Evans to return to MTB for Olympics?

[auscyclefan94]

Evans to possibly return to MTB for Olympics?

http://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/london-olympics/cadel-evans-may-compete-in-mountain-bike-event-at-2012-olympics/story-fn9dheyx-1226108807830

People's thoughts?

 

[online-rider]

Awesome. I wonder if he a can compete agianst the likes of schurter and absalon after all these years? - one things for sure it will be better than the road race (aka snooze-fest).

 

[auscyclefan94]

You'd think he'd have to lose a bit of weight to be competitive with these guys. I am not sure how true the story is tbh.

 

[online-rider]

You'd think he'd have to lose a bit of weight to be competitive with these guys. I am not sure how true the story is tbh.

Something tells me he couldnt beat absalon or whoever it is these days. He never really beat Martinez and now hes 34 years old.

 

[auscyclefan94]

Something tells me he couldnt beat absalon or whoever it is these days. He never really beat Martinez and now hes 34 years old.

Of course, Absalon would definetly be the favourite for the win but I could see CE beaing the best Aussie. If Jongewaard is our best MTB'er then we clearly don't have that much talent in the world of MTBing.

 

[DirtyWorks]

Awesome. I wonder if he a can compete agianst the likes of schurter and absalon after all these years? - one things for sure it will be better than the road race (aka snooze-fest).

The courses at the UCI level is *very* different than the one he raced. The loops are shorter, the climbs not as big and with the exception of a few hold outs like Mt. St. Anne, not as technical.

In particular, the next Olympic course descending is so non-technical that he should have few weaknesses going head-to-head with the off-road specialists. It's easy to imagine some other roadies giving it a try.

If Evans rides, a top-10 is very likely. That puts some extra pressure on my dark horse Nys though.

 

[MTBrider]

The courses at the UCI level is *very* different than the one he raced. The loops are shorter, the climbs not as big and with the exception of a few hold outs like Mt. St. Anne, not as technical.

In particular, the next Olympic course descending is so non-technical that he should have few weaknesses going head-to-head with the off-road specialists. It's easy to imagine some other roadies giving it a try.

If Evans rides, a top-10 is very likely. That puts some extra pressure on my dark horse Nys though.

I take it you haven't been to many world cup courses lately.

Yes Mt. Saint Anne is technical but not the most technical, that would be Champery. Dalby, South Africa, and Czech are also quite challenging. The others aren't as technical but they still are respectible. XC racing has become a lot more technical over the past couple of years.

As for the Olympic course, you shouldn't make opinions based on pictures. I have done a dozen laps of the course and I can assure you it is quite technical. The rock gardens on it are as challenging as those at Mt. Saint Anne or South Africa. The gap jump is comparible in size to the Champery one and the switchback climbs are as techincally descisive as any climb on the circuit. Yes, it doesn't have roots (actually it does have a few) but it is still quite technical.

All that being said I don't think technical skills would be Evan's biggest limiter. To win a grand Tour requires endurance more than anything. Someone specializing in Grand Tours is going to have a rough time with the pace of a world class MTB field. Just look at Jean Christophe Peraud, Olympic silver metalist on the dirt in 2008, just out of the top 10 in the Tour this year, couldn't crack the top 40 at a world cup MTB race this spring.

 

[mad black]

....

All that being said I don't think technical skills would be Evan's biggest limiter. To win a grand Tour requires endurance more than anything. Someone specializing in Grand Tours is going to have a rough time with the pace of a world class MTB field. Just look at Jean Christophe Peraud, Olympic silver metalist on the dirt in 2008, just out of the top 10 in the Tour this year, couldn't crack the top 40 at a world cup MTB race this spring.

I totally agree. Evans would have to qualify through a couple of world cup placings first. They won't just let him compete because he's Cadel. I don't think he could fit in a couple of world cups into his road season. That simply wouldn't fit besides he doesn't have an mtb team and also he would need to go through qualification and then starting from the back...

Having said all that I'd love to see him go for it!

 

[Martin318is]

Also have to wonder at whether he would be willing to take the added risk of injury in racing/training mtb during the road season when he appears set in his goals to try and repeat the Tour.

 

[Rip:30]

XC racing has become a lot more technical over the past couple of years.

As for the Olympic course, you shouldn't make opinions based on pictures. I have done a dozen laps of the course and I can assure you it is quite technical.

Strongly disagree.

 

[DirtyWorks]

I totally agree. Evans would have to qualify through a couple of world cup placings first.

I forgot about this. Yes, it would be very difficult for him to qualify if he had to get his starting position the traditional way of collecting points. He would have to remember how to do all the first-lap intensity. If this is his only way in, then I don't see him doing the MTB Olympic event.

They won't just let him compete because he's Cadel.

It may be time to dust off some old rules or make some new ones, or just give him a first row just because it's a better show. I can easily imagine Pat and Hein justifying it somehow.

As for the comment regarding modern events having more technical courses, I too disagree. That's pretending many of the events are something they are not.

 

[MTBrider]

Strongly disagree.

How many world cup courses have you ridden? If you are just watching the videos remember that the cameras rarely capture the most technical sections.

I have been on most of the WC courses and I can guarrentee that they have become quite a bit more technical in the past five years. Champery has a 2m gap jump with a vertical drop of over a meter.

