Zolder raises questions.

[ak-zaaf]

Boom picks a few crosses a year to do. Zolder was one of them.

Today he crushed Albert, the best guy in the field at the moment.
CX seemed to have great generation coming with Stybar (who would have killed everyone today) and Albert. But today Albert couldn't hold a gap over Boom and then couldn't keep his wheel. A full time CX guy versus a 'tourist'.

Is Boom showing that he's a unique talent or that the CX world is bleeding to death?

 

[Michielveedeebee]

He's an exceptional talent. If you can win PT-prologues or races at La Vuelta you're way better than the 'average' road cyclist. and when we see the results of the best of the CXriders, they're not that much better than most pros on the road

 

[Jukebox]

He's an exceptional talent. If you can win PT-prologues or races at La Vuelta you're way better than the 'average' road cyclist. and when we see the results of the best of the CXriders, they're not that much better than most pros on the road

I agree, but it does seem odd that a guy not in peak fitness can just walk up and win a cx race. At this point Boom shouldn't have his high end fitness tuned up.

 

[Timmy-loves-Rabo]

I'd say boom is an excellent talent. Still has a lot to do on the road though.
I was planning on watching zolder but fall asleep. So not too sure how good he was.

 

[Dekker_Tifosi]

Meh, I think Albert and Stybar would make very decent road racers also. Although they are not as talented on the road as Boom.

As for the cross. Well don't forget the full time CX-ers are in the middle of the season and Boom is relatively fresher.

 

[Timmy-loves-Rabo]

Meh, I think Albert and Stybar would make very decent road racers also. Although they are not as talented on the road as Boom.

As for the cross. Well don't forget the full time CX-ers are in the middle of the season and Boom is relatively fresher.

this also.
Not his first CX race either, and he claims to have some sort of form.

It will be interesting to see how this approach affects his spring.

 

[Kwibus]

Is it really that suprising? The top of cyclocross is very narrow and let's face it. Only 1 country is really interested in it and that's Belgium so you can't expect the top to be equal to road racers.
If the best riders are equal to very good road racers then they will make the move to the road as there is more money to make... allthough the money isn't bad in cyclo cross either.

Still it was an impressive win by Boom. I just hope he doesn't peak too early though.

 

[Anonymous]

Boom picks a few crosses a year to do. Zolder was one of them.

Today he crushed Albert, the best guy in the field at the moment.
CX seemed to have great generation coming with Stybar (who would have killed everyone today) and Albert. But today Albert couldn't hold a gap over Boom and then couldn't keep his wheel. A full time CX guy versus a 'tourist'.

Is Boom showing that he's a unique talent or that the CX world is bleeding to death?

Even more surprising that three times be lost loads of time when his chain came off and each time he was able to eat up the 15seconds hed lost in a matter of minutes. He then did a full bike change and still caught up with albert very quickly.

Even stybar seemed surprised on twitter as to how quick he was.

My thought is perhaps the training schedule he is on at his pro road team is somehow more effective than normal cross training.

 

[ak-zaaf]

Is it really that suprising? The top of cyclocross is very narrow and let's face it. Only 1 country is really interested in it and that's Belgium so you can't expect the top to be equal to road racers.
If the best riders are equal to very good road racers then they will make the move to the road as there is more money to make... allthough the money isn't bad in cyclo cross either.

Still it was an impressive win by Boom. I just hope he doesn't peak too early though.

OK, Styby wasn't there. But Albert is an amazing talent and full-time CX pro. I'd be devastated after yesterday if I were him.
He's in the middle of his season, while Boom is just warming up for the road races. Albert should be close to top-form. So I think D_T's 'fresher' could also be looked at another way.

For Timmy: It was brutal. Nothing less. A field full of boys against Superman. Seriously, check out the videozone on sporza.be if they have good video's. 3 laps of mechanical troubles couldn't stop him, even with Albert in front.
That's why I started this thread. It wasn't just a win, he completely humiliated all the full-time crossers.

 

[Anonymous]

OK, Styby wasn't there. But Albert is an amazing talent and full-time CX pro. I'd be devastated after yesterday if I were him.
He's in the middle of his season, while Boom is just warming up for the road races. Albert should be close to top-form. So I think D_T's 'fresher' could also be looked at another way.

For Timmy: It was brutal. Nothing less. A field full of boys against Superman. Seriously, check out the videozone on sporza.be if they have good video's. 3 laps of mechanical troubles couldn't stop him, even with Albert in front.
That's why I started this thread. It wasn't just a win, he completely humiliated all the full-time crossers.

