Recent content by Axel Hangleck

Please no. GT's are already weighted in favour of climbers/ GC riders we don't need more stages that favour them. However, I'd like to see ITT's on Gravel or cobbles......that would sort some riders out - and those with poor skills wouldn't have team mates to bale them out......

Yeah, I'd agree with that - I've said before he should have done a lower level XCO somewhere in Europe just to get the feeling back; something Pidcock used to do before a World Cup. I wonder of anything is up with Puck; disappointing in the Tour Femmes, and was never in contention in the Short...

Well to carry on with the horse racing terms, here's his recent XCO form, with the most recent at the end: 7-2-DNF-DNF-28-DNF. Even so, his odds will be pretty short, as we know he is capable if things go right. His last win was 6 years ago, in Lenzerheide.

As in the Euros a few weeks ago, Rissveds looks in great form - and is one for the Worlds, especially as it's a technical course. And like last year, the Cannondale boys look to have hit form late in the season..... Great to see another British rider getting an Elite win......but behind Charlie...

Yes, it is; it doesn't seem that long since they last had Worlds (2021). While it's not quite as bad as CX, there does seem to be a regular rota of MTB Worlds venues.....

Calendar for 2026; not only no Monte Saint-Anne, but no Brazil or Val di Sole......... https://esmtb.com/filtrado-el-calendario-de-la-copa-del-mundo-de-mtb-2026-llega-whistler-como-sede-de-dh/ https://en.brujulabike.com/the-2026-uci-world-cup-calendar-ahead-the-first-post-nino-schurter/

And he didn't go to the Tokyo test event in the autumn of 2019 - instead did a road race in Belgium, from memory.......

I remember years ago on BBC radio's old cycling podcast , Bespoke, and Nino was described as "the greatest cyclist you've never heard of" - I don't think much has changed. The cycling media are still far too road focused, and there is still some old school snobbery towards MTB.

Matt Brammeier was another; a Scouser who rode for GB Youth teams, he chose to ride for Ireland as it gave him a better chance of riding internationally. Now he's back with TeamGB as a coach. And then there was the Ireland football team in the late 80s/early 90s - players from Yorkshire...

It's an overlooked part in road cycling; they're all great athletes, but not all are great cyclists.

End of an era...... https://www.pinkbike.com/news/nino-schurter-announces-lenzerheide-will-be-his-final-world-cup-race.html https://esmtb.com/llego-el-final-nino-schurter-anuncia-su-retirada/ https://en.brujulabike.com/nino-schurter-retires-mountain-biking-comes-to-an-end-of-an/ Redefined...

Is this weight issue still going on? A lot of ignorance from the Road world about how PFP goes about her racing. If any of them had followed XCO racing they'd have seen how she operates; the Worlds/Olympic PFP is a different racer to the normal season PFP. She's done this for about the last 10...

Re-signing them is no brainer; talented across multi disciplines. I'm sure they'll dip in and out of CX when it suits their schedule, but I don't think it's a major target for them. To be honest, there's enough proof that Isabella is a climber - and CX isn't a discipline that favours climbers -...

Waiting for the announcement that he's not racing the MTB Worlds... . This just isn't the right prep for it.

He may well be training on the MTB, but most of his socials are on his road bike. With the Worlds in approx a month away, it's not looking like he's left enough time to prepare & race on the MTB before Crans-Montana. We know Puck will be at Les Gets in a weeks time; maybe we'll see him there...