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Race Thread

Page 116 - Get up to date with the latest news, scores & standings from the Cycling News Community.
What's the new Swiss series?

I was listening to the Crosscast podcast and one of the hosts of that appeared to have some connection with the UK World cup, but couldn't confirm or deny anything regarding whether it is taking place. And if it is taking place he couldn't couldn't confirm any details about it. Personally I feel it won't

Yes, I've listened to that as well; they can't say anything as it could bring it to a halt. Which doesn't sound promising.....but it's not the first sports event I've heard similar.
 
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Nothing on the site yet but Dan Lloyd mentioned they've got cyclocross coming up on the gcn player. I hope/assume at least all three major belgian series and the world cups but I only remember hearing him mention the Exact Series (formerly Ethias).
I now see various series listed in the GCN "What can I watch" section. For example, in the US, Exact, Superprestige, X2O and UEC Champs along with the US CX races. I don't see World Cups.
In my country (Thailand), it lists US CX, Superprestige and UEC Champs. No Exact or X2O, which seems a little strange because I can't image who else would have rights here. I usually have to rely on the UCI Channel for World Cups so that's less of a surprise.

Edit to add... Country schedules aren't equally up-to-date. In the examples I listed, the US was last updated 12 September and Thailand on 26 August.
 
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I now see various series listed in the GCN "What can I watch" section. For example, in the US, Exact, Superprestige, X2O and UEC Champs along with the US CX races. I don't see World Cups.
In my country (Thailand), it lists US CX, Superprestige and UEC Champs. No Exact or X2O, which seems a little strange because I can't image who else would have rights here. I usually have to rely on the UCI Channel for World Cups so that's less of a surprise.

Edit to add... Country schedules aren't equally up-to-date. In the examples I listed, the US was last updated 12 September and Thailand on 26 August.
Just looked now and in the Netherlands it was updated 2 days ago and has X20, Exact, Superprestige, World Cup, US CX and then a few others. The only things it's not showing is the Dutch world cups and the World champs in NL. I suppose that will be a similar situation as last year and I'll have to view them on NOS Sport/NPO.
 
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An extension for Eli, good news for him. And no indication he's interested in a World Tour Road team.....or they're interested in him.
 
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To nobody's surprise, Fem signs for Jumbo-Visma........
Would be good to see Vader back racing again and then have a couple of riders doing XC next summer. I'm doubtful though, given the van Dijke twins used to also ride XC and CX.

Laurens Sweeck was also announced today at the Crelan Fristads team presentation.
 
I can hardly recall seeing Vader on a MTB since signing with them; even during training. I don't even know what bike they will use. Santa Cruz & Focus are part of the same group.
You make a good point about the Van Dijke brothers - they were promising on both bikes, but have seemingly dropped them.

Similarly, at SD Worx, Blanka Vas did 2 MTB World Cups in May, and hasn't been seen since, and missed the MTB Worlds.....
 
I can hardly recall seeing Vader on a MTB since signing with them; even during training. I don't even know what bike they will use. Santa Cruz & Focus are part of the same group.
You make a good point about the Van Dijke brothers - they were promising on both bikes, but have seemingly dropped them.

Similarly, at SD Worx, Blanka Vas did 2 MTB World Cups in May, and hasn't been seen since, and missed the MTB Worlds.....
I think Vader was scheduled to race XC this year but his bad crash at the Tour of the Basque Country stopped that.
 
Lauren Molengraaf, who was 3rd place at last years worlds and still a junior, has signed with Tormans and starts racing with them today.

So last over the last year there was all the stuff about Tormans CX joining with Quickstep, all the major riders leaving and then they stayed with IWG. The interesting thing is that the development team Acrog Tormans Balen BC announced last month they were forming a partnership with Quickstep but there would be no name change, so I do wonder if there still will be connection to the Tormans cx team. Anyway, the point i'm making is that, Molengraaf isn't bad on the mountainbike and looking at pcs got a top ten at the dutch junior rr champs, so together with Schreiber (don't know much about or whats happened to Shana Maes) they've got two riders with no real team that they can ride with in the summer if Acrog Balen have no real connection now. Seems strange to me, unless the IWG setup has plans for a womens team along with their mens devo team that was announced.

Anyway, Kleeberg Cross in Limburg today and then the first 'televised' cross this (european) evening in Roanoke, followed by the first belgian televised cross tomorrow in Kruibeke.
 
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So, what exactly is "Exact Cross"? Will they also be doing some "Inexact Cross" later on?
It's the old Ethias Cross which originally was I believe was a small collection of independent races grouped together under one name and started out being called the Brico Cross. It doesn't have a overall classification for the finishing position but does have a fastest lap prize. Since the owners are now Golazo who run the X20 Trofee and several other cx races in belgium, a the series has taken on a couple of events that were part of the Soudal Classics series like the Waaslandcross and some of the X2O and Ethias/Exact races have swapped series like Essen. Although the kind of 'downgrading' of the Essen race is something I don't mind as the course has got worse and worse from the old one where Stybar pushed another rider into the barrier to the thing that it is now around this thing called Robotland. Anyway, I digress.
 
something that will be fun with mvdp's return is that he is so far behind in the ranking points, that he will be at the back of the grid for at least the first few weeks. Currently on 160 points down in 88 position. For context, vincent baestaens is the last spot on the front row if everyone competes (note aerts etc) on 1413. I think we are now back to the traditional points system after they were re-set following covid.

Based on when it has happened in previous years though, it won't take him long in races to get to the front.
 
also some changes to the world cup calendar:
a new 'eco' cross in Maasmechelen replaces Ruchpen.
Dublin replaces London. (at the Sport Ireland campus which hosted the european cross-country running championships)
and gavere replaces dendemonde (thank god). although it leaves the superprestige very light with two spots open. some of their own making.
 
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Rucphen and especially Dendermonde are no great loss; both flat and pretty boring courses. The news about London isn't a great surprise; it was all too quiet, even this late. When Benidorm had been promoting their round since the start of this year.

Not a great reflection on the sport in the UK; if the money can't be found when we've got two current World Champions, and have had plenty of Worlds success in the last 5-6 years, then I have no idea what they need to do.

Dublin I find interesting; how've they found the backing? It's not as if they've got any decent CX riders......
 
I watched some of the euro xc running and the venue does look to be a fairly good location for a cyclocross. As for funding, if it's on something called the Sport Ireland campus, id assume it's funded directly through that. Something I wondered slightly for the the London world cup was whether riders would be willing travel to London which is even more prevalent now it's in Ireland. Obviously there are rules saying UCI teams have to field riders in every worldcup but with the Val Di Sole wc a week after, I feel teams may send lesser riders to one or the other.

I also feel Dendemonde and Rucphen won't be missed from the wc calendar, but it is disappointing from my end as the Rucphen race was easy for me to get to!

I'd prefer Gavere to be a Superprestige and somewhere like Flamanville or Nommay to be there but I guess it also depends on the promoters wanting to actually run the event.
 
Reading some comments on Twitter, it seems that the organisers were struggling to get a venue.....
I wonder if they need to think outside the box, and not just go for a course in a park. What about other sporting venues, racecourses, MTB centres would all have space for a CX course.....of course there is the cost, etc

Unless they were obsessed with it being near London....
 

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