Race Thread

[Barkintheeye]

Always nice with the CX World Championship but this must have been the most anticipated result with the lowest odds ever. The podium combo was exactly what was expected.

Maybe Vanthourenhout could have challenged Niuwenhuis if his start would not have been so troubled (what happened there?).

Vandeputte and Vandenbosch who stayed with Van der Poel on the first lap blew themselves to pieces. Ronhaar looked good for a while but this is really a course for Vanthourenhout.

So now MVDP is on six wins. Will he continue or was this it?

 

[samhocking]

I know CX is a niche sport, but is there currently any other athlete anywhere who has mastered their specialty better than Mvdp? Serious question.

Backsteadt is quite ahead like MVDP at 19 in CX and Road, but she's also World Champion on Track and nearly in TT also so I think at some point she could surpass MVDP at Elite level too, but time will tell.

 

[Axel Hangleck]

So, MvdP still holds 2 World titles, and before defending his road title, he could attempt to 'do a PFP', and add the XCO title in Andorra in late August. It's unlikely he'll get a better opportunity to do it again.

 

[ManicJack]

Why didn't Sanna Cant yesterday wear the jersey she won in the Belgium nat's?
Others are in their winners jerseys at the Worlds.

Who was?

 

[Samu Cuenca]

Backsteadt is quite ahead like MVDP at 19 in CX and Road, but she's also World Champion on Track and nearly in TT also so I think at some point she could surpass MVDP at Elite level too, but time will tell.

She's only ever been junior world champion on the track, and she hasn't done any track racing since turning pro. Also in order to become elite world champion in ITT, you have to be selected for the race, and she hasn't been that yet. I won't be surprised if she wins it one day though.

In CX it will be hard for anyone to surpass Vos' 8 elite titles, but at the moment there's only one rider who looks like she could potentially achieve it, and that ain't Bäckstedt.

 

[Sciatic]

For sure, I meant right now.

Shiffrin in slalom for a few years, but doesn’t have dominance like MVDP nowadays.

 

[Sciatic]

I’m glad they showed him taking his final lap, that was great to see!

 

[TourOfSardinia]

Who was?

My bad - the UK jersey looked to my eye like the Nats one.

 

[Axel Hangleck]

Taken from Cyclocross24 on Twitter - Some moronic plans from Flanders Classic for future World Cups......

https://twitter.com/x/status/1754206948910637290

View: https://twitter.com/cyclocross24/status/1754206948910637290


Changing the World Cup for a handful of riders seems ill thought. I'm not convinced this era of multi discipline riders will continue.......

 

[theyoungest]

Backsteadt is quite ahead like MVDP at 19 in CX and Road, but she's also World Champion on Track and nearly in TT also so I think at some point she could surpass MVDP at Elite level too, but time will tell.

I think as a time trialist there's definitely the potential for Backstedt to become a new Ellen van Dijk. As a cyclocrosser I'm not too sure. She's still quite far from Van Empel's level, and then there's also Pieterse and Van Anrooij, all of them just 2 years older than Backstedt. Podiums are possible on certain courses, wins as well, but really dominating the sport? That will take quite a big leap.

 

[jono]

So, if MVDP never races cross again, is he the best ever?

 

[senna6541]

Well, I guess it depends on how you want to rate guys (total wins, total WC's, etc.), but it's pretty clear that there's never been another human being better at racing a CX bike in absolute terms. And his stats relative to the competition are pretty insane as well. Apparently, he is something like 171-62 for his career. A damn good record even in a sport where there are only 2 teams or two players...

 

[awavey]

I think as a time trialist there's definitely the potential for Backstedt to become a new Ellen van Dijk. As a cyclocrosser I'm not too sure. She's still quite far from Van Empel's level, and then there's also Pieterse and Van Anrooij, all of them just 2 years older than Backstedt. Podiums are possible on certain courses, wins as well, but really dominating the sport? That will take quite a big leap.

shes got a very strong ITT record so far, national junior champion, junior world champion, Euro u23 champion, she has alot of power in those legs, and shes still only 19, still got tons to learn and develop as a rider, both Pieterse and Van Anrooij have two years extra on her, and yet we are talking about them as if they are meant to be equal, that I think shows how good Zoe is she is challenging riders who are older than her.

can she dominate CX ? probably not and I dont think thats her aim or goal as to why she does CX anyway, abit like Pidcock its a means to end not the sole purpose of her racing career.

plus I mean you see now in the mens, it feels like MvP is dominating totally, but there are other riders around who can challenge him but are on different race programmes that arent in sync with his, so how do you get to a point where essentially its a fair fight between them all to show who is the best, and not just the one who is there to compete, whilst the others use it as a nice winter training ride.

 

[logeardaddy]

I know CX is a niche sport, but is there currently any other athlete anywhere who has mastered their specialty better than Mvdp? Serious question.

Perhaps not better, but on the same level: Mikaela Shiffrin in women's slalom, Marco Odermatt in men's giant slalom.

 

[Black Betsy]

Doing his best to boost poor canyon sales

 

[Pantani_lives]

So, if MVDP never races cross again, is he the best ever?

No, he needs one more world title to equal Eric De Vlaeminck, or two to break the record. Otherwise he'd just be another could-have-been.

He could just do five or six cross-country races next year, but including the World Championship. Or he could skip one year and still break it later, but there's no guarantee he'll still be as good in three years time.

 

[samhocking]

She's only ever been junior world champion on the track, and she hasn't done any track racing since turning pro. Also in order to become elite world champion in ITT, you have to be selected for the race, and she hasn't been that yet. I won't be surprised if she wins it one day though.

In CX it will be hard for anyone to surpass Vos' 8 elite titles, but at the moment there's only one rider who looks like she could potentially achieve it, and that ain't Bäckstedt.

