Race Thread

[Axel Hangleck]

I honestly didn't expect Puck to win before the race.

This season I watched some XCO and realized Puck is not the best descender in XCO and this season somehow it also translated in CX. But I guess with improving form she'll show her technical skills in CX again.

Great race today, haven't enjoyed Gavere more than today.

Puck is probably the best technically in CX, but when she goes to XCO, she's not - she even admitted she wasn't very good in both Snowshoe & Mont Sainte-Anne...

It seems the form is returning, and so is the confidence.....

Winning CX, XCC & XCO World Cups in the same calendar year is rare for many riders to do; she's still only 21.....Only MvdP & Pidcock have done that....(the latter this year as well).

 

[ChewbaccaDefense]

Just watched. Really happy for Puck.

MVDP won, but Pidcock has more guts than any of them. What a ride by him!

I think Wout is measuring himself, and I believe will try to actually race with Mathieu at Diegem. I think he knows he only has one solid race in him right now, and is measuring himself each race until then, to try to peak as much as he can peak, with his current form. I think Pidcock, if he can get to the front early, will challenge both, but I think more than likely just be competition for Wout. We can only hope that race is as good as it was last year, though if I'm betting, I think Mathieu is just too far above everyone.

 

[Wyndbrook]

There seem to be a number of comments that perhaps yesterday's men's race was a lap to long., taking into account the course conditions and five days of continuous racing,
But from a UCI rule perspective the women's race definitely was,
If no junior race is held then the race should be as close to 45 minutes as possible.
I'm generally an advocate of longer women's races but yesterday only the first 13 were under the hour and the sixteen year old Canadian last finisher was over 65 minutes. ( looking at here results she does look like a potential future star)

 

[DNP-Old]

Pidcock started from fourth row. He could've followed WvA if he started next to him.

Pidders was posting lap times that were significantly faster than Wout, despite having to ride around the masses who are more prone to mistakes than Wout. I reckon Wout would have been the one who had to do the following if they started in similar circumstances.

 

[ChewbaccaDefense]

I stand corrected. Wout isn't on the startlist for Diegem. Hulst then.

 

[ChewbaccaDefense]

Fem getting challenged today

 

[Armchair Cyclist]

I had wondered whether the Cis4ever banner was some sort of anti-trans rights group. A quick bit of research shows that it is a charity named for a young cancer victim.

 

[Ricco']

Am I the only one who can't go full screen on Eurosport website? On Chrome browser, laptop.

Anyone else with this problem? Two weeks and still not a fix. It happens to me both on Chrome and Firefox.

 

[theyoungest]

That was a good race between Van Empel and Alvarado. Sporza commentator calling it the best cross of the season, not sure if I agree but it was definitely closer than a lot of the races we've seen. Fem really seems to lack that little extra edge she had earlier in the season, but no problem, she still has her sprint.

 

[Armchair Cyclist]

The moral of the final lap of the women's race is that the best type of error is the one that hinders your opponent at least as much as it does you: both Van Empel on the hurdles and Alvarado on the climb.

 

[Armchair Cyclist]

Screen says T Aerts of GB is 4th...

 

[jono]

So was Wout really trying before the last lap? It seems as if guys like del Grosso and Vandeputte are riding with you, probably not.

Some sharp-eyed viewers have noted that Wout was racing today on a Cervelo Aspero (gravel bike). Why?

 

[jono]

Screen says T Aerts of GB is 4th...

Not 4th in the race, but 4th fastest lap.

 

[Armchair Cyclist]

Not 4th in the race, but 4th fastest lap.

Thanks: I missed that as it was only on screen briefly. Only one daft error in the caption then, not two.

 

[Hugh Januss]

The moral of the final lap of the women's race is that the best type of error is the one that hinders your opponent at least as much as it does you: both Van Empel on the hurdles and Alvarado on the climb.

The benefit of leading.

 

[Armchair Cyclist]

So was Wout really trying before the last lap? It seems as if guys like del Grosso and Vandeputte are riding with you, probably not.

