Dale
Posts:1767
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| 12/23/2022 04:04 PM |
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Mens race was good. Solid racing up until the last lap-and-a-half but good race for 3rd. The podium had a combined 8 world championships standing there.
The women's race... not much was said about 4th place but that's the real story. Zoe Bäckstedt just turned 18 and was at or near the front most of the race. I watched her destroy the 17/18 year old field last January in Fayetteville, AR for the world championship. She's someone to watch.
Cold here as it is in much of the US so the day was spent doing stuff at home while carrying around my computer watching a race live from a little town in Belgium. |
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Orange Crush
Posts:4499
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| 12/23/2022 04:44 PM |
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Men's race was good indeed.
Missed the women's. Bäckstedt is a beast but the race was won by a different beast and potential future GT winner, that is the intended trajectory for Shirin anyway. Bäckstedt won't be a factor there as she doesn't climb very well, she's more VDP style. |
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Dale
Posts:1767
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| 12/24/2022 12:31 PM |
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| No question Zoe has her fathers genetics, she'll win by sprints not by HC climbs |
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Orange Crush
Posts:4499
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| 12/24/2022 03:19 PM |
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| VDP put the skewers on himself with an extra hard training ride today Lol. |
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Orange Crush
Posts:4499
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| 12/26/2022 09:59 AM |
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| Revenge is sweet |
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Orange Crush
Posts:4499
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| 12/27/2022 12:21 PM |
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| Zolder, wow wow wow wow. |
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Dale
Posts:1767
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| 12/27/2022 01:01 PM |
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In the battle to clobber each other the rest of the field keeps getting smeared.
Something like the African proverb "When elephants fight, the grass gets trampled." |
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Orange Crush
Posts:4499
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| 12/27/2022 03:12 PM |
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Van Aerts quote was priceless “for a few minutes I was under the impression I beat him myself “
That was battle number 250 between the two. 251 coming up tomorrow. |
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Cosmic Kid
Posts:4209
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| 12/28/2022 09:06 AM |
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Bummed for Wout it came down to MVP popping his shoe out of his pedal….but I think he had him by launching his sprint first. They were close to the line and trying to come around him in such a short distance was going to be tough, I think.
At least that is what I am telling myself.
Wout 2-1 over the holiday weekend…Round 4 today!! |
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| Just say "NO!" to WCP!!!!
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Cosmic Kid
Posts:4209
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| 12/28/2022 06:24 PM |
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Holy crap…what a race today for the men. The Big 3 off the front and battling it out. Looked like MVP had, but Pidcock clawed him back because Wout was spent…somehow Wout manages to counter and looks like he has the race, only to have MVP bring him back. Pidcock, who had been dropped, comes back AGAIN and gets a gap…..Wout goes after him and MVP pops for good. Wout and Pidcock to the line and Pidcock fumbles a bit coming into the final stairs and Wout takes the win n
Just an epic race!!! |
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| Just say "NO!" to WCP!!!!
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Orange Crush
Posts:4499
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| 12/28/2022 07:17 PM |
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| As Wout said “this can’t be healthy “ |
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Orange Crush
Posts:4499
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| 12/30/2022 05:33 PM |
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Another great race today. Maybe the best cyclocross racing week ever (as some commentators have said) although same commentators were also saying that in 2018 (before they started focusing on road) the main protagonists were technically better than they ride now; they’re solving things more based on power than technique.
I’d been noticing this with VDP in particular. Couple times been yelling “ come on man you know how to ride this better”. That offcamber the other day for instance. Ugly execution kept putting his foot down like a chomp haha. |
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Cosmic Kid
Posts:4209
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| 12/31/2022 09:35 AM |
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Maybe the best cyclocross racing week ever
Would have to agree…technical skills aside. The pure competitive aspect this week has been brilliant.
Conversely, most of the women’s races have been snoozefests unfortunately. |
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| Just say "NO!" to WCP!!!!
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Dale
Posts:1767
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| 01/01/2023 02:57 PM |
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+1 to the above comments. VdP is used to bludgeoning the race with brute power. I was surprised at the number of dabs on the off-camber section and he still kept using that line when Wout and Tom showed him the better line several times.
And what's with the tail whip gone awry that dumped the WC stripes into and over the barrier?
And Shirin van Anrooij is just making the rest of the field look like juniors. It does make the woman's races rather dull |
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longslowdistance
Posts:2881
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| 01/01/2023 09:48 PM |
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Love the passion of these posts and the recent racing quality. Just had the chance to watch a couple in replay. Great stuff, wow wow wow as someone posted above!
Here's a request of cross broadcasters: please show us more of the whole race, not just the leader as he or she navigates the course ahead of the competition. Need some additional guidance? see NASCAR video. Kinda similar as those races are on short closed courses. Sure they only turn left, but there are nuances that skilled commentators explain, and that works.
Just a request |
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Dale
Posts:1767
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| 01/02/2023 08:54 AM |
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LSD, I concur. Particularly in the women's race it's exceptionally boring, 45 minutes of van Anrooji riding solo. Show the mid-pack battles, there's some great racing going on there.
