Pro-cycling thread

Sylvain Adams’ letter to the guardian is somewhat tone deaf.

https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2022/jan/30/my-support-for-sports-projects-in-israel-is-not-sportswashing

If it was any kind of proper course Pidcock would have crashed like he usually does.

Not sure if he's going to convince anyone with that one.

Great to see another British world champion.
Two things to consider
1 - you can only race those who turn up.
2- you can only race the course the organisers set.

Tom had no control over either.

Bullshit.

Honestly, you lot think this course was so easy, but the best cross races in the world were having problems with it - i.e. in the men's junior race the pre-race favourite crashed and lost all hope of a podium, in the u23 women's race the pre-race favourite got caught out by one of the ramps and lost any chance of the win - so any WT pro who just happened to rock up and race wouldn't have stood a chance.

Fly out a week ahead and practice the course > rock up and race.

The tiny Dutch boy wasn’t a victim of a difficult course. Looks like his front wheel slid out or tram-lined in a rut. Just a mistake as it didn’t happen to many others. Wasn’t the Swiss winner of the junior mens not a regular cross rider? The commentators kept saying he just had good power and had been on a UAE camp.

Anyone got a number on the amount of crashes per race yday vs the average slopfest in a boat yard?

Wasn’t the Swiss winner of the junior mens not a regular cross rider?

https://cyclocross24.com/rider/jan-christen/

Losing your front wheel in a rut is a mistake, obviously, but most road riders would shit the bed if they had to take a downhill rutted corner at the speed required yesterday. There is a skill element in cyclocross that is hugely under appreciated by casual observers of the sport. I've lost count of the number of times I've seen talented road riders turn up at a race, with expectations that they'll do well, only to have their arse handed to them on a plate because they don't have the bike handling skills to keep up with more experienced riders.

These plates, are they provided by the organisers or do the riders bring their own?

I suppose everyone thinks a dry Roubaix is a glorified sportive too…

Olympic MTB gold and cyclocross world champion? Have you been on the cooking wine?

Politely suggesting that Pidcock won comfortably because he is a physical monster with mad skills (and WVA wasn’t racing).

I've ridden frylands.
I've ridden Hillingdon.

I got my plate handed to me at both events.

That course was dull, the Ostend one was too last year. This year's was dull because it was fast. But then I think the world's should be at Namur every year.

The key point for me was:
The sharp right turn after the climb that Eli iserbyt consistently clipped his pedals on.

And the Belgians didn't burn through 4 riders to get one on the front who could stay there. There are 3 or 4 riders who want to be number 1 and they wouldn't work together for the medal for the team.

user jonD could never
https://mobile.twitter.com/cyclocross24/status/1487930845537218561

Also. Homemade short sleeve skinsuits.
That cost them aesthetic points.

I mostly agree with you, just not that ydays course was a good example of how difficult cross can be. It would be the easiest course for a road rider with one dismount (?) and zero mud. Evidence being the pure cross riders were not as impressive as their mud/dismount/shouldering/bike change skills were not an asset.

Not sure anyone thinks cross is unskilled, the hypothesis might be better considered the other way: that there’s more skill in the pro peloton than most think. Many road pros are junior national cross/mtb champions, they just choose to specialise on road where the money and prestige is.

Where might Pog have placed yday with taper and course recon? Not rhetorical.

1st (or 2nd) (or just in front of jonD)

If Lance had raced he would have won, bro

How do you shoulder a tri bike? Would love to see it.

Arguing with @andyp about CX racing is like arguing with a tree about wood.
Andy is CX racing.

like arguing with a tree about wood

good line

Absolutely. And that course was fast but it wasn't grippy, they were all on intermediates rather than file treads. The best riders in the world made it look pretty straightforward but that's why they are the best in the world.

I reckon I could have raced that course and got a top 20. 🎣

As in, no-one can truly understand the afterlife?

in retrospect, the relative ease of the course makes user jonD's decision not to compete all the more mind-boggling. what he could have achieved with appropriate taper and course recon...

Always worth a repost…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5qMM2r_42bA

All I’m saying is that as a non-CX rider, if I had to pick a worlds course to get round, yesterday’s would have been it. Easy.