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Axel Hangleck

Jan 7, 2017
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Sciatic said:
I think you can’t make a fair comparison of prospective new medal events (such as CX) to the sports that are established as Winter Olympic events (even if they are niche sports dominated by a few countries) because for a long time those sports WERE the Olympics. 2/3 of the medals at St. Moritz in 1928 were in speed skating and Nordic events, so there wouldn’t be an Olympics back then without them. Those events are iconic elements of the Winter Games.
On the other hand, I think CX is much more deserving of inclusion in the Winter Olympics than some of the recent additions, the choice of which seems based on the number of highlight videos they can produce.
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Absolutely! I think if those at the UCI are serious about trying to get CX into the Winter Olympics, then they need to be more proactive. Show the IOC that it should be in the games. They had planned to make a start this season, but due to Covid-19, it didn't happen.
So, World Cups/ maybe eventually even a World Championships at snow/ski resorts; if there are going to be 10-14 World Cup races, then 2-3 snow/winter venues could be enough. And ski resorts tend to have artificial snow makers - if the organisers want to, they could guarantee snow....
 
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lemon cheese cake

lemon cheese cake

Sep 28, 2014
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Looks like they've moved the pits back to the previous position rather than in the woods. Also looks like alot more elevation than previous editions and more cobbles than usual.
 
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Spine Concept

Spine Concept

Apr 28, 2010
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Welp, another cx race another MVDP win. Wout never gave up and kept him at 10-15 seconds but never really looked like closing the gap. He got closer in the end but that’s probably mostly down to him putting in that classic extra effort in the last lap while Mathieu seemed to be in control and already thinking about tomorrow.

The Worlds is shaping up to be a battle between WvA and MvDP though, they were head and shoulders above the rest. Wouldn’t be the first time that Mathieu goes into the Worlds being the best CX rider of the moment and still getting bested by Wout on the most important day of the season. Can’t wait.
 
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KZD

KZD

Feb 21, 2019
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MVDP and WVA are clearly too strong for the rest.
Even Pidcock doesn't look strong enough to give a fight, he was only able to beat Van der Poel earlier in the season because he was still far from his best.
 
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Spine Concept

Spine Concept

Apr 28, 2010
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WvA saying he that he couldn’t ride to his capacity on this course. Made too many mistakes and these are the most difficult courses for him. He’s trying to get better at them though but that Mathieu is simply better than him on these courses.

MvDP saying that he was good, but not super. Was riding around with “fatigued legs” and also made too many mistakes.
 
Barkintheeye

Barkintheeye

Feb 24, 2015
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The race at Hamme looked really hard and difficult. Not a lot of altitude meters so possibly not the perfect course for Wout but otherwise it should have been considered favourable conditions on his behalf. A faster, drier, sandier course and I believe he would have a much harder time with MVDP.

Shall we hope that Ostende will have it all? Some muddy off cambers and sections paired with long stretches of deep sand and some running? Should be epic.
 
Ricco'

Ricco'

Aug 14, 2012
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From what I've read (don't know if here or in Sporza/Wielerflits), the part of the Oostende circuit that is raced in the hippodrome won't be much affected by muddy conditions. It should be a fast race on that part of the track, with some sand sections on the beach that will require raw power.
 
B

Bolder

Jun 25, 2015
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Comme j'ai dit,
Spine Concept said:
WvA saying he that he couldn’t ride to his capacity on this course. Made too many mistakes and these are the most difficult courses for him. He’s trying to get better at them though but that Mathieu is simply better than him on these courses.

MvDP saying that he was good, but not super. Was riding around with “fatigued legs” and also made too many mistakes.
Click to expand...

Having watched the race, it looks as if the two are equally fit -- but again, MVDP takes a second or two in a lot of places where Wout struggles or slips. And he's quite clever about taking different lines or running when it's faster even if it means a dismount.

Honestly, though, Mathieu looked like he was on a solo training ride -- would have loved to see him pop in some earbuds.
 
Flamin

Flamin

Jan 4, 2011
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The mayor of Oostende just declared that the Worlds are possibly in danger due to a local outbreak of the virus. Talks are going on with the UCI, organizers and ministry of Sport. ****.
 
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TourOfSardinia

TourOfSardinia

Feb 16, 2010
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Flamin said:
The mayor of Oostende just declared that the Worlds are possibly in danger due to a local outbreak of the virus. Talks are going on with the UCI, organizers and ministry of Sport. ****.
Click to expand...
just rearrange it in a muddy field - Wout'd take it by 3 mins!
 
Spine Concept

Spine Concept

Apr 28, 2010
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Can’t watch the end of the race unfortunately, but seems like Wout has this in the bag. Deserved too. The worlds is shaping up to be another upset for Mathieu after being the best CX rider this season.
 
KZD

KZD

Feb 21, 2019
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What a recovery is Van der Poel doing. If he wins this one he will get a big morale boost before the World Championships.
 
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