Race Thread

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Nov 14, 2009
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Looks like Trek would put a nice bonus in their contracts to show up and race their sponsored CX race. I'm not surprised Evie didn't show as she skipped the last round of XCO due to illness. But I guess it has been a long MTB XCO racing season and they all need a physical as well as mental break. I'm just disappointed as I enjoyed the days of yore when Evie and Jolanda showed up to a few CX races and went hard for the win.
 
Jan 7, 2017
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Yes, the XCO season has been going since February - is it any wonder most riders have ended their seasons? Puck is the only one of the Top10 ranked riders to turn up - and her XCO season only started in May. With next season being the Olympics, the rest, and prep has started. First XCO World Cup is rumoured to be April, in Brasil.

CX just isn't on the radar of most of the top XCO racers....there's no reason for them to do it - with mostly flat, muddy courses, it's not going to suit most of them.
 
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Sep 26, 2020
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Vas beating Van Alphen and Betsema, who's build up has been hampered by a crash, doesn't tell us much about her form, but I hope she'll be stronger and more consistent than last season.
 
Jan 31, 2021
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Really looking forward to today's Trek women's race. Last year's young big 3 in the same race for the first time, this year, the first real full-strength complement of North American women with Honsinger back, both Holmgrens riding. I'm especially curious how Honsinger and Rochette will finish relative to one another.
 
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Sep 26, 2020
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Van Empel has made fewer mistakes than Pieterse in the first part of the race, while Alvarado has been the best of the rest. I don't know what's gone wrong for Van Anrooij.
 
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Jan 11, 2010
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When Pieterse is under pressure she starts to make mistakes, especially on the stairs which are not her favourite part. But it's good that she really went for it, as she always does.

Van Anrooij is probably happy that she won that Trek race a few days ago, otherwise this would have been a pretty pointless trip across the pond.
 
Feb 16, 2010
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Feb 24, 2015
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Nys is looking like a possible threat to Pidcock, MvDP, and WvA...well, maybe not quite yet, but this was an impressive win.
Having seen his race in Waterloo I was thinking the same. Probably a little bit still to go for him really challenging them to the finish line but on the right course he will be up there. Ronhaar and Nieuwenhuis do not have the sustained power … yet but look very promising. The old guard - Van der Haar, Vanthourenhout and also Iserbyt - are being challenged for real.

On the women side the change already happened last year and is being firmly cemented this year. Looks like Van Empel is a new “Van Aert” within Women’s cross that will dominate for years to come.
 
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Nov 14, 2009
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On the women side the change already happened last year and is being firmly cemented this year. Looks like Van Empel is a new “Van Aert” within Women’s cross that will dominate for years to come.
Puck just needs to rest, recover, and rebuild for a bit after a long XCO season. Give her a couple months and she'll be ready to battle Van Empel for wins during the Christmas period. Even the cycling legend MvdP has to take breaks to be at his best.