Pro-cycling thread

Lolz

nice day for a run

It's like a cross country run :(

Some very awkward falls happening out there.

cross country run

Maccl at Wythenshawe Park on a wet day for sure.

(It is Pancake flat there though, so slightly easier than the lumps n bumps today)

MvdP with his Zipp NSW rear wheel for the aeros

Why do cyclocross fans - I am not one - never moan that there only 2 (possibly 3) riders who ever win? Grand Tour threads are full of complaints about races being predictable.

much tighter field, no 'team' as such, no room for (British) sycophancy, no EF

Good question. It's too narrow at the top, but who can you blame for that? Glad to see Pidcock keeping up with - or even threatening - the big two more often. I sometimes only see half the race & start doing other things when MVDP is off out front, or WVA like today, especially on a dull course.

^This and ^^this. Also, you need only 2 competitors to have a race. In the grand tours 'sky-style', there is mostly only 1 contestant and he's usually not even leading the pack.

First time ever this has seemed like the best reply.

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Well it's only been like this since the emergence of MVDP and WVA right?
That's about 5 or 6 years. There's been a bit of Lars, and Tom muessen didn't really get as big as he should. And the early stages of this season have featured Iserbyt, Sweeck, Van Tournounent (I've had a drink). But MVDP and WVA are incredibly dominant and miles better. And when they get into it, it's hard not to find it interesting. They absolutely smash themselves. And it's great watching the T2 cyborg that is MVDP getting cracked by WVA.

Nah, before that you had Stybar, Niels Albert, Sven Nys, Bart Wellens all dominating for one or more seasons. CX is just different from grand tours as typically the strongest ones win (barring technical issues). It's also only 1 hour so if there was one boring race, next one might be exciting again.

CX is more about the party in the tents anyways rather than just the race ;)

Was the race in Epping today? Some sections looked familiar

Personally, I think the opportunity of two of the best cyclists on the planet right now slugging it out head to head for an hour at least twice a week is worth the dominance. There's rarely tactics to it too, they just go for it from the gun and see who is better on the day. It's fantastic.

But that's enough about Brand and Alvarado...

Wahey!

What was in that drink? You forgot the Sven!

Hope you guys can get English language subs, this was broadcast last night on Dutch public tv, a docu about Jumbo-Visma's 2020 TdF - very transparent and quite fascinating.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c7QUeLH6nTY&feature=youtu.be&ab_channel=NOSSport

Yeah its not for everyone; at least its not ghent 6 day.

Nys? This season? Are you sure? I know Thibaut is racing but is there a granddads of cross league I'm missing?

Excuse me, I replied to your comment having read something completely different from what you actually typed. My head was stuck in the 'old days' and I combined the info from yours and @gms post.

is there a granddads of cross league I'm missing?

Only four more years until you're in it.

It's alright, blame mince pies. Have you had enough or too many?
I started the day with 2. I think I'm good for a couple of hours.

Might be out the other side of the pandemic by then.

Wrong thread