Recent content by Axel Hangleck

Its a part and parcel of off-road racing.........races decided by mistakes........It's not road racing.

I'm struggling to see how Lucinda doesn't win the Worlds....... However, if all the racing catches up with her (which is unlikely) or, she makes a bad start and another Dutch rider is takes advantage......Shirin is cable of winning, I wonder if Hulst really suits Backstedt..... We haven't seen...

I think Gavere will be a decent race, and that long climb will actually be rideable for once......which enabled Pidcock to beat MvdP in 2020.....since then its been too muddy to ride. I think Gavere, along with Overijse & Namur, are probably the best all round tests of a CX racer........ And I...

Hulst will be a Valkenburg 2018 redux......(You read it here first);) There don't seem to be any strong rumours about any possible teams interested about Amandine.....

https://www.pinkbike.com/news/nukeproof-is-now-the-bike-sponsor-of-the-kmcnukeproof-mtb-xco-team.html Not surprising news; it was hinted at a while ago - the owners stated that Ridley is really a Road brand, and Nukeproof would be a better fit for a new XC bike.

In my opinion, off-road racing shouldn't just be who has the most power........ I know the Pinkbike community (yes I know) often moan about superior fitness beating skills in XCO - even Jenny has commented about XCO courses not being technical enough.

https://www.bikeradar.com/features/first-look-friday/misspent-summers-ninety-hurly-burly-and-the-world-stage-2025 End of year MTB World Cup books, for XC, DH & Enduro.

My annual 'issue' with CX....power overcomes skills/ technique more often than not......too many courses favour power. (Saying that, Brand's skills have improved massively over the years).

I've said similar elsewhere, but about XCO racers moving to the road; road racing is not for everyone, it's not the promised land many people claim it is. The pressure to perform is on another level compared to off-road racing, where it's a little more relaxed (whilst still serious/ professional).

It's possible that the 'big Pro team' environment doesn't suit her; and maybe a more 'hands on' small team is where she would thrive. Signing for Visma made sense, I guess they really signed her for her road racing potential - the CX was just a bonus.

Some MTB racing news stories (as road biased websites don't bother) https://esmtb.com/decathlon-ford-asegura-a-samara-maxwell-hasta-2028/ https://esmtb.com/estas-son-las-cifras-de-audiencia-oficiales-de-la-whoop-uci-mtb-world-series-2025/...

Marvellous, another w/kg contest. There is more to cycling than climbing…….the best athletes beating the better cyclists…….boring.

To be honest was easy to not notice; they didn't do a very good job of promoting the 'Pirelli' part of the team name, when they were already a sponsor on the jerseys.

Last season they were Trek Factory Racing-Pirelli XC. Whilst it's good they've now got a proper title sponsor, I still think it's a shame the Lidl sponsorship didn't cover the whole of Trek racing - and not just the road teams. Nina Benz to Trek-Unbroken.......

I think Ackert mentioned at the end of the MTB season he'd give 'Cross a miss this season.......and he'll be changing teams as Trek Future Racing are finishing. I'm not surprised the Holmgrens are giving it a swerve either......combining MTB with Road is a big effort, and having to race another...