Im with you. I think another performance like that and there will need to be a cyclocross clinic. He was just so dominatant. Every time his chain slipped and he lost 15-20 seconds he seemed to bring the gap back in a matter of minutes, at one point I actually thought Albert had waited for him realising he had a bike problem (he regained the gap that quickly).

Albert at least got some satisfaction today. Good to see Stybar back and finishing 3rd as well, he looked very pleased with that.

 

[ak-zaaf]

Im with you. I think another performance like that and there will need to be a cyclocross clinic. He was just so dominatant. Every time his chain slipped and he lost 15-20 seconds he seemed to bring the gap back in a matter of minutes, at one point I actually thought Albert had waited for him realising he had a bike problem (he regained the gap that quickly).

Albert at least got some satisfaction today. Good to see Stybar back and finishing 3rd as well, he looked very pleased with that.

Yeah, Stybar wasn't expecting anything yet. I think he originally planned to make his comeback next wednesday.
Albert will now have to deal with Stybar (who seems to be the better allround CX'er) again, sooner than he thought. I have a hunch he'll switch to road racing in the next couple of years.

Boom's post-race comment to Albert yesterday was comedy gold: "You should do a GT, it really helps" 😱

 

[joe1265]

There's no way you can compare road to CX accurately. The bike handling skills needed to excel at CX are totally different, otherwise TT specialists would crush it in CX races.

Boom is an incredible CX racer, but I don't think he'll ever really be in the upper reaches on the road as the discipline doesn't play to his real skills, steering a bike while going full out for an hour.

Just my $0.02.

 

[Dekker_Tifosi]

Uhhh..and why do you think that? He already won a medium mountain stage in the Vuelta (pretty convincingly at that), won the Paris Nice prologue, won the GP Jef Scherens (hilly belgian race) and was top 5 in the E3 Prijs Harelbeke. Plus in several top classics he was with the best 5/6 of the race until 200/220km (which seemed to be his limit the last year)

He has a gigantic motor and a vo2max of 84. He has every thing it takes to make it.

 

[Buffalo Soldier]

A good Cyclo crosser doesn't make a good Road Racer. A good road racer doesn't certainly doesn't make a good CX'er.

Boom has the ability to be top in both, he can produce an impressive amount of power, and is best in shorter disciplines (1h crosses, TT's).
Stybar & Albert are totally different type of riders. But i believe they would be top talents (still only 25&24 years old) in road cycling too. Not for the same type of races as Boom, rather for ardennes & other climbing.

Nys has already proven he is also (sub)top in MTB (9th @OS08) & rode some good Paris-Roubaix's in the past.

Don't underestimate CX-riders!

 

[Michielveedeebee]

Yeah, Stybar wasn't expecting anything yet. I think he originally planned to make his comeback next wednesday.
Albert will now have to deal with Stybar (who seems to be the better allround CX'er) again, sooner than he thought. I have a hunch he'll switch to road racing in the next couple of years.

Boom's post-race comment to Albert yesterday was comedy gold: "You should do a GT, it really helps" 😱

Well you often see riders really stepping up after they did a GT, somehow 3 weeks of intense racing makes a rider way stronger...

 

[Timmy-loves-Rabo]

For Timmy: It was brutal. Nothing less. A field full of boys against Superman. Seriously, check out the videozone on sporza.be if they have good video's. 3 laps of mechanical troubles couldn't stop him, even with Albert in front.
That's why I started this thread. It wasn't just a win, he completely humiliated all the full-time crossers.

Yeah i shall have a look, i really like cx, just never have time during the season. Seemed like an epic course / environment too.

Uhhh..and why do you think that? He already won a medium mountain stage in the Vuelta (pretty convincingly at that), won the Paris Nice prologue, won the GP Jef Scherens (hilly belgian race) and was top 5 in the E3 Prijs Harelbeke. Plus in several top classics he was with the best 5/6 of the race until 200/220km (which seemed to be his limit the last year)

He has a gigantic motor and a vo2max of 84. He has every thing it takes to make it.

although I agree, I kinda get what he was saying. Boom is amazing in cx, and although he could become great on the road, hard to believe he could display the dominance he shows in cx.

But yeah, he's already achieved so much in cx, so why not concentrate on the road, where let's face it, the competition is tougher, and success is much more difficult.

 

[Echoes]

I agree with D-T on all this.


I think Boom is clearly in form at the moment. He's trained very hard for this. So said Paul Herijgers and don't forget he definitely wants to become Dutch Champion again. So he doesn't only have long term objectives. Last season, he won it in a tight sprint with De Knegt. He had only raced one cross before. This time he wants to make sure he's fit for it.

I have other examples in mind of crossers vs roadies rivalries.

I read a book about Roland Liboton in which he talked about his 10 winning streak at the Belgian championship and he said that on that race, roadies such as Eric Vanderaerden came to bother them. "We were tired and they were fresh." That's why Liboton is so proud of his streak.