Some sharp-eyed viewers have noted that Wout was racing today on a Cervelo Aspero (gravel bike). Why?

How many races is he doing this week? Preservation of effort, doing what you need to win and no more, seems sensible. And the possibility that it doesn't go smoothly because of last lap errors make the race more interesting.

As to the bike choice, it didn't prevent him winning, so why not, and it has that model being discussed in a positive way, so that would answer why.

 

[Hugh Januss]

How many races is he doing this week? Preservation of effort, doing what you need to win and no more, seems sensible. And the possibility that it doesn't go smoothly because of last lap errors make the race more interesting.

I think only Van der Poel can push Wout to the point of errors, particularly on the last lap. Wout likes it when others attack first, it's like a springboard. Problem is when VdP does it it's usually game over.

 

[jono]

How many races is he doing this week?

Only 3 more in the next 8 days (Hulst, Baal, and Koksijde), and then none until Benidorm (he's dropped Zonhoven and added Benidorm to his program).

 

[theyoungest]

As to the bike choice, it didn't prevent him winning, so why not, and it has that model being discussed in a positive way, so that would answer why.

Actually on Dutch Eurosport the commentators argued that he would have been better off riding his cross bike, so this may not have been the best advertisement for either of these bikes. Not for the cross bike, because apparently he'd rather ride his gravel bike, and not for the gravel bike, because it made it hard for him to win a race he might otherwise have won with more ease.

 

[Armchair Cyclist]

Actually on Dutch Eurosport the commentators argued that he would have been better off riding his cross bike, so this may not have been the best advertisement for either of these bikes. Not for the cross bike, because apparently he'd rather ride his gravel bike, and not for the gravel bike, because it made it hard for him to win a race he might otherwise have won with more ease.

Or, "Look, this bike is so good it can even win races that it is not particularly suitable for. Just imagine how much better our specialist CX bike would be on this course, or how good this one would be on the surface that it is actually designed for."

 

[Sciatic]

The U.S. women’s national Jr (16-18 year olds) is riding in several of these races, including today. Vida Lopez San Ramon the only one getting into or close to the top20. I also notice lot of Jr riders in the “no-time” bottom part of the results list. Is this something other countries do—entering Jr women’s teams in the elite event, even though most riders haven’t scored any points to qualify?

 

[jono]

The U.S. women’s national Jr (16-18 year olds) is riding in several of these races, including today. Vida Lopez San Ramon the only one getting into or close to the top20. I also notice lot of Jr riders in the “no-time” bottom part of the results list. Is this something other countries do—entering Jr women’s teams in the elite event, even though most riders haven’t scored any points to qualify?

There are no women's junior races in the Superprestige events, nor in some of the World Cups (Gavere yesterday, for example, which had four 16-year old Canadians racing).

 

[lemon cheese cake]

Only reason I can think van Aert was on a gravel bike is that it maybe can fit a bigger 1x chainring on the Aspero than the R5 CX. He did have what looked like a massive dinner plate compared to standard gearing.

 

[Barkintheeye]

The crowd at Gavere were booing Van der Poel and also Eli Iserbyt. First thought that it was a Belgium vs Dutch thing but apparently not? Something they said?

I think Pidcock would have had a hard time beating Niuewenhuis shouldn't he have had that late flat, and clearly both Van der Poel and Van Aert are a couple of numbers too large for the rest.

ps. I've yet to watch Heusden-Zolder and may have to reevaluate above

 

[Third Time Lucky]

The crowd at Gavere were booing Van der Poel and also Eli Iserbyt. First thought that it was a Belgium vs Dutch thing but apparently not? Something they said?

I think Pidcock would have had a hard time beating Niuewenhuis shouldn't he have had that late flat, and clearly both Van der Poel and Van Aert are a couple of numbers too large for the rest.

ps. I've yet to watch Heusden-Zolder and may have to reevaluate above

I heard them booing Iserbyt too… surprised by that really. Pidcock had his usual bad start followed by a slipped chain so would’ve been closer to WvA at Gavere.

WvA won on his gravel bike today so MvdP is racing on his Aeroad in Diegem tomorrow night.