Should National Champions be gauranteed a spot at the worlds

[Anonymous]

Coming from the sky thread, my comment on Kristian House being british champion but not selected for the worlds squad..

Should national champions, regardless of experience, ability etc, be automatically sent to the worlds as reward for being the national champion of their country..

 

[ImmaculateKadence]

Absolutely. A national championship doesn't necessarily mean you are the best cyclist in your respective country, but with cycling being such an international sport, national champions should have the opportunity to represent their country at the worlds.

 

[Big GMaC]

Coming from the sky thread, my comment on Kristian House being british champion but not selected for the worlds squad..

Should national champions, regardless of experience, ability etc, be automatically sent to the worlds as reward for being the national champion of their country..

why wasn't he selected?

was it politics or because isn't on a big euro team but rapha-condor, so would lack big race experience?

 

[Ferminal]

Only if national championships are run on the same course...

 

[Steel4Ever]

No.

When are National Champs? -- Pre-Tour (end of July)

When are Worlds? -- Post-Vuelta (start of October)

That's 3 months and 2 Grand Tours between the two. Too much for a NC to maintain his peak form. Why have a sub-par rider on the roster just because he won a race (against only a handful of pros) three months ago?

Doesn't matter really as most riders today don't truly care about the World's.

 

[Steel4Ever]

Absolutely. A national championship doesn't necessarily mean you are the best cyclist in your respective country, but with cycling being such an international sport, national champions should have the opportunity to represent their country at the worlds.

They (Nat. Champs) already DO represent their country in every subsequent post-NC race by wearing the National jersey. At the World's they use the same kit as every other rider on the team = anonymous.

 

[ImmaculateKadence]

At the World's they use the same kit as every other rider on the team = anonymous.

The poll was asking if national champs should be guaranteed a spot at the worlds, not if they should wear the jersey or not. Perhaps I should have phrased my first response more clearly.

 

[Bala Verde]

IMO it's like asking if all the UK players of the premier league championship winner should be on the national team that's going to the WC in South Africa...

I'd rather have the coach pick a squad he feels comfortable working with.

On top of that, what if the parcours is entirely different. E.g. a sprinter wins the nationals, but the WC is hilly. Why would you want to 'waste' a spot and select someone who doesn't stand a chance/has the ability to compete/help.

 

[Mambo95]

Of course they shouldn't be automatically selected. The Nationals often come down to who's got the most teammates. You mention House. How many Rapha guys were there in Abergavenny? Eight, nine? Meanwhile far better riders such as Cavendish and Swift were there on their own and there were two man teams of Wiggins/Millar and Froome/Thomas.

It's hardly a level playing field and no judge of who is 'best'. It would be like the England Football team automatically selecting anyone English who scored in the cup final for the World Cup.

 

[hope_rides_again]

Most certainly for national spelling championshups. They shoudl be gauranteed.

 

[ak-zaaf]

Coming from the sky thread, my comment on Kristian House being british champion but not selected for the worlds squad..

Should national champions, regardless of experience, ability etc, be automatically sent to the worlds as reward for being the national champion of their country..

No. All the reasons are posted: it's different time of the year, it's on different roads, and if you're not on a team from your homeland it's nearly impossible to win the nationals in most countries.

 

[B.Rasmussen]

No. The long time between the 2 competitions ensures that the champion isn't necessarily in shape any more. Other reasons have also been mentioned already.

 

[ImmaculateKadence]

Good points as to why not, but why shouldn't they at least be given the option to compete at Worlds?

Somebody mentioned the parcours not being suited to the rider's style, which makes sense. I think in that instance, however, the rider would most likely opt out of competing.

 

[Anonymous]

i just think their should be some recognition for winning beyond the jersey...

i think its probably different with road and tt.. i cant imagine a situation where a national tt champion would not go to the worlds..

i think it sucks a little and for someone like house, getting the national jersey, probably for the only time in his career i think he deserves to go to the big race, for what would probably be the greatest day of his life, even if he did crash and burn..

its a bit like the old thing where a small club win the fa cup and nobody wants them in europe.. (or technicalties where england would not give a euro spot if cardiff won the fa cup)

and in retrospect its not like an of the other brits did very well at the worlds..

(house by the way didnt have much team support if i recall in the brits.. was in a fairly strong breakaway group)

obviously im going on the british line, cant speak for other countries..

 

[Anonymous]

interesting that seven people have said yes, but only two come forward and try to argue it..

its always the no's that argue more vociferously

 

[Cerberus]

i just think their should be some recognition for winning beyond the jersey...

i think its probably different with road and tt.. i cant imagine a situation where a national tt champion would not go to the worlds..

i think it sucks a little and for someone like house, getting the national jersey, probably for the only time in his career i think he deserves to go to the big race, for what would probably be the greatest day of his life, even if he did crash and burn..

its a bit like the old thing where a small club win the fa cup and nobody wants them in europe.. (or technicalties where england would not give a euro spot if cardiff won the fa cup)

and in retrospect its not like an of the other brits did very well at the worlds..

