Iride01 

I find it interesting that the conversation in this sub-forum comes to a screeching halt at the end of the season. <grin>

Cheers y'all. Looking forward to the 2022 pro cycling season to begin.

MinnMan

But......cyclocross!


and Peter Sagan assaulted a police officer because he was afraid they were going to forcibly vaccinate him.

slcbob

And 6 days of Ghent.

Cav made it through 5.9 of them. Plus as of 3 days ago, he and Lefevere still hadn't inked next year's deal.


It's just enough to keep the headlines coming in the niche rags, but not so much to prime the pump here.

HeyItsSara

hahahahahahah

MinnMan

https://www.velonews.com/news/cycloc...ts-incredible/

Iride01 

MinnMan Are those televised? What are you watching them on here in the USA?

I suppose I could google, but I'm a little lazy this morning. Rain yesterday and drizzle and brisk today. But 81°F by Friday. Might still go out for a ride and get wet today.

MinnMan

It's catch as catch can, but many of the races can be found. Here's that race

Iride01 

That's crazy! I had nothing to do this afternoon so I brought it up on the big TV and watched the entire thing. First time I ever watched anything but short clips of cyclocross. So many questions........ <grin>

I kept wondering the whole time if I could have made 1 lap at even just a fraction their pace. And did they ever take a drink or do they get enough water and carb's in the mud they must have had to swallow?

MinnMan

A good thing about cx races is that they last about an hour, so you really can watch the whole thing.

van Aert was the beast of the day, but that's probably because van der Poel wasn't there. Before either of them were sensations on the road, they dominated world-cup cyclocross and had epic battles. Van der Poel usually won. Races from a year or three ago are still probably floating around on Youtube.

MinnMan

GCN+ might have coverage of some of the cx races?

Anyway, going back to the main point - Cyclocross is a GREAT spectator sport and those who are only looking for the road events are missing out.

Also, I think it's so cool that these races attract packed crowds in nasty winter weather in Belgium. The whole country is cycling crazy.

MinnMan

Wold Championships of Cyclocross is coming to Fayetteville at the end of January. van der Poel, van Aert, and Pidcock are are scheduled to compete.
televised by Flobikes
https://www.velonews.com/news/cycloc...-fayetteville/

Iride01 

January 23rd... that'll be some pretty cold mud if it isn't frozen solid. <grin> I was in Wichita at my sister's when Dirty Kanza was running in 2020. I couldn't get any of those with me interested enough to make the short trip over there to see it in person.

I might have to learn the difference between cyclocross and gravel races. Dirty Kanza is a gravel race isn't it?

MinnMan

(assuming you're not joking.....)
They are totally different - distance, terrain, technique, ethos, etc.

There is a cx scene in the US, but Belgium is the center of the cyclocross universe. With some exceptions, pretty much all the world's top cyclocross competitors are Belgian or Dutch. Cyclocross goes back a century or more.

Gravel is new- basically the last 15 years and *was* a grassroots American phenomenon, but it is changing rapidly.

Up until recently, Gravel wasn't really a spectator sport - it was all about participation and inclusiveness, and definitely there didn't used to be any such thing as a professional gravel racer. Therefore, it didn't used to belong in this subforum at all. Now....maybe so.

Dirty Kanza is now Unbound Gravel.

Iride01 

No, I'm not joking. I know very little about anything other than tours, grand tours and the one day races that are team events. And also, my only cycling experience is on the road on a road bike. Even when a kid, I was seldom riding anywhere but on the streets. And I never owned anything but a road bike though one might have been consider a roadster which I think is more like a cruiser style bike.

While off and on I've watched the other types of competitions, I just don't quite get into them. Probably because I don't understand them or see anything for strategy. My lack of knowledge for what's going on makes me feel in some ways as if I'm watching a horse race without the benefit of being able to place a bet. (I don't mean that as snarky as it sounds)

They are getting a little more interesting to me so I'll have to start reading more about them when I come across articles about the competitions.

MinnMan

One thing that I already sort of said but WTH, I'll repeat - van der Poel and van Aert kind of exploded on the road scene in the last year or two, but this was no surprise at all to the cx world. They've been dominant forces in CX for years. Here's one of many highlight reels from 2017

MinnMan

Today's race in Essen. MvdP still not racing, though he's coming soon.

Iride01 

I watched all of that one too. This time I turned the wife's stationary bike around and watched it while spinning away. I think I'll get some more queued up and use them to keep my mind off the monotony of riding stationary bikes or trainers. I know zwift will do that and even more, but I'm not ready to go down that rabbit hole. <grin>

Still never saw any take a drink. How they put out that much effort for so long without fluid I don't know. I had to have water before I was even 20 minutes on the stationary bike.

MinnMan

Highlights of todays world cup SNOW cyclocross race.

No mud.

Narration en espanol