The 'Super Worlds' discussion thread: Did it work?

[King Boonen]

So, I thought it would be good to get a discussion going around whether this version of the World Championships with almost everything under one banner was a success. I'm very aware that my opinion will be affected by being right in the middle of everything, and I felt is was a brilliant celebration of cycling, but what do others think? I've seen some people saying some events got buried by others, but they all seem to be mentioning events like cycle ball, trials etc. that get no coverage anyway, so really I think those events got more light shone on them than they ever would if they had a separate event.

What do you think? Does the format work? Does something need to change even if it's kept? Was this a failure and should it be split up?

 

[DNP-Old]

Personally, I thought it was great. I love cycling, I actively watch every discipline bar BMX. If you take this place as an example, to my perception there is more traffic going on in the MTB and track boards than usually would be the case during a world championship, so that's a plus. I really liked the date too. August seems a more logical place for me on the calendar than September.

For the riders themselves, I understand if things are too packed. Pippo and Pidcock now had to set priorities and choose one discipline over the other, not a situation we want, as they are part of the elite in both. There is room for improvement in that regard.

The only frustration I had was the interwoven disciplines of track cycling and para-track cycling. I think it's great that para-track got some attention, but for further events I would give the morning and evenings to track cycling, and the afternoons to para-track. The great thing about the track is that its just event after event after event non-stop. This time around there was a Keirin, followed by C2 IP, followed by an omnium event, followed by an A5 sprint. That's not great for viewership.

 

[topcat]

I watched the elite men’s road race and the last half hour of the elite men’s tt. It worked fine for me.

 

[tobydawq]

I watched the elite men’s road race and the last half hour of the elite men’s tt. It worked fine for me.

I watched a little more of the TT and then also the final 50 kilometres of the women's road race. And the junior races the day before the men's elite road race to get a look at the course.

I tried watching some track cycling but then there was paracycling, and I lost interest instantaneously.

I don't care about the other disciplines and I would like a normal schedule for the road races where the elites ride last (I can live with the women coming after the men if that is for some reason judged as a preferable thing) and the TT's coming before the road races as per usual. I want the build-up to the main event, not the main event coming as the first thing like at the Olympics where the men's road race is also on the very first day.

 

[carolina]

I watched a lot more disciplines then I'm used to. I didn't even know trial existed.

It was great.

 

[KZD]

I think its fine doing it one time every four years but I think they should change some things:

Like DNP-old said track cycling and track para-cycling events should be separated by time frames.

Too many events in the track cycling program, perhaps MTB too, this is just a general criticism but in a World Championships where you also have events outside track cycling it makes choices even more difficult.

I still don't particularly like the mixed relay event and apparently the riders still don't really care about it.

I think 11 days of racing is too little for a Super Worlds so many events. 14-15 days would be better as it would the riders more time to recover from one event to the next.

 

[Peter von]

I liked it. I think once every four years is a good frequency.

Opening with men’s RR was probably a necessity based on calendar. But it felt weird to me, I quickly got over that though.

Sure UCI could have done better, but by the same coin it could have been a lot worse.

 

[Berniece]

I liked it, watched more of other events than I normally would. I would re-think the date though. Move the WC cycling always to a similar date, or move the event to september. It doesn't make sense that Remco/Mathieu have different lengths of wearing the jersey compared to the other 2 years.

 

[Ilmaestro99]

?

What's super worlds? Someone can explain?

I thought they just moved the road world championships to August, to align it with the mountain bike cross country in glassgow which was there in August. And it seemed a stupid idea. World championships is in September, better date. But there was some other reason.?

 

[King Boonen]

?

What's super worlds? Someone can explain?

I thought they just moved the road world championships to August, to align it with the mountain bike cross country in glassgow which was there in August. And it seemed a stupid idea. World championships is in September, better date. But there was some other reason.?

2023 UCI CYCLING WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS

Event hub of the 2023 UCI cycling world championships

www.cyclingworldchamps.com

 

[Peter von]

?

What's super worlds? Someone can explain?

I thought they just moved the road world championships to August, to align it with the mountain bike cross country in glassgow which was there in August. And it seemed a stupid idea. World championships is in September, better date. But there was some other reason.?

no, the Super Worlds is just the name of the concept of moving more world championships in different cycling disciplines to the same date and location.

 

[Red Rick]

I mostly loved it. My only problem was some riders I wanted to see at the road race skipping because they focused on non road events

 

[IndianCyclist]

It was good. Usually it is very difficult to follow on the track side due to different schedules. This brought everything together. But this is too close to the TDF and prevents the TDF riders to focus on both. So the date should be different

 

[Libertine Seguros]

?

What's super worlds? Someone can explain?

Cynically, I suspected that this was some way of encouraging paypig nations (or sportswashing ones for the less charitably-inclined) to stump up more money so they get a fuller program of Worlds, or for the UCI to avoid getting four or five separate backlashes for placing the individual discipline championships in said nations. However, said next one after this is in France rather than the year they're putting championships in places like Abu Dhabi and Saudi Arabia so perhaps that was a bit too overly cynical of me.

Personally I actually ended up watching less than I probably ordinarily would, just because I only have so many free hours in a day, and so I focused mainly on the events I cared more about and with so much to keep up with in such a short period of time, it was easier to skip a lot of events that I might have put on for curio value at least in a normal year.

