UCI XCO World Cup 2022 Season

[Danger Dassie]

4 hours ago, Headshot said:

Has Nino asked him for a statement I wonder. If MF's riding was blatantly unsafe then perhaps Nino could get MF disqualified and take 3rd place. Small consolation. 

By that token then so would Schurter’s riding, considering the number of near misses between both of them in the last moments. Ultimately I don’t see Schurter, not his team management even considering going that route. Not in the spirit of competition and not a consolation. In fact it could backfire.

They’re evolved enough to let the racing sort it out come next round.

[Danger Dassie]

4 hours ago, DieselnDust said:

This is info I also have but everyone wants the detail , especially on a tour rest day. 
from 14:00 it will be yesterdays news

some say Nino should have been more circumspect and compliant to get him in the sprint. But these two have issues with each other and it nearly got SA our first win in a decade so let them more each other I say 

Basically exactly as per the CCM article over a day ago.

[Danger Dassie]

4 hours ago, Headshot said:

Arm wrestle and Nino is winning?

This is the scene in one hot minute.... 

 

[ChrisF]

3 hours ago, Danger Dassie said:

By that token then so would Schurter’s riding, considering the number of near misses between both of them in the last moments. Ultimately I don’t see Schurter, not his team management even considering going that route. Not in the spirit of competition and not a consolation. In fact it could backfire.

They’re evolved enough to let the racing sort it out come next round.

 

Some may suspect that this was MF letting the "racing sort out" some unfinished business ....

 

 

Personally .... at that moment neither of them had enough blood left in their adrenaline stream .... neither was going to give an inch .... noting the many near misses in the previous 5 laps it was inevitable ....

[vanniri]

On 7/11/2022 at 3:05 PM, peetwindhoek said:

that interview told me more about Henrique than it did about Nino...

Yes, anyone else noticed the less than estatic body language and absence of congratulations after AH won the short track in Brasil? I played it down to a home crowd thing. Yet it seems HA is not happy with playing second fiddle in the Dale camp. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

of Henrique congratu

[DieselnDust]

4 hours ago, vanniri said:

Yes, anyone else noticed the less than estatic body language and absence of congratulations after AH won the short track in Brasil? I played it down to a home crowd thing. Yet it seems HA is not happy with playing second fiddle in the Dale camp. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

of Henrique congratu

Henrique is more unhappy about his own lack of performance. The team is revolving more and more around Alan too since he's the one bringing in the points

[Danger Dassie]

IMHO. 
When the initial team announcement was made for CFR it was pretty clear that alongside XCO it was built with a deep focus around Avancini/Fumic and Cape Epic title aspirations. AH and SA were the up and coming talent who have access to a deep pool of guidance/mentorship from the the team staff
Obviously the pandemic changed all of that, sadly, and Fumic has retired since. Two years has gapped and AH is rising to his strengths, which is likely part of the plan the team had in investing in him. Any speculation on HA's body language is just that, perhaps there's an element of managing expectations, he still holds huge sway in the brand with his experience and as his own personal brand has a massive following. Which in itself provides return for the sponsors.
Pretty sure the team and associated support staff understand this and are managing it. 

[Hairy]

7 hours ago, vanniri said:

Yes, anyone else noticed the less than estatic body language and absence of congratulations after AH won the short track in Brasil? I played it down to a home crowd thing. Yet it seems HA is not happy with playing second fiddle in the Dale camp. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

of Henrique congratu

I just hope AH's pay slips reflects his performance.

Still putting it out there, my gut feel and highly unevolved fortune telling abilities is telling me that AH will be racing for Scott in around two seasons time. 

[DieselnDust]

17 hours ago, ChrisF said:

 

Some may suspect that this was MF letting the "racing sort out" some unfinished business ....

 

 

Personally .... at that moment neither of them had enough blood left in their adrenaline stream .... neither was going to give an inch .... noting the many near misses in the previous 5 laps it was inevitable ....

You're not wrong that they had nothing left. Crash or no crash I doubt either MF or N would have been able to hold off Luca and Alan. MF wasn't that far off but he couldn't close the gap and Luca and Alan still had kick at the end to sprint. Alan raced smart. He let those to slit each others throats and he had closed back onto the back of Luca who was only 2 sec back before they disappeared into the forest. By the end NS was a spent force 12 sec back. He didn't look like he'd given up, more like a man whose tank had just sucked it last drop of racing fuel and kicked into 91RON limp mode

[Danger Dassie]

for teams and bike brands it has been a great one for Santa Cruz

[Stoffel76]

1 hour ago, DieselnDust said:

You're not wrong that they had nothing left. Crash or no crash I doubt either MF or N would have been able to hold off Luca and Alan. MF wasn't that far off but he couldn't close the gap and Luca and Alan still had kick at the end to sprint. Alan raced smart. He let those to slit each others throats and he had closed back onto the back of Luca who was only 2 sec back before they disappeared into the forest. By the end NS was a spent force 12 sec back. He didn't look like he'd given up, more like a man whose tank had just sucked it last drop of racing fuel and kicked into 91RON limp mode

Alan's strategy does seems to be improving with every ride - remember how he shot off into the lead in Brazil only to get caught, passed and dropped and compare it to this race.  Brilliant stuff!

 

Awesome to see him split seconds off winning both this weekends races! 🙌

[Headshot]

I'm hoping we see more fireworks from AH this weekend. That said its a a venue known for its altitude so may favour some skinny swiss guys or that Italian. i wonder how Flucky and Nino will get on, or won't. Prost v Senna #2. 

[DieselnDust]

Alan stayed in Europe to conduct a high altitude training block hence he did not fly back for Western Province or SA XCO champs. He said after the XCC he was expecting the altitude training to be beneficial by Andorra and the training block to be beneficial for the latter half of the season. 
I believe he will do well in Andorra as he performed better than he expected in Lenzerheide. Holding thumbs and toes for his first Wrld Cup  XCO win in elites on Sunday 

 

the other two will likely take each other out at the start

[Stoffel76]

19 hours ago, DieselnDust said:

the other two will likely take each other out at the start

Hmm, somewhere in this situation is a new take on the old dad joke "Q: How do you make a Swiss Roll? A: Push him down the mountain!"

🤣

[DJuice]

Second place for AH in short track.

Enjoying SA cycling on the up!

All the best for Sunday Alan!

[ChrisF]

AH is consistantly up there.  👍👍  his points must be adding up nicely.

 

Nino certainly faded early on ....

 

 

Not sure I understand the race and points format .... why is Loana sitting this weekend out ?  Surely that must ruin her championship chances .... or do they have a throw.away for the season standings ?

Edited July 15, 2022 by ChrisF