Glasgow Worlds 2023 *spoiler thread*
Comments
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Maybe they could introduce a cycling version of decathlon into the World Champs where riders get to do a bit of track, bit of road, bit of MTB, maybe some trials and that 'artistic cycling'.1
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How about games of bicycle polo instead of team time trials?2
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Bike Polo certainly deserves a place - loved playing it as a kid - long, long ago.0
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I think at the highest levels, it is very difficult to be the absolute best in two distinct disciplines during the same season, purely because even if one has the ability to be the best, one still has to race people of similar physiology / technique and if they focus all their time on one discipline they'll potentially win via "fine margins".No_Ta_Doctor said:
To quote Pidcock: "I don't have to choose, do I?"DeVlaeminck said:Ok does he have much to gain by giving up road so long as he can devote only a portion of his time to MTB and still win the big races ?
The problem is particularly pronounced in cycling because the Tour de France sits unchallenged at the top of the food chain as the event people want to win. So if you don't specialise at the Tour de France and aim to be at your absolute best for it, you'll certainly be up against other riders at the top of the ability food chain who do just that. And "Double peaking" in a season is quite hard anyway, even if the schedule theoretically allows for ideal preparation for more than one event in a season.
You can see the impact of not specialising quite well in triathlon. Those with the best past pedigree as track runners aren't necessarily the fastest runners in triathlon, as they have to spend so much time managing weaknesses in the other disciplines (typically swimming).
So I think to answer TP's question: "If you want to win the Tour then you do, unfortunately."0 -
The fact the cross and road seasons oppose makes it a lot harder - before the benefits of periodisation were understood riders did used to try and ride all year round didn't they, but it's super hard to do that these days when periodisation, tapering and peaking etc is so well understood.wallace_and_gromit said:
I think at the highest levels, it is very difficult to be the absolute best in two distinct disciplines during the same season, purely because even if one has the ability to be the best, one still has to race people of similar physiology / technique and if they focus all their time on one discipline they'll potentially win via "fine margins".No_Ta_Doctor said:
To quote Pidcock: "I don't have to choose, do I?"DeVlaeminck said:Ok does he have much to gain by giving up road so long as he can devote only a portion of his time to MTB and still win the big races ?
The problem is particularly pronounced in cycling because the Tour de France sits unchallenged at the top of the food chain as the event people want to win. So if you don't specialise at the Tour de France and aim to be at your absolute best for it, you'll certainly be up against other riders at the top of the ability food chain who do just that. And "Double peaking" in a season is quite hard anyway, even if the schedule theoretically allows for ideal preparation for more than one event in a season.
You can see the impact of not specialising quite well in triathlon. Those with the best past pedigree as track runners aren't necessarily the fastest runners in triathlon, as they have to spend so much time managing weaknesses in the other disciplines (typically swimming).
So I think to answer TP's question: "If you want to win the Tour then you do, unfortunately."0 -
Yes I guess I may do - it's at this point I have to confess to never having seen a MTB marathon.ddraver said:What you mean like a full on XC Marathon stage?
[Castle Donington Ladies FC - going up in '22]0 -
Victor Koretzky has been moaning about his 4th place in the XC and how he was robbed by the UCI, including given them the finger at the finish, they've fined him.
"It's not fair play at all, it's disgusting, there are no other words. It is as if I were going on the road and they let me go five kilometers ahead of the rest of the peloton. The effort I have to make at the start of the race is the one that I cannot make at the end of the race. It has reached a disgusting level. I think everyone sees the problem."BASI Nordic Ski Instructor
Instagramme0 -
And Geraint Thomas (identical age to Shurter except for a few days) is worth a LOT morewebboo said:
According to google Nico Schurter who has won everything in Mountain biking more times than anyone is worth 5 million, which is the same is Tom Pidcock.TheBigBean said:
So 15 years as a Mountainbike pro or 5 as a roadie.0 -
I read that not long after the race, which is lucky because the gestures he made as he was crossing the line looked like he was blaming the bike which would make Specialized a bit annoyed.davidof said:Victor Koretzky has been moaning about his 4th place in the XC and how he was robbed by the UCI, including given them the finger at the finish, they've fined him.
"It's not fair play at all, it's disgusting, there are no other words. It is as if I were going on the road and they let me go five kilometers ahead of the rest of the peloton. The effort I have to make at the start of the race is the one that I cannot make at the end of the race. It has reached a disgusting level. I think everyone sees the problem."
Didn't affect him on the XCC with the wider circuit where he got silver. Did he start in the row behind Pidcock, MVDP? They made it up there pretty quickly. Probably needs to blame Sarrou, Nino etc for going so hard for the 1st two laps for ruining his chances. Maybe there's a call for a longer start loop in these races.
I guess the problem is we want to see the best rider win, and as much as it sucks for some people, it's a pretty hollow victory if you essentially need it to be a handicap race by putting Olympic and former WC at the back of the grid to beat them, but the rule change timing is terrible and hasn't been applied properly in re to Sagan.
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If Koretzky wanted to start further up the grid, shouldn't he have scored more UCI points earlier in the season?andytee87 said:
I read that not long after the race, which is lucky because the gestures he made as he was crossing the line looked like he was blaming the bike which would make Specialized a bit annoyed.davidof said:Victor Koretzky has been moaning about his 4th place in the XC and how he was robbed by the UCI, including given them the finger at the finish, they've fined him.
"It's not fair play at all, it's disgusting, there are no other words. It is as if I were going on the road and they let me go five kilometers ahead of the rest of the peloton. The effort I have to make at the start of the race is the one that I cannot make at the end of the race. It has reached a disgusting level. I think everyone sees the problem."
