe more hilly venues.
    All Road/ Gravel: tbcWinter: tbcMTB: tbcRoad: tbc"Look at the time...." "he's fallen like an old lady on a cruise ship..."
  • andyp
    andyp Posts: 10,549
    Given the heartlands of the sport are in Flanders, what do you expect the courses to look like?
  • gsk82
    gsk82 Posts: 3,599
    edited February 2020
    andyp said:

    Given the heartlands of the sport are in Flanders, what do you expect the courses to look like?

    They could just do crits based on the famous cobbles. Like i imagine koppenbergcross is. I've never seen it.
    "Unfortunately these days a lot of people don’t understand the real quality of a bike" Ernesto Colnago
  • rick_chasey
    rick_chasey Posts: 75,661
    It's a shame they're not end-to-end, but then presumably most of the revenue comes from ticket sales.
    _
  • webboo
    webboo Posts: 6,087
    Wont Van Aert won the DVV in Lille today beating the best of the rest as MVP wasn’t racing, he looked like he was getting back to his best.
  • pinno
    pinno Posts: 52,310
    Tabor, Czech Republic finals come to mind - not such a 'contrived course'.
    MvdP has one helluva career in front of him if all goes well.
    Primed for a long string of classics.
    Perhaps Pidcock sees an opening now?
    seanoconn - gruagach craic!
  • jct1993
    jct1993 Posts: 9
    Tom rode an incredible race. Just like last year in the u23 - used his noggin and stuck it to the Belgians big time. Note that he's still only 20
  • No_Ta_Doctor
    No_Ta_Doctor Posts: 14,651
    edited February 2020
    Surprised nobody has posted this yet, behind the scenes with Trinity riders Pidcock and Cameron Mason (8th in the u23)

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u2YRDTnjrFE
    Warning No formatter is installed for the format
  • pinno
    pinno Posts: 52,310
    Cheers for that NTD.
    Why did the Belgians get pride of place at the start line? Who decides the start position?
    seanoconn - gruagach craic!
  • gsk82
    gsk82 Posts: 3,599
    pinno said:

    Cheers for that NTD.
    Why did the Belgians get pride of place at the start line? Who decides the start position?

    Its linked to rankings or world cup points or something
    "Unfortunately these days a lot of people don’t understand the real quality of a bike" Ernesto Colnago
  • andyp
    andyp Posts: 10,549
    pinno said:

    Cheers for that NTD.
    Why did the Belgians get pride of place at the start line? Who decides the start position?

    It's based on the UCI rankings. Belgium have 5 riders in the top 8, all of whom were selected, hence why they dominated the front row.
  • bobmcstuff
    bobmcstuff Posts: 11,435
    No_Ta_Doctor said:

    Surprised nobody has posted this yet, behind the scenes with Trinity riders Pidcock and Cameron Mason (8th in the u23)

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u2YRDTnjrFE

    Awesome that, cheers
  • pinno
    pinno Posts: 52,310
    andyp said:

    pinno said:

    Cheers for that NTD.
    Why did the Belgians get pride of place at the start line? Who decides the start position?

    It's based on the UCI rankings. Belgium have 5 riders in the top 8, all of whom were selected, hence why they dominated the front row.
    A bit like massed starts in MTB racing. If you were in the form of your life and capable of winning it but sitting 6 rows back, the odds would be against you.
    But I don't know what any alternative would be.
    seanoconn - gruagach craic!
  • andyp
    andyp Posts: 10,549
    I think Wout Van Aert started on the third row and finished fourth, so it doesn't hugely handicap the lower ranked riders in the elite categories, especially given the relatively small size of the fields in those two races.
  • andyrac
    andyrac Posts: 1,197
    The grids for next seasons World Cup have been altered; it's seemingly complicated, but, as I understand it, one of the new regs is as follows;
    Riders ranked in the top 50 in MTB XC and/or Road get a slot on the 4th row, unless they're already ranked higher up.
    Presumably to attract riders who wouldn't bother as they'd start right at the back.
    All Road/ Gravel: tbcWinter: tbcMTB: tbcRoad: tbc"Look at the time...." "he's fallen like an old lady on a cruise ship..."
  • andyp
    andyp Posts: 10,549
    Interesting article in the mainstream press on Pidcock;

    https://www.theguardian.com/sport/blog/2020/feb/16/tom-pidcock-cyclo-cross
  • Mad_Malx
    Mad_Malx Posts: 5,182
    edited February 2020
    andyp said:

    Interesting article in the mainstream press on Pidcock;

    https://www.theguardian.com/sport/blog/2020/feb/16/tom-pidcock-cyclo-cross

    They couldn’t pass up a chance to shoehorn a (mech) doping smear into an otherwise interesting article. Why choose Canc when they could of gone with (the only known?) case, in CX?
  • andyrac
    andyrac Posts: 1,197
    edited February 2020
    They even had an article at the time of the Zolder World Champs about the mechanical doping;

    https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2016/jan/30/hidden-motor-bike-world-cyclo-cross-championships
    https://www.theguardian.com/sport/100-tours-100-tales/2016/feb/04/cyclocross-motorised-doping-beautiful-brutal-cycling
    All Road/ Gravel: tbcWinter: tbcMTB: tbcRoad: tbc"Look at the time...." "he's fallen like an old lady on a cruise ship..."

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