Race Thread

[JosefK]

A shame that the Flat Tire Monster mugged Wout on the final stretch. Chapeau to Mathieu, whose trajectory continues upward after a very trying and painful previous year.

 

[jmdirt]

Wout said that he knew that his tire was going down yet decided not to get a new bike. WHY?

 

[Dekker_Tifosi]

The interesting thing for me today is that the attacks where he managed to put MVDP under serious stress were on flat or false flat sections, while van der Poel easily closed Wout's attacks on the heavy uphill sections, especially later in the race.

I also noticed this season so far VDP excelled in the toughest crosses (like Gavere). And he doesn't seem to have the insane flat acceleration or the technique to make the difference in small corners anymore like he used to. Think he has somewhat tried to transform more into a real road racer.

 

[Dekker_Tifosi]

Wout said that he knew that his tire was going down yet decided not to get a new bike. WHY?

because if you pit in that material zone you lose like 4/5 seconds at least. And it's just before the section they both wanted to be first. So he'd have to catch up 5 seconds vs a full sprinting VDP with little to go.

 

[jmdirt]

because if you pit in that material zone you lose like 4/5 seconds at least. And it's just before the section they both wanted to be first. So he'd have to catch up 5 seconds vs a full sprinting VDP with little to go.

How'd that work out for him though? If he felt it, he had to know that it wouldn't make it to the end, let alone be good for the sprint. I know that his legs were sucking all of the oxygen, and hindsight makes it clear, but IMO he should have grabbed another bike (he probably thinks that now too).

 

[theyoungest]

How'd that work out for him though? If he felt it, he had to know that it wouldn't make it to the end, let alone be good for the sprint. I know that his legs were sucking all of the oxygen, and hindsight makes it clear, but IMO he should have grabbed another bike (he probably thinks that now too).

The one time he changed his bike he lost about 5 seconds on Van der Poel, so that would have been the end of his race as well. Now he could at least try, of course in the end it didn't work out.

 

[Ricco']

because if you pit in that material zone you lose like 4/5 seconds at least. And it's just before the section they both wanted to be first. So he'd have to catch up 5 seconds vs a full sprinting VDP with little to go.

It's still a better option than doing the rest of the lap with a flat tire. Switching the bike would lower the odds of a win but they would be still way higher than keeping the same bike. At the same time he would be closer to VDP and would put more pressure on him that could be capitalized if Mathieu made some mistake in one of the turns.

I won't argue with the 5 second loss for going into the pits but I think the loss would be a bit lower, maybe like 3 seconds. I went back now to the broadcast and timed the pit time in lap 4 and after a suboptimal bike change where he missed the clip of the pedals and was beating in the levers, he passed 3.20s behind Mathieu in the next turns. Still better than having a deflated tire in a section of twisty technical turns.

 

[theyoungest]

In the women's race, Blanka Vas finished 7th on nearly 4 minutes... what's going on with her? She just looks so unmotivated, like she doesn't want to be there. I never envisioned Lars Boom as a great motivational figure but this is just getting a bit sad.

 

[lemon cheese cake]

Another ace ride for Cam Mason - I wonder where his future lies team wise as Trinity are a U23/ development squad.....

Well they did have some seemingly random norwegian rider who's over 25 but more seriously they had Blevins for a season before he went to Specialized. Perhaps we could see something similar to that as he doesn't seem to interested in road. Although if he's on the radar of Specialized, maybe we could see him joining Koretzky and Zwiehoff in Bora.

 

[lemon cheese cake]

It's still a better option than doing the rest of the lap with a flat tire. Switching the bike would lower the odds of a win but they would be still way higher than keeping the same bike. At the same time he would be closer to VDP and would put more pressure on him that could be capitalized if Mathieu made some mistake in one of the turns.

I won't argue with the 5 second loss for going into the pits but I think the loss would be a bit lower, maybe like 3 seconds. I went back now to the broadcast and timed the pit time in lap 4 and after a suboptimal bike change where he missed the clip of the pedals and was beating in the levers, he passed 3.20s behind Mathieu in the next turns. Still better than having a deflated tire in a section of twisty technical turns.

