Out of this world performance.
Also, didn’t want to post spoilers in the meme thread, but I posted this earlier this year and wouldn’t you know.
It’s funny how much hate the course got before the race, it was super entertaining and probably one of the hardest one day races we had this year… Yeah there weren’t big climbs but there were enough corners and short pinches to make it super hard and the way it was raced it was stretched out for 120k.
MVDP just cemented his status as best classic rider… His punch on those short Steep hills is just something else… this year for him is unbelievable 2 Rainbow Jerseys 2 Monuments…
Given the results of this race, my interest in some of the upcoming races has increased
- Can Wout finally get rainbow stripes by winning the TT?
- Can mvdp get the double by winning the XC race?
What would be the bigger redemption, his win at worlds after spending last year’s in an Australian jail or winning the MTB after his back imploding faceplant at the Olympics?
I’m not knocking him, he’s definitely having a much better year.
Wow, what an awesome race!. That course was freaking awesome. Definitely don’t understand the negativity pre-race!
Absolutely stoked for MVdP. I hope those scrapes don’t alter his intentions to race the XCO in a few days time. He’s starting at the back, but with this form, he’s still a chance!
Ellise Andrews winning the Women’s Kierin was such a buzz to start the day with!!
The triple!
Spoiler.
Why is no one mentioning Hanna’s come from behind victory on Dan Bigham in the pursuit? Real shocker watching the race, as it looked like Dan had this in the bag. Really exciting just over 4 minutes
I guess there’s only so much bandwidth. The RR was definitely so good it was hard to look away for even four minutes!
Ganna is a beast. Bodes well for his chances in the ITT.
ETA: just watched it. A very brave ride by Bigham! He wrote some huge cheques over that first two km!
Yes - so close to a stunning upset. You have to wonder what Ineos management would have said if Bigham beat Ganna
Haha, I bet they’d have said wow.
They will know where both guys are though. Bigham tied up pretty badly, he laid it out there but was going 8km/h slower towards the end.
Of course it is obvious, it’s his entire schtick, but how about Bighams position. That was the most aerodynamic ride I’ve ever seen. Must be a nightmare to ride in the TP with him.
Fizzing for the XC Relay tomorrow. We have a team entered by the looks which is a pleasant surprise. Very young, but terrific for experience. It’s such a cool race dynamic and I’m actually surprised it’s not made more of a priority for viewing etc.
The course looks great. Definitely got enough power sections for MVdP to move forward quickly.
If he doesn’t make the front of the race before the first single track though I think he’ll go the way of Pidcock last year and be a cooked duck.
I haven’t watched other WC courses from POV so maybe this would apply elsewhere, but holy hell I found that course confusing. Seemed like they were arbitrarily zigging and zagging everywhere through what appears to be city park.
Seems like it will provide for some interesting racing so I’m not criticizing it, but it’s definitely not the first thing that comes to mind when I think of mountain biking.
It’s pretty typical. They come to and from central locations for fixed cameras. Even on larger bike parks there’s usually central spots that have multiple trail heads so the courses often brush back against themselves.
It’s a bit more man made than a lot of the WC circuit, but it should provide good racing I think.
Some of the features have already claimed a few injuries.
Not just confusing because the course hasn’t been taped yet in that video? I’m guessing that preview was filmed a couple of weeks ago, at least. I imagine once it’s been taped and worn in a bit it will look much more obvious rather than just open forest / field.
Yeah it not being taped is of course what is the main thing that makes it confusing. I think if you looked at a lot of world cup XCO courses without tape they’d be confusing too but the mix of urban features does stand out to me some compared to other XCO courses.
Again, not saying it’s bad, it’s different but that’s not an issue. Looks like it will offer up some good racing.
Lots going on in that TTT relay.
I guess Reusser figured if it’s good enough for MvdP…
Those gaps and rock rolls/drops will be a lot harder at race pace in a big bunch. I can see there will be some carnage.
I’ll be there so I hope so!
XCM course looked great as well. I was through in Glasgow for the road race so I missed it. This video is a great tribute to Rab’s vision for it. A little bittersweet.
I’d love to go and ride what i can of it sometime soon, not sure how much will remain after this week.
Also, this is gnarly:
https://www.instagram.com/p/CvpWfOfM93P/?igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==
Nice.Champions simply deliver.
Toilet seat already on ebay?