Road Cycling vs. MTBing

[BroDeal]

Why is it that France can do so well in mountain biking but is nowhere on the road? With a lot less money in MTB, there has to be a lot less testing.

I always felt that one of the main reasons the Americans faded away from the top of the MTB scene in the early and mid 90s was because of doping entering the sport.

 

[pedaling squares]

Why is it that France can do so well in mountain biking but is nowhere on the road? With a lot less money in MTB, there has to be a lot less testing.

I always felt that one of the main reasons the Americans faded away from the top of the MTB scene in the early and mid 90s was because of doping entering the sport.

I've been wondering lately how North Americans can do so well in road cycling but can't crack the top rung in xc mtn biking. Kabush's recent victory was one of the first in a while. Are Absalon et al that good, or have they found a winning doping program? Or perhaps our best cyclists are sticking to the road?

 

[blackcat]

I've been wondering lately how North Americans can do so well in road cycling but can't crack the top rung in xc mtn biking. Kabush's recent victory was one of the first in a while. Are Absalon et al that good, or have they found a winning doping program? Or perhaps our best cyclists are sticking to the road?

doped like the French swimming team

 

[kiwirider]

Why is it that France can do so well in mountain biking but is nowhere on the road? With a lot less money in MTB, there has to be a lot less testing.

I always felt that one of the main reasons the Americans faded away from the top of the MTB scene in the early and mid 90s was because of doping entering the sport.

Perhaps it is because the French are actually doing less drugs and there are less drugs in MTB racing?

The French have had one of the stricter anti-doping regimes in men's road racing for a few years, which could be one of the reasons why they haven't done so well on the road.

And like you say, there's stuff all money in MTB - at least compared to the road. That means that there's less ability for riders to engage in the sort of doping practises that roadies do ... as well as a lot less motivation to do so. I mean, if you're not in line for a multi-million euro contract, are you really going to spend a big proportion of your hard earned on PEDs?

Also, don't forget that there are a lot less participants in top flight MTB racing and a much smaller calendar. Look at the start lists for the world cup XC races and you'll see the same 30 or so riders turning up each time, with the remainder of the fields made up by wild cards. So, if you've got one or two North Americans in that sort of field, the proportion is actually probably better than what you're seeing on the road.

I think also that MTB racing's popularity in Europe has been a lot more consistent than it has in a number of other countries. XC racing in a lot of the world has suffered at the hands of DH and 4-X, but not in Europe. There are heaps of great races over there that people in the rest of the world don't know about. So, if you've got a heap of races to choose from with a good depth of field, of course you're going to generate a higher proportion of top riders. Put another way - I think that North American's got caught napping after dominating the early days of the sport and are now playing a big game of catch up ....

Also by talking about a "French domination" you're actually slighting a number of top flight riders who are/have been still mixing it seriously at the front of the fields - eg., Sauser, Paulissen, Kessiakoff (who I know is now a roadie ), Naef, Vogel, Hermida ... check out their results and you'll see that it's definitely not a one way street for the French ...

Then again, if you bear in mind that some of the best women XC racers in the world at the moment are all Quebecoise, it may just be that there is something in the French psyche that suits the sport ...

 

[pedaling squares]

Then again, if you bear in mind that some of the best women XC racers in the world at the moment are all Quebecois, it may just be that there is something in the French psyche that suits the sport ...

Ah, lycra clad Quebecoise... so worthy of a thread of their own.

 

[usedtobefast]

Ah, lycra clad Quebecoise... so worthy of a thread of their own.

no lycra needed...

 

[kiwirider]

Ah, lycra clad Quebecoise... so worthy of a thread of their own.

So, is now a good time to tell you about two Wednesday night group rides over here - one called Women on Wheels and, for us guys, Buddies of Women on Wheels. We do a fast lap of the Gats (and believe me, some of the women are seriously fast!) and then head to a local pub for drinks, food and general post-ride bull**** talking ... So, yeah ... every Wednesday I get to hang with a really great group of "lycra clad Québecoises" ....

And before you ask - it's only a 5 1/2 hour flight from Van and I understand that Westjet has some good mid-week deals ...

 

[craig1985]

no lycra needed...

Pics???????????

 

[pedaling squares]

So, is now a good time to tell you about two Wednesday night group rides over here - one called Women on Wheels and, for us guys, Buddies of Women on Wheels. We do a fast lap of the Gats (and believe me, some of the women are seriously fast!) and then head to a local pub for drinks, food and general post-ride bull**** talking ... So, yeah ... every Wednesday I get to hang with a really great group of "lycra clad Québecoises" ....

And before you ask - it's only a 5 1/2 hour flight from Van and I understand that Westjet has some good mid-week deals ...

My wife (a lycra clad francophone) and I have often talked of working in Ottawa for a few years. Your post nearly put the sign on the lawn.