She was 15th. Which is pretty much where she was after the first split. So, she didn’t really gain on any of the top 14 in the final 95% of the race.
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You’re right, I just rewatched the start, she had a pretty pedestrian start. There was a USA rider that fell to dead last which I thought was Kate from behind, she’s got a Fox 32 fork though so must be Erin Huck 
That was a brilliant race to watch live on the turbo this morning.
Confirmed I really want a fast xc/trail bike for a birthday present to myself and Try xc racing next year.
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That new Scott Spark 120/120 was designed for Nino. It doesn’t work well and weighs too much for Kate. Jolanda won on 100/60 travel bike.
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6 places and about 2 minutes behind Haley Batten
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I think HB is a better technical rider–she talks a lot about going to school up in the PNW. Very cool to have two heavy-hitters among the US women. I think I might enjoy watching the women race more than the men.
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Anyone know what JN had on her downtube? It’s black, runs the length, and seems to have some scallops to it. Thought maybe frame protection, mud guard, or gels, but not sure it’s any of those.
Mud clearing stick ons
It’s just a simple tape “mudguard”. The idea is that instead of mud getting stuck on the tube it sticks to the tape which flexes and moves as vibrations go through the bike flicking the mud back off. Seemed like definite overkill for today’s conditions, but Nino did the same thing in Nova Mesto and it seemed decently effective.
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This goes some way to explaining why Jolanda chooses to dive off the side of the ramp rather than blindly follow. At least off to the side she’s not going to rear-end if someone does go over-the-bars. But she took some pretty heavy spears into the front, and lost a little time each drop.
You weren’t the only one - the South African commentator thought she was dead last too!
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Agreed. PFP doesn’t seem to ride her own race very often, she’s often looking around, putting her elbows into her countrywomen.
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Great shot! This is the moment Jolanda won her Gold Medal (IMO) 
My wife and kids were disappointingly uninterested as I exclaimed when she hit that high line with so much pace.
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I was being slightly flippant - was more they had two opposing strategies:
MvdP dropped out early to prepare for the Olympics
WvA raced the Tour hard to prepare for the Olympics
Interesting to see how that panned out for them both. Also interesting that both gold and silver in the RR had raced the Tour hard too - obviously too small sample size to really tell anything, but they did better than people who dropped the Tour for the Olympics. Certainly it doesn’t seem to have hurt.
I never thought MvdP would beat Pidcock personally, but I am probably biased.
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Only amateurs think it’s the bike. Kate hasn’t looked good since mid 2019. The new bike weighs MAYBE a pound more, which has no relevance especially on lap 1! Pidcock and Neff win on any bike that day. Men’s race was won on a Suntour fork…… I always knew Rockshox and Fox were trash!
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I was of the same mind, but after watching the race I think the course was right up MvdP’s alley and he would have had a chance. No huge climbs to really favor Pidcock. Too bad we’ll never know.
Right…but MvP’s (lack of) results had nothing to do with his preparation strategy. It was just bad luck.
Strongly agree. Kate isn’t as strong technically as Neff. Jolanda could compete with a lot of those girls on a HardTail.
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I think MVdP would have still been at a disadvantage. Pidcock and Flueckiger (despite being in fantastic form) are so much lighter and there were so many points of acceleration.
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