(house by the way didnt have much team support if i recall in the brits.. was in a fairly strong breakaway group)

obviously im going on the british line, cant speak for other countries..

As you say you're speaking for Britain and you got 9 spots, but didn't have an over-abundance of great riders to fill them with so taking one suboptimal rider might not be a problem. For nations getting only 3 spots or even less it's much harder to afford to waste a spot. Not that the national champion is necessarily a waste, but if he's good enough he'll get a spot anyways.

 

[The_Z_man]

i just think their should be some recognition for winning beyond the jersey...
...

interesting that seven people have said yes, but only two come forward and try to argue it..

I agree with you. The rider who wins the national title should get a spot on the Worlds team. That rider might not be the best in the country, but he is the champ, and so should be treated accordingly.

Another poster used a soccer reference. Well, when a team wins the Primier league they get a spot in the champions league. (I hope I got that right. If I didn't I'm sorry.) It's the same type of thing. The World Cup example doesn't fit, because more than one rider is going to the Worlds.

I'm just more old school. I remember when the US amateur champ was automatically given a slot on the Olympic team. In the US, we could do that for the worlds, since the races are now much closer together.

These days things run differently, but the poll was about opinion, and there's mine.

 

[maltiv]

Not at all. In Norway for example, Lars Petter Nordhaug was the national champ in 2006, which was his first big win ever. Does that mean he deserved a spot on the worlds team instead of Thor Hushovd (who had an amazing year with 2 tour stages, vuelta stage and points jersey), or Kurt Asle Arvesen? No way.

 

[bobbins]

So you just want to send someone to the World Road Champs in October as a reward for winning a race in June?

The strongest team should be sent, if the national champ is considered strong enough and an asset for that team then pick them but only pick them on merit at the time, not based on one race two months ago.

The days of sending people to races as a reward or prize are long gone in BC. Send a team that can win. It's not a holiday, it's a professional sport.

 

[ImmaculateKadence]

I don't see it as a reward but an opportunity. Many of the riders that race at Nationals are on continental teams and get very little chance to race against international competition. If they win nationals, going to Worlds is a major chance for them to receive some attention from Pro-Tour Teams. Even if they don't win, a competitive break or hard effort could be just enough to get them signed. For example, look at Tom Zirbel this past year. He finished second at the US TT Nationals, then finished 4th at Worlds behind Cancellara, Larsson, and Tony Martin. He finished ahead of Pinotti and Brajkovič. I know the TT may not be the best example when discussing road, but it illustrates my point considering he signed with Garmin-Chipotle/Slipstream/Transitions.

 

[ImmaculateKadence]

I don't see it as a reward but an opportunity. Many of the riders that race at Nationals are on continental teams and get very little chance to race against international competition. If they win nationals, going to Worlds is a major chance for them to receive some attention from Pro-Tour Teams. Even if they don't win, a competitive break or hard effort could be just enough to get them signed. For example, look at Tom Zirbel this past year. He finished second at the US TT Nationals, then finished 4th at Worlds behind Cancellara, Larsson, and Tony Martin. He finished ahead of Pinotti and Brajkovič. I know the TT may not be the best example when discussing road, but it illustrates my point considering he signed on with Garmin-Chipotle/Slipstream/Transitions.

 

[maltiv]

It is more natural with TT obviously, as it is less "random" and the winner will almost always be one of the best/ the best TTer in the country.

 

[Anonymous]

I don't see it as a reward but an opportunity. Many of the riders that race at Nationals are on continental teams and get very little chance to race against international competition. If they win nationals, going to Worlds is a major chance for them to receive some attention from Pro-Tour Teams. Even if they don't win, a competitive break or hard effort could be just enough to get them signed. For example, look at Tom Zirbel this past year. He finished second at the US TT Nationals, then finished 4th at Worlds behind Cancellara, Larsson, and Tony Martin. He finished ahead of Pinotti and Brajkovič. I know the TT may not be the best example when discussing road, but it illustrates my point considering he signed with Garmin-Chipotle/Slipstream/Transitions.

excellent argument..

i think thats my gripe with house.. could have been a great opportunity for him.. now the british champions jersey will just be seen in a few low cat races.. it deserves a bigger stage..

 

[premirsco]

Welcome to this site and I am also newbie here.
My name is Disoza and I have just recently join this site.
I am here to interact with people and definitely get the information regarding experiencefestival community.
Glad

 

[ImmaculateKadence]

excellent argument..

i think thats my gripe with house.. could have been a great opportunity for him.. now the british champions jersey will just be seen in a few low cat races.. it deserves a bigger stage..

It's understandable. National Champions deserve more attention than what they may receive at minor races in their respective countries. I was stoked when I read Zirbel signed with Garmin (and he wasn't even champ). He probably won't be much more than a domestique, but he can TT with the best of them. I'm looking forward to what he does next season. Same goes for House, he deserves that shot; unfortunately, this may be it.