Cyclocross - CX and SSCX races and training

If you can make the Madison Cross on New Year's Day, that's a great race to do singlespeed and try different gears.

I know it's not everyone's cup of tea, but that was a cracking course at Frylands Wood today, probably the best variation I've ridden there.

Glad I did it singlespeed, especially when I saw the first mech go exiting that slight right hand corner on the opening lap. Rode 38x19 which was just about perfect for me, but it did mean three running sections a lap, although most others were running the same sections.

Well done for getting out there!

The ride home was grim.

I couldn't face it. Went for a run. What was the turnout like?

More than I was expecting in the v40s, didn’t stick around to watch the other races.

When a race makes you reminisce warmly about that flooded race at sumner's pond, you do start to question why you turned up!

Sounds. Great. :)

It was. But it was also cold and wet, with some wet snow so before and after the race was miserable. Couldn't tell you what happened with the weather during my race though.

The course was very muddy, but most of it was wet mud rather than the claggy, sticky stuff that kills drivetrains at Frylands. Both the run ups had that loamy, claggy stuff though, which made the section after the first one virtually unrideable (although some tried). I like the course, I think it's a real challenge of your cx skills, but many others hate it.

sticky stuff that kills drivetrains at Frylands

Killed plenty of brake pads this time round though! Beats derailleurs I guess.

And so it begins

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a stream for today's race should anyone want it

https://www.vrt.be/vrtnu/kanalen/een/#

Two good races yesterday, hopefully bodes well for entertainment at Namur today.

If the course at Namur doesn’t provide entertainment, we’re done for.

Fwiw, I’ve been running a pair of Vittoria Terenno Wet for the past couple of weeks. I was a bit surprised at the tread profile when I got them as it didn’t seem aggressive enough for a tyre billed as mud tyre, but it works a treat. It coped well with the conditions at Frylands and seems equally at home in soft, wet mud and drier, sticky mud. The grip levels are superb, although it doesn’t like ice much, as I discovered this morning (but that was more my ambition levels exceeding grip realities).

Would definitely recommend for anyone running tubeless.

Tom Pidcock wins the u23 World Cup race at Namur.

Just checked the Junior result too and Ben Tullett was third.

Do you know if there's any footage online?

Haven't looked yet.

Am watching the women's race, with two Brits in the lead group of 4.

Blimey, Brit 1-2. And one of them not who you'd expect.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HbFp_4VYeU8

(edit: this is not U23)

I don’t know if this makes me different but I genuinely was not surprised with Evie winning. I know she focuses on XC but she seems to have an amazing ability in cross that seems a shame to waste for just a few races a year.

She's an incredible talent, but she's been suffering from a knee injury recently, so I don't think even she thought she'd be contesting for the win today. It was astonishing when she caught the lead group of Lechner, Compton and Brammeier, she just rode straight through them. I love the way she races.

I skimmed the Namur race, I saw the result.
How did that happen?
I just clicked to approx an hour in. I'm hoping to sit and watch it later this week....

I saw the downhill I really liked. So that made me happy.

MVDP apparently has a cold, and was a bit crashy.
battled for second until the last lap where he crashed on one of the downhill sections and secured his 3rd place.
Was hoping to see a sprint for second so crash made it a bit less entertaining.