Check out the video with commentary from Drew Dillman at Zolder. WAAY more entertaining and fun to watch than seeing the top three separated by a minute. This is bump and grind racing!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3hRmBgNUNpI |
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Orange Crush
Posts:4499
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| 01/02/2023 06:42 PM |
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Interesting. I personally have no interest in what’s going on midfield. The race is won in front. If that race happens to be boring so be it. My only request is please keep the talking to a minimum. Do I need to hear for the tenth time that fans are ringing on Van Aerts doorbell, argh?!
The issue with women is that while their field theoretically is deeper and more stacked than men only one of them seems to show up ready to race any given day. Shirin can dominate but I’ve also seen her chase Pieterse in vain for 45 mins after another lousy start. Her pedigree as a future GT contender is showing in those starts. Pieterse races like the MTBer that she is straight from the gun and with the most skill. Van Empel somewhere in between. |
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Dale
Posts:1767
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| 01/02/2023 08:28 PM |
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| It’s not an either or situation. In an hour race there’s plenty of opportunity to show more than the top three. |
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Orange Crush
Posts:4499
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| 01/02/2023 08:42 PM |
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| It’s a Belgian thing. Their commentators get very impatient when the camera pans back to this and that action (eg during French or Italian races). I like it. |
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Orange Crush
Posts:4499
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| 01/05/2023 10:54 AM |
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| Today we saw the root cause of VDPs back problems. Not crashes (although those don’t help), intense cyclocross. His physio had already indicated as much a while ago. A lot of course design aspects that are $4it for one’s back. |
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Dale
Posts:1767
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| 01/05/2023 01:38 PM |
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VdP has gone from "He's baaack!" to "His baaack!"
+1 on the course design, or rather the nature of the courses lately... mud, deep sand, off-camber, etc. that demand a strong core doesn't help the physiological issues he has with his back.
Stinks to see either VdP of VA flat out, have mechanicals, have physical issues that hand the race to the other. When Wout flatted VdP didn't give a big victory salute since the mechanical took away a good race finish. Props to him.
You have to favor Wout for the Worlds win. |
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Orange Crush
Posts:4499
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| 01/05/2023 01:47 PM |
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According to Adrie, VDPs physio watched a few races and had a lot of comments. Mud and sand is fine. The issues are with uneven use of back. Off-camber is brutal but the 180 turns are too. Running straight up a steep hill is fine but parallel to it, yikes.
Both are due for team training camp so the cyclocross load will diminish and I think VDP can recover. But yes Wout seems more bomb proof. |
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Orange Crush
Posts:4499
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| 01/08/2023 10:45 AM |
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| I think we’re possibly looking at VDPs last cyclocross season. A few others going around with sore backs as well, Sweeck, Nys, etc. |
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Dale
Posts:1767
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| 01/08/2023 03:26 PM |
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| Agree. Probably better to map out a road racing program going forward and let CX be in their rearview mirror. Funny to say he didn't look good today in that he was 2nd but he looked off and uncomfortable after the first get-off into the sand. |
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longslowdistance
Posts:2881
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| 01/08/2023 07:40 PM |
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Just pontificating here. The human spine evolved from 4 paw drive. Not so great for 2 feet.
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79pmooney
Posts:3180
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| 01/08/2023 07:55 PM |
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lsd, I said something to that effect to my PT when I wrecked my shoulder years ago. (That PT, really, really good. She was the only one i could trust to touch my shoulder, let alone work it.) Turned out she was a fundamentalist. Didn't take my comment well at all. Rest of the session was stone cold.
She had a gift, her hands, that I needed. Kept those thoughts on our origin in total check the rest of the sessions. They went well and I gave her high recommendations; |
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longslowdistance
Posts:2881
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| 01/08/2023 09:41 PM |
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Thanks Ben,
If I may, someone please fill me in, curious: all said and done, how much do low tier, mid level and superstar cross riders take home in total at the end of the season?
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Orange Crush
Posts:4499
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| 01/10/2023 09:26 PM |
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VDP and Van Aert reportedly rake in 15k Euros per race or maybe 25k. Don’t know about any of others but way less.
Diegem reportedly had 50k in attendance paying 15 euros each. That and beer sales. |
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Orange Crush
Posts:4499
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| 01/22/2023 11:26 AM |
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Posted By Dale Dale on 01/05/2023 01:38 PM
VdP has gone from "He's baaack!" to "His baaack!"
And we’re back to he’s back.
Good duel on women side as well. |
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Dale
Posts:1767
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| 01/23/2023 05:39 PM |
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WvA needs to thank his lucky stars he didn't nail that barrier on the right.
Nice race between those two- it's so much better than having one of them pull a foot out or have a mechanical that takes them out of contention, or one of them not on form and it's a solo win by a minute or more. |
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Cosmic Kid
Posts:4209
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| 01/24/2023 03:30 PM |
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| those were the two best CX races this season, IMO... |
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| Just say "NO!" to WCP!!!!
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Orange Crush
Posts:4499
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| 01/24/2023 03:33 PM |
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| Worlds up next. This coming weekend is just about not crashing or hurting oneself. |
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Orange Crush
Posts:4499
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| 02/16/2023 08:41 PM |
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That hardcore Christmas week of racing had a delayed after effect.
Wout had to forego two days at training camp due to fatigue.
No surprise given how hard those two were clobbering each other. |
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