Think about it. In Cadel's era guys could come over from the road and do quite well right away. When is the last time a road rider has come to XC world cup and had any sucess? Even cross riders with superb technical skills, Sven Nys for example, struggle on some of the truely technical world cup course. (Sven Nys was having real problems and losing significant time techincal sections of the London Olympic course at the test event).

Go ride Champery, Mt. Saint Ann, Czech, and Dalby on an XC bike, if you still think XC courses aren't technical any more then you have my respect.

 

[MTBrider]

I don't know how many of you watch the world cup this weekend but the coverage was amazing.

Here is the mens replay:
http://freecaster.tv/mountainbike/1014240/uci-world-cup-2011-xco-6-nove-mesto-na-morave-cze-replay


You have to watch the first 1/2 hour to get a true feel for the course.

 

[Rip:30]

How many world cup courses have you ridden? If you are just watching the videos remember that the cameras rarely capture the most technical sections.

I have been on most of the WC courses and I can guarrentee that they have become quite a bit more technical in the past five years. Champery has a 2m gap jump with a vertical drop of over a meter.

Think about it. In Cadel's era guys could come over from the road and do quite well right away. When is the last time a road rider has come to XC world cup and had any sucess? Even cross riders with superb technical skills, Sven Nys for example, struggle on some of the truely technical world cup course. (Sven Nys was having real problems and losing significant time techincal sections of the London Olympic course at the test event).

Go ride Champery, Mt. Saint Ann, Czech, and Dalby on an XC bike, if you still think XC courses aren't technical any more then you have my respect.

What road guys from Cadel's era could jump into a WC XC race and do well?

For those of us that have been around a bit longer I can assure you that courses have gotten much less technically challenging. This is especially true when you consider the huge advances in bike tech over the decades. It's true I haven't raced a WC XC since 05, but I still keep in touch with the US guys like Todd and Adam who do. You should ask them what they think about trends in WC courses, there's interviews avalible where they talk about this issue in depth.

WC XC resembles CX more than it resembles what I think back on was mountain bike racing.

 

[Rip:30]

I don't know how many of you watch the world cup this weekend but the coverage was amazing.

Here is the mens replay:
http://freecaster.tv/mountainbike/1014240/uci-world-cup-2011-xco-6-nove-mesto-na-morave-cze-replay


You have to watch the first 1/2 hour to get a true feel for the course.

Looks like an ok course, but by no means very technically challenging.

 

[Rip:30]

Try riding comparable or even rougher courses on some of the old equipment.

 

[MTBrider]

What road guys from Cadel's era could jump into a WC XC race and do well?

For those of us that have been around a bit longer I can assure you that courses have gotten much less technically challenging. This is especially true when you consider the huge advances in bike tech over the decades. It's true I haven't raced a WC XC since 05, but I still keep in touch with the US guys like Todd and Adam who do. You should ask them what they think about trends in WC courses, there's interviews avalible where they talk about this issue in depth.

WC XC resembles CX more than it resembles what I think back on was mountain bike racing.

I know I am not going to convice you. But I can promise you that if you were to go race a world cup again (as long as it isn't Windam) you wouldn't be associating WC XC with CX.

 

[MTBrider]

Looks like an ok course, but by no means very technically challenging.

Just out of curiosity, what courses WC did you find challenging? The first time I was on a world cup course was in 95 and my experience is they are much more difficult.

Now to be fair, in the early 2000 to about 2005 course were not very technical at all. That is why riders with rather poor technical skills, Roland Green for example, did well.

 

[Rip:30]

Just out of curiosity, what courses WC did you find challenging? The first time I was on a world cup course was in 95 and my experience is they are much more difficult.

Now to be fair, in the early 2000 to about 2005 course were not very technical at all. That is why riders with rather poor technical skills, Roland Green for example, did well.

Roland was actually an excellent descender as I recall, especially in the mud and roots.

 

[MTBrider]

Roland was actually an excellent descender as I recall, especially in the mud and roots.

Not, when I rode with him (and that was in mud and roots).

Maybe by the rest of the worlds standards at the time, but by Victoria standards at the time he was far from an excellent descender. A rider with his skills would get clobber on the modern world cup course.

In 2001 I could out descend the best male XC racer in the world. Now, the best female XC racer in the world drops me on the descents regularly and no I haven't gotten slower, the sport has changed.

 

[online-rider]

In 2001 I could out descend the best male XC racer in the world. .

 

[Rip:30]

In 2001 I could out descend the best male XC racer in the world. Now, the best female XC racer in the world drops me on the descents regularly and no I haven't gotten slower, the sport has changed.

Ha ok.

Did you ride the Kaprun WC course? I didn't qualify as usual, but Rollie won ahead of Meirhaeghe--so he couldn't have been going that badly dh.

 

[Rip:30]

Also from that era Les Gets. Was won by Ryder Hesj, in part on the DH in the mud.

Houffalize was good. As was Mt St Anne...

 

[Rip:30]

The other thing is that it's a lot of the same guys that have been good on the world stage for the last ten years. Absalon, Sauser, ect.

Same guys often on the same hardtails... What does that say.

 

[bc_hills]

Try riding comparable or even rougher courses on some of the old equipment.

This is an awesome shot! Giant balls of steel. He probably flosses his teeth with barbed wire.