kosmonooit

Eish no takers???? If you enjoy mtb as a fan, then you going to love 'cross. its actually better because there are so many races. The races are a bit shorter (50 mins ladies 60 mins men) but generally athletes are maxing out all the way... no respite on most of the parcourses, and they vary in features, grades, terrain, Quiet a few athletes 'cross' over between mtb and cx, Yo!anda has been giving it horns theasw last couple of USA races, came in 4th this weekend. On the mens more famously we have Wout, Mat vdp, and Olympic MTB champ Tom "I was born to ride mtb" Piddles

Any International 'cross fans still here? Racing is getting spicy, first two World Cups (in the USA) are done. One Superprestige and a few other warm ups. Some excellent racing, especially with the Ladies. Brand is on fire. Vos giving her a hard time though. Denise getting close to the top step. U23 is also hotly contested, Fayetteville last night was superb. Just about every weekend now until March. Commentary on GCN / Eurosport with Marty and Jeremy is excellent, Ian Field was on last night with Marty, very good but there was some other male Brit hack lead for the earlier races that I am not a fan of, Marty was still busy with road events. Otherwise can find Flemish / Dutch / French fta channels on line and use free VPN if necessary, Cycling Podcast has links as has Cyclingfans. Apparently World Cups on SS as well. No excuses!

Thing is that womens road cycling does not have the screen viewership that the mens have, that's what it reduces to. Just a fact. What comes first, the chicken or the egg? There has been increasing live coverage of womens WT, but its pale in comparison to the mens, in some cases even rolled back. With increased TV coverage comes the big sponsors. Womens CX is different, only in the last 10-15 years did it start getting live coverage, and viewership even exceeded that of the mens at one stage (when MdvP was dominating every race). Now most big teams have equal focus on both genders, Its progressing for womens road, but I don't think it will draw level, either in terms of events or coverage, As much as I enjoy watching, its different. Tricky subject.

Who knows the process or or players... although it seems CSA are not the most together organisation right now to put it mildly. Remember that CSA fiasco that was the Tour of SA a few years ago? And nowadays more focused on 'national objectives' than doing anything meaningful for the top SA cyclists. If they did win a bid like this I would wince in dispair, as I did when SA got the FIFA World Cup. Only when the right people for the job get the job can we move forward. Rwanda is interesting, been called the Singapore of Africa. They do seem to have a functioning civil society. Corruption low for the continent,

Public here are apathetic in terms of cycling, yes there will be a few faithfuls but that will be it. Rugby and soccer are of course another story. Also big financial & state support needed, Even still Norway lost a lot of money. Try catch up on a few of the road races there in Rwanda: roads are mostly impeccable and the people go proper nuts over a road race, plus it will most likely be supported by the state to showcase the country, largely they got there $h!t together there although there is a strong arm style of leadership, which can be seen as a good & bad thing,

Blanka Vas takes 4th .. first time on cobbles and road newbie. And no team mates. Also took 4th at Tokyo mtb Stunning,

Pity Lucinda B will be in the USA for the CX World Cups - she is tough & strong & cany

Geez that U23 race was all over the place

said Tinker was a Cannondale rider most of his career I still ride a Fatty as my pavement warrior

Cheers, must have missed what Baaaart was saying, but it make sense being a French team for Viktor But its Trinity Racing (not Infinity, that's Nascar lol) is the team of Chris, initially was built around Piddles, and all about up & coming youth, they have done great things so pity if it is folding as you say. it was founded and owned Andrew McQuaid (ex UCI presidente Pat's son). I can't seem to find any reference to them folding, which would be a big shame really. But they do seem to be a on a tight budget after Tom's departure https://maap.cc/stories/the-changing-face-of-trinity-racing

Yea man, its over before it even began it seems. Well at least there is cross now., but XCO is my true love. I don't think Nino would have survived Chris' attack at the end, the other guys? we will never know. The stars aligned for Chris for sure.

Signed for a road team B&B Hotels apparently, guess that means the end of his role in Trinity, which is a great team it should be said. Piddlecock's old stomping ground as well. He rode a clever race yesterday, you could see him in touch with the leaders all the time, looked so strong and attacked at the best possible time ftw, no show boating. Other guys should have taken note.

You mean Rob Walnut? He must be one happy camper that Imperial units are bring reintroduced into the UK

Bit of snot & drama with Supaman today... he might be looking for another team / contract.

I am sure he could sniff Nino on his wheel ready to pounce at the last moment.... and left the door open.

Evie Richards World Champ - nice surprise! Although not a total surprise, if you have seen her performance & wins on the CX circuit over the last few years. Namur 2017 WC win, that was hard core. Rob Walnut missed all that for sure. Anne: she has been consistently good, Strong climber and a clever rider. And Sina Frei, she's on fire! Whats happened to that feather weight girl wonder Loana Lecomte? And K8, feel for her. with all the expectations, feels like something is not right.

For the rest of us: I VPN'ed to Germany and could watch RBTV, using (free) Urban VPN add-in on Firefox, worked fine but I watch at low res. Couple of big names missing from the short track, saving it for the XCO no doubt. Hot there apparently. Alan did well, still in touch with a podium. It will come. XCC will be its own series on eh WC next year.

He reckons no goals or expectations, but I reckon he might be freed to take a stage. Apparently KOOKING in Spain right now, late 30's

Excellent quote - which makes me a lousy liar because my memory is pants. But you will always remember the truth, Safer bet.

Hard to accept/imagine/fathom Katie knowingly doped, she is such a CX legend. In my opinion what this does show is cracks in the system BUT, as I say, what is unique here is that she was so outspoken about others (namely Denise) who unfortunately had problems in this regard. And now it happens to her....

What's unique about this is how Katie responded to Denise Betsema 'problem' where she had a doping positive but was able to show which dodgy supplement and where/when it was ingested. UCI listened and she got a 6 month suspension and was back racing Feb last year. however she was tarred and feathered by the anti doping lynch mob. I for one believe Denise's case was genuine, she might have been naive but did not intentionally dope. $h!t happens, its real. Katie (and other North Americans like Nash, Kabushka et al) would have none of it, damning her to the abyss of dopers. Katie was particularly viscous on Twitter. "This is such bull ****, a rider tests positive TWICE for anabolic steroids & she gets a 6month off-season ban? ⁦@UCI_cycling ⁩ lets clean athletes down yet again." @KatieFnCompton Jan 20, 2020 "Not her fault isn’t an excuse and I’m tired of hearing the same thing from every athlete with a positive dope test. Every clean athlete is over it. Something needs to change." @KatieFnCompton Jan 21, 2020 Her mate Katerina Nash: "The principle of strict liability in Anti-Doping is very clear. Intentional or unintentional means the same result - guilty! Athletes are 100% responsible for what goes in our body at all times. I'll always follow these rules and fight for #cleansport in all possible ways." @katkanash· Jan 21, 2020 Ja, ja, ja.

Limpopo!

Tragic - condolences. More than once (whilst driving and cycling) I've had to take avoiding action from an on-coming car / van / truck on the wrong side of the road over the crest of a hill, avoiding certain death. This is not isolated. There is a culture of not giving a damn about other users of the road. This is connected with the culture of entitlement imo, although bad driving here spans the population at large. Far too many people driving vehicles here have any or little respect or knowledge of the basic rules of the road, I see that every day around Jhb, Stopped cycling on the roads here a few years ago, after one too many NDE's, knowing one day my luck will run out. Be careful people. Always expect the worst from any vehicle approaching you. But its the one you don't see that will get you.

What it feels like to lose at the Olympics @sparkleaddict