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Race Thread

Page 250 - Get up to date with the latest news, scores & standings from the Cycling News Community.
CX is really only significant in 1, maybe 2 countries - and that's always been the problem. It's behind road, track, MTB almost everywhere else. Gravel will soon overtake it. I don't know why people have an issue with this view. It's had 100 years to become global, but hasn't; every other discipline manages to grow.

World Cup juniors is probably the most competitive area, with French, Italians, Swiss et al in the top 10s. Come U23/Elite, they've disappeared, and it's mainly Benelux.
I think you’re right and CX looks to be declining at least outside Belgium and the Netherlands. It’s sad because it’s a beautiful discipline that safely brings you valuable cycling skills and it’s a perfect way for parents to introduce cycling to their kids. Maybe because it’s a hard discipline to master, very demanding on the equipment and maybe also perceived as not enough challenging in terms of physique but too much on technique. I hear both road riders and MTB riders make all kinds of excuses not to try CX.
 
CX is really only significant in 1, maybe 2 countries - and that's always been the problem. It's behind road, track, MTB almost everywhere else. Gravel will soon overtake it. I don't know why people have an issue with this view. It's had 100 years to become global, but hasn't; every other discipline manages to grow.

World Cup juniors is probably the most competitive area, with French, Italians, Swiss et al in the top 10s. Come U23/Elite, they've disappeared, and it's mainly Benelux.
Ask MVDP which world title he cares more about, CX or gravel. When the main contenders at the gravel worlds see it as an afterthought, the sport has a long way to go before it overtakes cyclocross in prestige. It's more of a hobby, a bit of fun after the real season. So in that sense the pickleball comparison is actually not that far fetched.
 
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Well, that was easier than expected given Van Empel's lacklustre showing on the road. Alvarado was quite strong, and she'll probably say she could have stayed with Fem without that mistake... problem is she always starts making mistakes when she has to hold off Fem.

Casasola strong, but unlucky. Wouldn't have made the podium regardless.
 
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As expected, Van Empel hits the CX and immediately starts dominating. She just ain't build for that road and XCO life, too mediocre in both.
A bit harsh on someone who until 4 or 5 years ago was still primarily a football player.

Her rise in CX has been meteoric, from zero to the best in the world in 3 years. In road cycling it doesn't seem to be going as fast, I don't really know why, sometimes it seems she lacks a bit of grinta. Something Pieterse has in spades. Last year (her first proper road season) was actually better than this one.
 
Ask MVDP which world title he cares more about, CX or gravel. When the main contenders at the gravel worlds see it as an afterthought, the sport has a long way to go before it overtakes cyclocross in prestige. It's more of a hobby, a bit of fun after the real season. So in that sense the pickleball comparison is actually not that far fetched.
And bike brands are all over gravel because that's what sells...

Brands want to cater to middle aged amateurs with thousands to splurge. What's more enticing to them after a week stuck in an office? Doing laps on someone's backyard on nasty conditions like a hamster or go on an expedition into the unknown through backroads far from any civilization?
 
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Feb 24, 2023
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About van Empel and mountain biking: Before 2023, she only competed in some junior and under-23 races during the summer (van Empel started cycling at the end of 2019, competing at a local/national level). At the beginning of 2023, she signed with Jumbo-Visma and was crowned cyclocross world champion in Hoogerheide. From there, she participated in some second-tier road races and then transitioned to mountain biking, where she achieved the following results:

  • Nove Mesto World Cup: 17th position in her first elite race in the discipline (ahead of riders like Laura Stigger, Teochi, Lill).
  • Lenzerheide World Cup: 16th position ahead of Sina Frei, Neff, Courtney. In this race, she was in 9th place at the start of the final lap, but a fall dropped her to 16th.
  • European Championship: 10th place, ahead of Berta, Indergand, etc.
All these results were achieved without the support of a specialized mountain bike team and with a new bike (Cervelo ZFS-5 and ZFH-5) that only she and Milan Vader were using. In summary, she’s a rider who, in her first contact with the elite category, after a very limited stint in the lower categories, has shown she’s among the best in the world (top 20), with much room for improvement in various aspects. Sina Frei herself recently won a World Cup race, when at the beginning of the year, she was in the top 20 - top 30.

I believe her decision to step away from mountain biking is influenced by her team (Visma), for whom her presence on the road is much more valuable than in MTB, a discipline with a smaller audience. Hopefully, in the future (she’s 22), she’ll return to that discipline, as I believe she can compete at the highest level.
 
Iserbyt being interviewed on Sporza right now, zero apology.
To me it’s odd that he hasn’t learnt this after so many years as a CX rider. Poor showing of him to say the least. Remember that time when Van der Poel’s foot got stuck in Van Aert’s front wheel (Zolder 2017?). Must’ve been a moment of serious frustration for both of them but they didn’t show it.

CX is otherwise the perfect cycling discipline for anger management. There’s always something bad happening, you fall, you get run into, you’re being pushed, divebombed, your line being cut, someone makes a mistake, falls and blocks you etc. After a couple of races most people realize that this is how it is and stop complaining about it. Generally there’s very little shouting during the races and everybody’s carrying on. Afterwards you just shake hands.