UCI MTB World Cup (All forms!)

[Ripper]

PFP! Wow! World Champ on home soil!

Batten on the box!

PFP didn't look different to me...

Really? I think PFP looked even leaner than she normally looks.

 

[Ripper]

Pidcock also said he and others picked up a bug during the week, which might explain some of the subpar performances from some of the top riders.

A little ironic perhaps that in the week Evie Richards has been publicising the negative pressure on young riders to stay thin, that PFP wins easily with a fairly dramatic weight loss? Nice to see Hayley Batten fulfilling the promise she showed a couple of seasons ago and Neff being the best of the rest. Only a few days till the series decider. Surely everyone, apart from Australians, wants Terpsta to take the title?

Too bad T Piddie was under the weather. He did state that he "should win", with the qualifier should nothing go wrong ... so I guess things went a bit sideways.

 

[Axel Hangleck]

Pidcock also said he and others picked up a bug during the week, which might explain some of the subpar performances from some of the top riders.

A little ironic perhaps that in the week Evie Richards has been publicising the negative pressure on young riders to stay thin, that PFP wins easily with a fairly dramatic weight loss? Nice to see Hayley Batten fulfilling the promise she showed a couple of seasons ago and Neff being the best of the rest. Only a few days till the series decider. Surely everyone, apart from Australians, wants Terpsta to take the title?

There were quite a few; Vidaurre in the U23s, he's been pretty dominant all season, started well and faded. Laura Stigger in the U23 went backwards from the start; and a rider with Elite World Cup podiums. Sina Frei in the Elites, miles from top form. And there were more going by social media.

I always think MTB Worlds throws up weird results, compared to, for example the CX Worlds. It will be interesting to see who is on form this weekend in Val di Sole.

 

[Axel Hangleck]

Too bad T Piddie was under the weather. He did state that he "should win", with the qualifier should nothing go wrong ... so I guess things went a bit sideways.

He wasn't the only one; GCN had an interview with Evie, and she more or less said the same.

 

[stonerider]

He wasn't the only one; GCN had an interview with Evie, and she more or less said the same.

Evie hasn't raced enough this year to even think about winning. It's not like she's like Tom who also races road so he has a fair amount of race days. How many races has Evie even done this year? 5 maybe? I hope she has a guaranteed contract because if it's based on bonuses and race starts she's going in the hole this year. Hopefully she will try to redeem herself and race some CX this fall/winter.

 

[Axel Hangleck]

Ha ha, no, you've misunderstood. She was talking about Tom. Lauren did an interview with Evie on Thursday previewing the Worlds....and she thought that he would win.
I don't think anybody thought she could win...she hasn't done enough races since her comeback.

 

[Ripper]

He wasn't the only one; GCN had an interview with Evie, and she more or less said the same.

Interesting. Did she say he's a big favourite, he could win, or he should win? I mean, of course he's a big favorite. But saying someone should win, unless their winning margins have been something like 5 minutes, seems over the top to me.

Regardless, there's a difference to me between someone else saying "this person should win", and that person saying"I should win". In the current generation of super talents, he just seems to come across as that much more arrogant. But I don't know the guy, I only know what I see in interviews.

 

[Axel Hangleck]

He's just supremely confident; rather than arrogant. He just calls a spade a spade, the typical Yorkshireman. Saying that. cycling, particularly road cycling, seems to have a problem with people being like this - and I don't know why. It's common in virtually every sport, and accepted.

 

[Axel Hangleck]

Well here we are, the final round of the MTB World Cup, and we're back in Val di Sole (Ita). And the last one for Red Bull TV; the end of an era.

Mathematically, all titles are still up for grabs, so it should produce some exciting racing. Can all World Champions continue their good form? Will the riders who disappointed return to form?

One always wishes the MTB World Cup season went on for another 4-6 weeks.

 

[postmanhat]

In the women's XCO I'm all in for Terpsta winning the series, which seems to be mainly a matter of how close she finishes to Keller, unless McDonnell has a miraculous return of form. PFP looked in a completely different class last week, but I wonder how much she'll care about Sunday's race? Wouldn't be surprised if this is Mittalwalners first win.

 

[Axel Hangleck]

Terpstra seems to have picked up an infection; and from the team's instagram post, it wasn't looking 100% she would race. However she did, but didn't finish. I don't think McConnell scored many points either. Keller got points, and the XCC Overall, and could still claim the XCO title on Sunday.
PFP looks in good form; I wonder if she's going to do the XC Marathon Worlds next weekend - would be a shame to have great form and not use it.