I think for those on the ground and on site it can be considered a resounding success, but I'd feel the success is a bit more muted elsewhere, in that for every fan who watched more than they usually would by getting to see disciplines that they wouldn't ordinarily watch, there will be others like me who simply didn't have time to follow everything with all of these championships in a time compressed overarching championship that doesn't have the same kind of pull or recognition as an Olympics or other such multi-sport event (take regional or continental Games, the Commonwealth Games and their smaller equivalents, and so on), or the history of the kind of events I feel it's trying to ape, which would be things like the Athletics World Championships.

 

[VorstM]

I think it worked. Position on the calender could be improved somewhat.

 

[Ilmaestro99]

2023 UCI CYCLING WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS

Event hub of the 2023 UCI cycling world championships

www.cyclingworldchamps.com

This is honestly so stupid.

I didn't even know there was other events on. I would be more likely to watch mtb worlds if they are on separate times in the year. I don't spent all my life to watch sport, i watch a bit to relax, so I only knew the road races and time trials were happening and only watched those.

August is a silly slot for road world championships. It should be in September to give a late season goal for the classics riders. To put it in beginning of August. Now there is just vuelta and lombardia left as big races this season. Holidays for wout van aert and mads pederson.

Also ridiculous to have the ITT after the road race for the men. Because the road race clearly ruined the performance of certain riders in the time trial because of recovery.

Track cycling is dull sport without culture but it helps occasionally to fill the cycling void in winter. To put the world champs in August at the same time as the road just means most people wont watch the track. I didn't even know they were on? How does ganna or people like that decide what to do?

Same for the mountainbike, which I did know was happening at some point , but with the road racing on I just can't pay attention to.

Please just keep all the worlds as normal. Cyclocross in early February, Mtb whenever (I don't remember when is it normally, but if it was on yesterday, without any big road races on, I would watch it ), roads in September, and tracks in March ( I think?).

I liked the course and crowds in Glasgow but if it was a normal worlds in september it wouldn't be any different.

 

[awavey]

Part of me thinks its too early to tell based on just the one iteration of this setup, because everytime I think I had issues like say with the track cycling schedule being way too long (and i dont know how you solve that), or the gap in the road racing (though cool the women's race closed the event) I think wow that was great to see the MTB,BMX etc smaller events getting an exposure boost by it, normally their WCs pass by unnoticed, here they were as much centre stage. Not sure what the gymnastics on bikes added but they looked to be having fun doing it.

I don't know, will a repeat be as good and have such a lovable cute mascot plushie, with riders saying how friendly and welcoming it was for them, with decent (for Scotland) weather.

You think back to Yorkshire 2019, and it shows how the weather can really impact the experience, and I don't think anyone fondly recalls that championships

So would a repeat of this super worlds work as well as it seems to have again? And id say this was a qualified success but that doesnt mean the format itself is a success.

That's really the question, I think the difficulty will be finding nations & venues who can cope with hosting it because its a big & costly undertaking that maybe only a few cycling nations are capable of.

 

[Panda Claws]

It was superb.

 

[Devil's Elbow]

You think back to Yorkshire 2019, and it shows how the weather can really impact the experience, and I don't think anyone fondly recalls that championships

Er? That was the best WC in years at the time (obviously we've been spoiled since), and I'm sure most of the forum would agree. For any fans attending in person, otoh...

 

[Red Rick]

Er? That was the best WC in years at the time (obviously we've been spoiled since), and I'm sure most of the forum would agree. For any fans attending in person, otoh...

I think it's mainly about the latter.

At least @King Boonen has MvdP crash in the same corner he and his mates have taken their Friday night tumbles, so he's gonna be a bit biased

 

[Berniece]

This is honestly so stupid.

I didn't even know there was other events on. I would be more likely to watch mtb worlds if they are on separate times in the year. I don't spent all my life to watch sport, i watch a bit to relax, so I only knew the road races and time trials were happening and only watched those.

Now you know. The same happens in case of the Olympics.

 

[yaco]

My main takeaway for future championships is to have the two big races the men and women's elite on Sunday. You could have a calendar like this

Men/womens elite on the first Sunday.
Men's under 23 on the Saturday.
Mixed relay TT on Monday.
Junior boys and girls TT on Tuesday.
Mens under 23 ITT and or women's elite ITT.
Mens Elite TT on Thursday
Junior boys and girl RR on Friday
Men/Women's elite RR on Sunday.

You can switch the men and women ITT depending on which elite RR is on the first or second Sunday.

Having two Sundays means that the organisers have potentially two weekends of visitors.

 

[Axel Hangleck]

I thought it was an interesting idea to try - and in the main, worked. It will need a few tweaks I think, but new things always do. The non Road disciplines getting more exposure has got to be good - more interest, maybe more increased exposure & sponsorship.
When the men's Downhill is live on BBC1 on a Saturday afternoon, that is massive. It's not happening in a normal MTB Worlds.
Predictably, a lot of journalists proved themselves to be ignorant of all the non Road action......and didn't mention any of it. I simply unfollowed them....

Roll on Haut-Savoie in 2027.

 

[RedheadDane]

Interesting concept. Definitely needs to working on the schedule.

Silly observation!

Yes, there were riders who did both road and track. And riders who did both road and MTB. With various levels of success.
What I want to see is Pogacar go in and do a bit of artistic cycling!
Why Pogacar? Because he seems like the kind of guy who might just do it.

 

[red_flanders]

Not sure why they'd not eventually do this every year. Watched Elite Men's RR and TT, MTB XCO, U23 men's RR, and Women's Elite RR. Great.