I think there was very minimal leakage before the Pits but he'd already made the decision before crossing the gravel track and that's when all the air seemed to go. By that point it wasn't really worth it turning around and running back to the entrance as either way he'd come second

 

[Bonimenier]

As usual Van der Poel can only win when van Aert has a mechanical.

 

[Samu Cuenca]

A shame we didn't get a better finish to the men's race, but Van der Poel ahve done most of the work during the other races lately, so he probably deserved to have a bit of luck on his side this time. Adams made it a bit more interesting in the beginning, but he obviously woudln't have featured in the end even without the saddle problems.

Denise Betsema had her race spoiled by a a puncture at one of the worst moments and ended up losing her overall lead to Brand, who was the best of the rest behind Pieterse. Hopefully we'll have a crack of a race in store in Zonhoven, when all three top women and Vos are on the start line.

 

[Barkintheeye]

because if you pit in that material zone you lose like 4/5 seconds at least. And it's just before the section they both wanted to be first. So he'd have to catch up 5 seconds vs a full sprinting VDP with little to go.

It seems like Wout realized a little too late that he had a mechanical. He could have turned back before passing the yellow flag but he didn’t. If he had he should have lost a lot more than 5-10 seconds - probably close to what he lost by riding a flat - so he instead continued. Van der Poel showed class and did not celebrate.

 

[KZD]

A shame that Van Aert had the flat but nice to see Van der Poel winning again. Cameron Mason has been quite a nice surprise in these last races too.

 

[lemon cheese cake]

Looking at the start sheet for WC Zonhoven, with pretty much all the expected riders. Also listed is Evie Richards. No start sheet for it yet, but the SP Gullegem twitter previously comfirmed her as riding.

Anna Kay is out of racing at the moment after breaking her fingers in a crash at Baal.

 

[Axel Hangleck]

Well they did have some seemingly random norwegian rider who's over 25 but more seriously they had Blevins for a season before he went to Specialized. Perhaps we could see something similar to that as he doesn't seem to interested in road. Although if he's on the radar of Specialized, maybe we could see him joining Koretzky and Zwiehoff in Bora.

Yeah, I've wondered that. I'm sure Blevins was a Specialized affiliated/ sponsored rider before going to Trinity, then went to the full Factory team. I'm sure he'll get some decent offers, and this summer on the MTB may tell us more.

I know MvdP can be reckless with his tactics, but today was how he won 3 XCO races in 2019; waiting until the second half of the last lap to launch after race long battles with Schurter x2, Flueckiger x1. Time will tell if he's learned how to race with his brain.....

 

[Ricco']

Yeah, I've wondered that. I'm sure Blevins was a Specialized affiliated/ sponsored rider before going to Trinity, then went to the full Factory team. I'm sure he'll get some decent offers, and this summer on the MTB may tell us more.

Blevins was indeed a part of the Specialized Factory structure (did all of his U23 seasons with them), but when the team did a complete change of direction in 2021 (they signed Sarrou, Kerschbaumer, Frei and Stigger in the same season) they "relegated" him (and Batten) to Trinity.

I think 2022 was the first year the team had 3-3 elite riders. As far as I remember, before the rebuilding in 2021 they always had 2-2 or 2-1 maximum (Gaze-Andreassen and Langvad-Courtney are the ones I remember, plus Kulhavy but 2017 was maybe his last big year, in his later years with Spec don't know how much he took out of their budget) plus the young riders.

 

[Axel Hangleck]

In the women's race, Blanka Vas finished 7th on nearly 4 minutes... what's going on with her? She just looks so unmotivated, like she doesn't want to be there. I never envisioned Lars Boom as a great motivational figure but this is just getting a bit sad.

Good point; since her fabulous summer/autumn of 2021 (4th Olympic MTB, 4th Worlds Road, 1st Overisje) she's made little progress, especially compared to the other youngsters. I can't recall any decent results on the road, her two MTB World Cups weren't great, and this CX season hasn't been a raging success.