I was comparing CX riders at the same age currently, so that is 19. Elite results from Vos and MVDP are meaningless to compare with a 19 year old but why I said time will tell with Backsteadt.

 

[Lequack]

Now he's good enough to do gravel races.

 

[theyoungest]

shes got a very strong ITT record so far, national junior champion, junior world champion, Euro u23 champion, she has alot of power in those legs, and shes still only 19, still got tons to learn and develop as a rider, both Pieterse and Van Anrooij have two years extra on her, and yet we are talking about them as if they are meant to be equal, that I think shows how good Zoe is she is challenging riders who are older than her.

That she's a very talented rider, nobody questions that. But I reacted to someone suggesting she could become the new MVDP and dominate a discipline the way he does. That's what I have my doubts about, at least regarding cyclocross.

I was comparing CX riders at the same age currently, so that is 19. Elite results from Vos and MVDP are meaningless to compare with a 19 year old but why I said time will tell with Backsteadt.

There's the quite recent example of Pieterse and Van Empel at 19, already challenging for (and in Van Empel's case, winning) elite world cups. Backstedt is good, but her level at that age is not unheard of in CX.

 

[Barkintheeye]

So, if MVDP never races cross again, is he the best ever?

Yes,
The two he is most often compared with are Sven Nys and Eric de Vlaeminck.

De Vlaeminck is an apple to oranges comparison just like comparing Mikaela Shiffrin vs Annemarie Moser-Pröll or Muhammad Ali vs Jack Dempsey, a different time with different conditions in every aspect. Yet maybe it could be claimed that Vlaeminck was a better crossrider with his seven Elite WC wins but do we really think that he would have stood a chance even with today's training methods and equipment? Against road opposition - at the time - he didn't do as well as MVDP at least.

Sven Nys? No, not on the road and not as a CX rider. He was still very good when MVDP made his debut into the elite CX ranks and Nys got beaten from the start by an 18 years old van der Poel. Not every time but often enough.

 

[samhocking]

That she's a very talented rider, nobody questions that. But I reacted to someone suggesting she could become the new MVDP and dominate a discipline the way he does. That's what I have my doubts about, at least regarding cyclocross.


There's the quite recent example of Pieterse and Van Empel at 19, already challenging for (and in Van Empel's case, winning) elite world cups. Backstedt is good, but her level at that age is not unheard of in CX.

Well you used Vos as the yardstick. At 19 Vos had 1x CX World Champs title, Backsteadt has 2x CX World Champs, 2x Road World Champs, 1x TT World Champs & 1x Track World Champs titles.
I'm not saying she will have the net CX wins of Vos twice her age, but in the context of mastering their craft, she has comparably won more than Vos by 19, but tha'ts maybe unfair, Vos was also dabbling in speed skating and MTB before CX iirc.

 

[Axel Hangleck]

No, he needs one more world title to equal Eric De Vlaeminck, or two to break the record. Otherwise he'd just be another could-have-been.

He could just do five or six cross-country races next year, but including the World Championship. Or he could skip one year and still break it later, but there's no guarantee he'll still be as good in three years time.

There is a difference between most successful, and best ever. De Vlaeminck may be the most successful in terms of Worlds wins, but I find it difficult to believe he is better than MvdP; Mathieu has raised the bar in what a CX racer is......power, skills/ technique, etc

 

[Samu Cuenca]

Well you used Vos as the yardstick. At 19 Vos had 1x CX World Champs title, Backsteadt has 2x CX World Champs, 2x Road World Champs, 1x TT World Champs & 1x Track World Champs titles.
I'm not saying she will have the net CX wins of Vos twice her age, but in the context of mastering their craft, she has comparably won more than Vos by 19, but tha'ts maybe unfair, Vos was also dabbling in speed skating and MTB before CX iirc.

But you're comparing apples and oranges here. Vos was ELITE World Champion in RR and CX at 19, while Bäckstedt is U23 world champion in CX and a former JUNIOR world champion in RR, ITT and on the track. The consensus is that there's more depth in women's cycling nowadays, of course, so you obviously shouldn't compare them 1:1 at this stage.

Bäckstedt has proved to be a massively talented rider, but right now it's too early to say how far it will take her. There's a chance that she's further along in her progression than some of her peers.

 

[Logic-is-your-friend]

There is a difference between most successful, and best ever. De Vlaeminck may be the most successful in terms of Worlds wins, but I find it difficult to believe he is better than MvdP; Mathieu has raised the bar in what a CX racer is......power, skills/ technique, etc

Well no ***. One raced in the 70s when pro athletes still smoked and drank, had to write the book on cyclocross technique himself, and is dead now, the other is racing in an era with nutritionists, power meters, performance coaches... and was able to learn the technique which even today is still largely based on how De Vlaeminck passed it down.

Obviously each has to be compared in light of the era they raced in. Not to mention bikes got a lot lighter and there are discbrakes now which completely change the game in a sport like CX.

 

[theyoungest]

Well you used Vos as the yardstick. At 19 Vos had 1x CX World Champs title, Backsteadt has 2x CX World Champs, 2x Road World Champs, 1x TT World Champs & 1x Track World Champs titles.
I'm not saying she will have the net CX wins of Vos twice her age, but in the context of mastering their craft, she has comparably won more than Vos by 19, but tha'ts maybe unfair, Vos was also dabbling in speed skating and MTB before CX iirc.

I didn't mention Vos actually, that was someone else. But as the poster above explains, you're now comparing world titles in the youth categories to actual elite world titles, so that doesn't make any sense.

I hope Backstedt can become a British challenger for the Dutch domination in cyclocross. The sport could certainly use it. But do I see her beating a fit Van Empel, Pieterse, or Van Anrooij? No, not really, if I'm being honest.