Didn't affect him on the XCC with the wider circuit where he got silver. Did he start in the row behind Pidcock, MVDP? They made it up there pretty quickly. Probably needs to blame Sarrou, Nino etc for going so hard for the 1st two laps for ruining his chances. Maybe there's a call for a longer start loop in these races.
I guess the problem is we want to see the best rider win, and as much as it sucks for some people, it's a pretty hollow victory if you essentially need it to be a handicap race by putting Olympic and former WC at the back of the grid to beat them, but the rule change timing is terrible and hasn't been applied properly in re to Sagan.
I get there's a case to be made about preferential treatment, but the rule existed before the Worlds, it was just the timing of application of it by the UCI that sucked.
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100% agree. Problem is he DNFd most of them, 6th in French Nationals in July. Not sure being a road rider is going to pan out for him long term, his forms dropped off a cliff since he started dual calenderandyp said:
If Koretzky wanted to start further up the grid, shouldn't he have scored more UCI points earlier in the season?andytee87 said:
I read that not long after the race, which is lucky because the gestures he made as he was crossing the line looked like he was blaming the bike which would make Specialized a bit annoyed.davidof said:Victor Koretzky has been moaning about his 4th place in the XC and how he was robbed by the UCI, including given them the finger at the finish, they've fined him.
"It's not fair play at all, it's disgusting, there are no other words. It is as if I were going on the road and they let me go five kilometers ahead of the rest of the peloton. The effort I have to make at the start of the race is the one that I cannot make at the end of the race. It has reached a disgusting level. I think everyone sees the problem."
Didn't affect him on the XCC with the wider circuit where he got silver. Did he start in the row behind Pidcock, MVDP? They made it up there pretty quickly. Probably needs to blame Sarrou, Nino etc for going so hard for the 1st two laps for ruining his chances. Maybe there's a call for a longer start loop in these races.
I guess the problem is we want to see the best rider win, and as much as it sucks for some people, it's a pretty hollow victory if you essentially need it to be a handicap race by putting Olympic and former WC at the back of the grid to beat them, but the rule change timing is terrible and hasn't been applied properly in re to Sagan.
I get there's a case to be made about preferential treatment, but the rule existed before the Worlds, it was just the timing of application of it by the UCI that sucked.1 -
I read an amusing response to the complaints MTBers made about the gridding that in the interests of fairness the UCI will now allow them to start at the front of any road race.[Castle Donington Ladies FC - going up in '22]1
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Where was Koretzky gridded? Pidcock was only moved from row 6 to 5, and is a pretty rubbish starter anyway, so I really don't think that had much impact on the end result0
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He had a very good 2021; won two XCO World Cups (Albstadt & Lenzerheide) , and also finished 3rd in the XCO Worlds. And was ranked 1/2 from 2021 into 2022.andytee87 said:
100% agree. Problem is he DNFd most of them, 6th in French Nationals in July. Not sure being a road rider is going to pan out for him long term, his form dropped off a cliff since he started dual calenderandyp said:
If Koretzky wanted to start further up the grid, shouldn't he have scored more UCI points earlier in the season?andytee87 said:
I read that not long after the race, which is lucky because the gestures he made as he was crossing the line looked like he was blaming the bike which would make Specialized a bit annoyed.davidof said:Victor Koretzky has been moaning about his 4th place in the XC and how he was robbed by the UCI, including given them the finger at the finish, they've fined him.
"It's not fair play at all, it's disgusting, there are no other words. It is as if I were going on the road and they let me go five kilometers ahead of the rest of the peloton. The effort I have to make at the start of the race is the one that I cannot make at the end of the race. It has reached a disgusting level. I think everyone sees the problem."
Didn't affect him on the XCC with the wider circuit where he got silver. Did he start in the row behind Pidcock, MVDP? They made it up there pretty quickly. Probably needs to blame Sarrou, Nino etc for going so hard for the 1st two laps for ruining his chances. Maybe there's a call for a longer start loop in these races.
I guess the problem is we want to see the best rider win, and as much as it sucks for some people, it's a pretty hollow victory if you essentially need it to be a handicap race by putting Olympic and former WC at the back of the grid to beat them, but the rule change timing is terrible and hasn't been applied properly in re to Sagan.
I get there's a case to be made about preferential treatment, but the rule existed before the Worlds, it was just the timing of application of it by the UCI that sucked.
Since then, he's also tried his hand at road (2022 - B&B Hotels. 2023 - Bora) And his performances/ ranking has dropped off. He's now ranked 33....
https://www.xcodata.com/rider/victor-koretzky/
If he wants to go the Olympics, he's going to need to ride more MTB, as France have two places.....and more than 2 top riders.All Road/ Gravel: tbcWinter: tbcMTB: tbcRoad: tbc"Look at the time...." "he's fallen like an old lady on a cruise ship..."1 -
He was on the row behind. Wasn’t Sam Gage who came second gridded along way back.r0bh said:Where was Koretzky gridded? Pidcock was only moved from row 6 to 5, and is a pretty rubbish starter anyway, so I really don't think that had much impact on the end result
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Think Gaze was on same row as Pidcock.webboo said:
He was on the row behind. Wasn’t Sam Gage who came second gridded along way back.r0bh said:Where was Koretzky gridded? Pidcock was only moved from row 6 to 5, and is a pretty rubbish starter anyway, so I really don't think that had much impact on the end result
When Koretzkys fastest lap was 12 seconds slower than Pidcocks do t think he has anything to complain about
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I’m surprised he didn’t complain that the people who beat him were also using modern nutrition and training techniques or is that just French riders on French teams.1