And remember Igorre 2007. Mourey was dominating the field, a dozen of seconds ahead. He would have won if it wasn't for mechanical problems. Herijgers also said that top Belgian riders had been mixing it up since September with the best while Mourey was tranquilly winning his Challenge national races (by the way what was he doing again in Switzerland instead of Zolder?).

So yeah fatigue certainly plays a role.

Don't ignore other elements either. Zolder was on snow and ice. A very dangerous route. Willingness to take risks played a role too. Albert has never been a snow rider (don't know about Boom?). Pauwels has a snow phobia. Nys seemed to have back problems and in any case he announced clearly that the Superprestige was more important. And then Albert explained that he was losing grounds on the straight parts which favoured Boom clearly.

Also agree with D-T on Stybar's and Albert's road abilities. Even Pauwels !
Only problem is that their teams are not invited. Just look at Mourey. He can ride Pro Tour races because his team programme allows him to but he's never had good results on the road, neither with the pro nor with the U23.

Albert was winning something like 8 of the 10 road races he raced as U23 or junior each season. Stybar could be top10 in the Giro delle Regioni. Let's see what he will do with QS.

And Boom's comment seems ridiculous. Riding GT doesn't help for preparing the cyclocross season. Ask Franzoi, Mourey or Liboton. They all had bad experience with cyclocross season after riding a GT. Mourey said he lost tonus and gained stamina. Actually he was dieselized. Riding GT is certainly a good experience for a road career but not cross.

 

[DirtyWorks]

Raw Power

It wasn't just a win, he completely humiliated all the full-time crossers.

Except the situation rewarded the rider with the most raw power. This is reflected in the fact the finishers were spread out all over the course. From the last laps I saw yesterday, 'crossers were making time on Boom in the skills sections of the course and Boom was making lots of time on the field in the non-technical sections. That's evidence that raw power won that day.

It's not clear to me if you guys are aware that Boom raced World Cup 'cross before going road full-time.

 

[Buffalo Soldier]

Stybar could be top10 in the Giro delle Regioni. Let's see what he will do with QS.

Is it sure he'll ride with QS next year? I really hope he does...

 

[Timmy-loves-Rabo]

Except the situation rewarded the rider with the most raw power. This is reflected in the fact the finishers were spread out all over the course. From the last laps I saw yesterday, 'crossers were making time on Boom in the skills sections of the course and Boom was making lots of time on the field in the non-technical sections. That's evidence that raw power won that day.

It's not clear to me if you guys are aware that Boom raced World Cup 'cross before going road full-time.

really, cause their are references in this thread.
selective reading i guess.

 

[Dekker_Tifosi]

Today we saw the negative side of riding a full road-season. Boom seemed to be totally at unease in the mud. When he was a full time cx-er, muddy circuits suited him best. Now it was nothing short of bad.

After he had to close a gap 3 times in the first 3 rounds he gave it up. Everytime in the mud he lost all he gained.

 

[bossohboss]

When Boom recommended Albert to ride a GT it was in relation to Albert saying that Boom was very powerful on the asphalt sections of the course.

Boom was training for most of the month before he returned to cross. He was saying about it on his twitter feed loads so I was expecting him to do well. He has a history of turning up and starting his cross seasons slowly but coming good with very few races quickly. In the 2007 -08 season he came from winning the world U23 time trial and he finished about 18th in the World Cup won by Stybar then he got the podium in the next World Cup. The following season when he was Elite cyclocross World Champion he finished his first cyclocross race of the season mid October in 18th place (Superprestige) then he finished 10th in a world cup then for the start of November he came 2nd to Nys at the Koppenberg cross.

He used to be best on mud and worse on snow so its unusual to see it now.

 

[GreggGermer]

And Boom's comment seems ridiculous. Riding GT doesn't help for preparing the cyclocross season. Ask Franzoi, Mourey or Liboton. They all had bad experience with cyclocross season after riding a GT. Mourey said he lost tonus and gained stamina. Actually he was dieselized. Riding GT is certainly a good experience for a road career but not cross.

Didn't John Gadret race a few Grand Tours in his days? I remember him winning (or coming close) on a tour mountain stage recently. Those Grand Tours haven't made him into a Lars Boom style rider ... what makes Lars Boom win is his power, plain and simple power. He is super strong, had good skills and I'm sure a Grand Tour helped bump him up a level in power.

I was at the Zolder World Cup and he was able to power much faster on the straights, but as TT champion of Holland, that isn't surprising.

 

[will10]

Gadret isn't a great example as he is a skinny little shrimp, not exactly suited to cross