As for the men's XCC, Hatherly & Carod set a blistering pace from the off....incredible. Carod took the win, but Hatherly the XCC Overall. Nino looks good to take the XCO Overall.

 

[glassmoon]

Awesome DH races today... what a nasty gnarly track... wow.

 

[Ricco']

Rob said in the end that Red Bull lost the world cup rights but will come back next year and that sometimes things are even better when they are built from scratch!

Pumped, bring it on RB, show you magic with hopefully a new series!

 

[Axel Hangleck]

Yeah, Red Bull does plenty of non World Cup MTB; we've just seen Crankworx, Whistler, next week is Hardline from Dyfi. There was an urban DH in South America earlier in the year.

If I was them, I'd be looking at making some events into a Hardline World Series, which isn't a competitor to the World Cup, but something different. A bit like what we see in motorcycle Enduro with the established Enduro GP, and the newer Hard Enduro which Red Bull cover themselves.....

 

[glassmoon]

Congrats to PFP, Loana and Jolanda... also to Keller for the both overals.
Nice to hear Pauline is going for marathon wch and gravel wch in coming weeks - that girl really does love her some world titels, doesn't she
Also nice to see such appreciation for RB's work from the riders.

 

[Axel Hangleck]

A well deserved World Cup title for Keller, however one feels for Anne....looked set for the Overall, until picking up an infection in the week of the race.

PFP is in such good form why not make use of it? She's won the XCM before, so knows what to expect - the gravel Worlds will be interesting.
One gets the feeling that the women are more open to doing other types of racing as opposed to the men, who mostly stick to MTB.

 

[Mayomaniac]

Kerschbaumer ended his career this weekend.
After 2018 his priorities changed, he got married, became a father and built a new house (all in one year) and then Covid happened.
He was an interesting character, never touched his bike during the winter, didn't use even a bike computer and until his decline started he only trained on feeling and without a coach. The guy also didn't own a TV for the longest time.

 

[Axel Hangleck]

So Carod took another win, after his Mont Saint-Anne victory; so it's a shame he had an off day at the Worlds. And Nino claimed yet another World Cup title.
Back in 2020 it looked as though time had caught up with him, however he's almost as good as ever, doesn't miss races to prepare, and is competitive everywhere. Others have courses where they're not a factor, he doesn't.
It's a brave man to bet against him winning the World Cup next season.

 

[stonerider]

I just find it odd that he seems better at age 36 than he was at age 34 or 35. It's not really normal to get better in your late 30's. What did he do to reverse the normal aging decline? I need to find out because I'm 54.

 

[Axel Hangleck]

I think you can look at his rivals and look where they are. None of them are consistent all season. In fact, across both men's & women's racing, very few are consistent all season long - he seems to be the exception. Saying that, Terpstra who was 2nd in the season opener in Brazil, probably would have won the Overall, if it wasn't for picking up an infection.

 

[Strawberry_Jams]

I just find it odd that he seems better at age 36 than he was at age 34 or 35. It's not really normal to get better in your late 30's. What did he do to reverse the normal aging decline? I need to find out because I'm 54.

I think possibly the uncertainty around covid in general especially in 2020 contributed to results...lack of motivation etc.

 

[Ripper]

I think possibly the uncertainty around covid in general especially in 2020 contributed to results...lack of motivation etc.

Indeed I think this was the case. Some riders really struggled in the year of the outbreak and the year after, as it took some time to build back up. Nino appears to have declined since before the pandemic, but only slightly. It just looks more dramatic given that two year pandemic issue.

 

[Ripper]

I just find it odd that he seems better at age 36 than he was at age 34 or 35. It's not really normal to get better in your late 30's. What did he do to reverse the normal aging decline? I need to find out because I'm 54.

LOL, I know the feeling! A big difference between mid-30's and approaching mid-50's! Keep the high level training twice per week; VO2, LT, anaerobic - whatever you need to focus on, but VO2 is often cited as a need for aging athletes. And still take those recovery days! I've heard the term intensity discipline used a fair bit - meaning to ensure you are not training to hard on a given day.

 

[jmdirt]

I just find it odd that he seems better at age 36 than he was at age 34 or 35. It's not really normal to get better in your late 30's. What did he do to reverse the normal aging decline? I need to find out because I'm 54.

I'm also 54. When I hit 50 I started drinking more tequila...it didn't help my riding, but it made me not worry about my decline as much!

 

[Ripper]

I'm also 54. When I hit 50 I started drinking more tequila...it didn't help my riding, but it made me not worry about my decline as much!

It's a great recovery drink!