Is she doing too much racing in the year? She's still young. One hopes she finds her form, as she's a talented rider.

 

[Axel Hangleck]

Blevins was indeed a part of the Specialized Factory structure (did all of his U23 seasons with them), but when the team did a complete change of direction in 2021 (they signed Sarrou, Kerschbaumer, Frei and Stigger in the same season) they "relegated" him (and Batten) to Trinity.

I think 2022 was the first year the team had 3-3 elite riders. As far as I remember, before the rebuilding in 2021 they always had 2-2 or 2-1 maximum (Gaze-Andreassen and Langvad-Courtney are the ones I remember, plus Kulhavy but 2017 was maybe his last big year, in his later years with Spec don't know how much he took out of their budget) plus the young riders.

Yeah, he finished 2nd to future Specialized team mate Hatherley in the 2018 U23 Worlds. I'd say the Sarrou/ Kerschbaumer signings were hardly a success....Stigger, (like Vidaurre) had success on a Scott (2018 Junior Road & MTB Worlds) - and was then put on a Specialized team, before the Factory deal.

 

[Ricco']

It looks like Zonhoven will have a heavily modified course this year, with the passage through "De Kuil" being changed and way different than usual.

Spoiler: 2023

Spoiler: 2021

 

[senna6541]

MVDP was due a bit of luck after Zolder and Loenhout. Everyone on this thread would have bet their house on him a moment prior to the to the last lap slip ups. If he wins those the score is 5-2 MVDP, which is pretty much the score over a 200 race sample size with these two guys. Let's see what happens at Hoogerheide. My guess is either would trade all previous wins this year for the rainbow stripes.

 

[Logic-is-your-friend]

MVDP was due a bit of luck after Zolder and Loenhout. Everyone on this thread would have bet their house on him a moment prior to the to the last lap slip ups. If he wins those the score is 5-2 MVDP, which is pretty much the score over a 200 race sample size with these two guys. Let's see what happens at Hoogerheide. My guess is either would trade all previous wins this year for the rainbow stripes.

If i'm not mistaken (and i'm not) he messed up himself in Zolder and Loenhout. He's been making errors repeatedly the past few weeks, because he's been pushed to his limit.

I don't mind him winning this one, but not due to bad luck, just because he 's a class racer who keeps trying and taking initiative even when he sometimes shouldn't.

 

[theyoungest]

It looks like Zonhoven will have a heavily modified course this year, with the passage through "De Kuil" being changed and way different than usual.

Spoiler: 2023

Spoiler: 2021

A bit confusing as the 2021 map is tilted, but it seems they took out that long stretch through a kind of no man's land before the finish, and replaced it with a few more 180 degree turns through areas with more spectators, like the sand pit. Adrie van der Poel loves to see it.

 

[theyoungest]

Good point; since her fabulous summer/autumn of 2021 (4th Olympic MTB, 4th Worlds Road, 1st Overisje) she's made little progress, especially compared to the other youngsters. I can't recall any decent results on the road, her two MTB World Cups weren't great, and this CX season hasn't been a raging success.

Is she doing too much racing in the year? She's still young. One hopes she finds her form, as she's a talented rider.

I mentioned Lars Boom jokingly, but I've always thought he's an odd choice to coach her. He was notorious for not listening to his own coaches and basically being a lazy b... I don't see where his qualities as a coach would lie. Maybe preventing others from making the same mistakes Obviously I don't know if that's the reason, but she certainly hasn't improved under his tutelage.

 

[Dekker_Tifosi]

If i'm not mistaken (and i'm not) he messed up himself in Zolder and Loenhout. He's been making errors repeatedly the past few weeks, because he's been pushed to his limit.

I don't mind him winning this one, but not due to bad luck, just because he 's a class racer who keeps trying and taking initiative even when he sometimes shouldn't.

But also in general his technique seems to have worsened. Which is not strange after 2 seasons doing primarily road and skipping a season of CX (due to injury). He doesn't get the free 1 second every corner he used to get.