Will be interesting to see how Pidcock and Pieterse slot into the racing this weekend.
Looking like a dry race which is great after the last round.
Pidcock and Rissveds for the win this weekend.
Has anyone ever seen Pidcock look winded after an XC race? People that look like they buried themselves include Puck, Schweinbauer, Evie Richards, even MvdP. But two people that consistently look at the end of the race the way they looked at race start are Pidcock and PFP. I watch them with admiration.
Yup. The 2024 mudfest at Mont-Sainte-Anne in Quebec. He was cooked and in the post race interview said he just wanted “to go on holiday.”
Yesterday’s XCC races were great. They are consistently the best 20 minutes of cycling on TV. Enjoying the men’s XCO now while it’s pouring rain here.
Was amazing to watch Pidcock chill at the back them in a lap and a half be at the front
Was also fun to see the difference between him and Martin. Martin much faster on the downhill sections. But Pidcock having the edge on climbs.
Yeah, Pidcock said he felt rusty on the bike because he hasn’t ridden it enough lately. That would make him slower on the downhills. All these XCO racers have to do to beat him is to up their watts. Simple to figure out, hard to do. 
Was this really the case? Martin seemed to close a bit the first half of every lap and then Pidcock would stretch it out again the second half… which included a lot of the DH. He said in his interview (in addition to being rusty as you said) that was going slower to avoid the risk of mechanical and flats as well. I forget what lap it was but there was one lap he absolutely crushed the downhill.
I do think if he had a decent amount of pressure it would have potentially caused a few mistakes and add a lot more stress. But his fitness is amazing… and Martin pushed him the whole way so the gap is closing.
I think he said he is doing World Champs and the World Cup in Utah. Hopefully he gets more time on the bike. If Blevins can get back to full health and fitness he usually races well in the U.S. Might be a fun watch.
Not sure what this really means. Unclear from the press release if there will be a Cannondale team at the World Cup level in 2027 or not. Either way it is sad to see the Factory Team ending its long run.
Cannondale to Shut Down Factory Race Program After 2026 Season
https://www.pinkbike.com/news/cannondale-to-shut-down-factory-race-program-after-2026-season.html
It sounds like the team structure is gone and they will be supporting individual riders (at multiple levels). Basically switching to a privateer model. So, if you want sponsor $ (and parts, bikes, etc.) from cannondale going forward, you can either be an independent rider who is very fast and/or a rider who generates a lot of social media traffic. A rider like Yolando Neff could probably make a really good (better?) living as a privateer with her social following. Just sign up cannandale and a handful of other big sponsors and run your own 1 man program. These days, it seems like the social media side can be almost as important as results (unless you are constantly on the podium). I’m sure all the brands are questioning the ROI of these big factory teams with all the support costs. You gotta sell a lot of bikes to cover those costs. On the flip side, a well followed influencer can probably drive bike sales for a small fraction of the cost.
Urggg, yeah. Probably a whole other separate thread on this, but I think people drastically underestimate the amount of time and effort required to make any kind of living as a privateer. Cannondale are cutting costs and closing down production in various areas, so they obviously have issues. Its just disappointing for the top level of sport, IMO.
Ah man, this sucks, I was enjoying following the CFR team. They have a great roster at the moment. Will get boring if its just the Big S winning everything.
Yeah, I guess my comment came off the wrong way. I’m not saying it’s easy, you are basically running a small team with all the required components (mechanics, coaching, nutrition, logistics, etc.). But for someone who already has a well established media presence, it can make a lot of sense. Definitely not a path for someone who wants to strictly focus on the training and racing, but a great path for someone looking to do bigger things (ie - Kate C.). There is upside/downside to both approaches, but you are basically making fast food wages on a factory team unless you are one of the big names winning races. The privateer concept provides a path to make a decent living even if you aren’t contending for podiums. Figure out how to help sell bikes and gear (through race results and/or social media) and you will get paid.
Oh totally, and my comment wasn’t in response to yours really either. I was kinda aiming at Cannondale whose press release is trying to paint a rosy picture (hey we’re cutting our pro team, but we’re going to support more people at a lower level). That is fine for established folks, like you say, but it doesn’t help young riders or talented racers who don’t want to also try and be social media savvy - they just want to race and be professionals and not deal with all of the rest of the stuff that comes with trying to run a team. Hopefully there will still be enough full-time teams left to keep bringing new riders through.
Unpopular opinion, but I felt like the La Thuile XCO course crossed the line into being dangerously technical. I’m not saying don’t have tech sections, there are plenty that are hard on the circuit. If La Thuile had been even slightly wet it would have been unridable for large sections. Just feels like they are going to keep making them more and more techy until someone gets seriously hurt. Chiara Teocchi had to be helicoptered to hospital - sounds like she is going to be ok, but must have been a scary crash. Most of the riders seemed to say they enjoyed it, so I guess I am just wrong… 
All that being said, I did love seeing Martina Berta win on home soil. Great ride.
I am probably in the minority here but I would prefer to see more of a natural course. I am all for technical components but the man made obstacles in XC are not really entertaining to watch (for me). Nove Mesto is the gold standard IMO.
I like that there a varying types of courses, but I agree this would have been a nightmare in the wet.
I am not disagreeing. It would have been lethal in the wet
It’s not that it’s too technical, it’s that the man-made features that are made for the show are bad for racing. Only one line, speed differential isn’t as big, so people just line up and success is almost binary, not pulling time by riding it better. Just do you ride it or crash, and with the type of feature, those crashes are worse. The wide technical sections where people can actually pass like when Martin passed boichis at lenzerheide.