Shebeen Posted January 31 Posted January 31 here for the spice, didn't seem like a thread was up yet!! Can Beers win a 3rd? Could Nino win a 3rd (he's coming, right?) speedcompany going back to the winning combination of just 1 dad to drive the van and make 2 minute noodles? will the ladies have some GC drama? ChrisF, LukeLan and DieselnDust 3
Danger Dassie Posted January 31 Posted January 31 Beers and Blevins are formidable, would be great to see them defend their title. The addition of Namibian Alex Miller to the team also presents some dark horse vibes, undetermined if he’ll be at Epic. In the women’s field it’ll be interesting to see if Amy Wakefield and Candice Lill team up again for unfinished business. They really had terrible luck last year. Unfortunately I don’t see Vera Looser and Kim Le Court defending since Le Court is now on a WT road team.
Ruben101 Posted January 31 Posted January 31 3 minutes ago, Danger Dassie said: Beers and Blevins are formidable, would be great to see them defend their title. The addition of Namibian Alex Miller to the team also presents some dark horse vibes, undetermined if he’ll be at Epic. In the women’s field it’ll be interesting to see if Amy Wakefield and Candice Lill team up again for unfinished business. They really had terrible luck last year. Unfortunately I don’t see Vera Looser and Kim Le Court defending since Le Court is now on a WT road team. Maybe Candice Lill will team up with Tyler Jacobs again after her first W2W last year 🤔 Danger Dassie 1
Shebeen Posted February 1 Author Posted February 1 On 1/31/2024 at 10:48 AM, Danger Dassie said: Beers and Blevins are formidable, would be great to see them defend their title. The addition of Namibian Alex Miller to the team also presents some dark horse vibes, undetermined if he’ll be at Epic. In the women’s field it’ll be interesting to see if Amy Wakefield and Candice Lill team up again for unfinished business. They really had terrible luck last year. Unfortunately I don’t see Vera Looser and Kim Le Court defending since Le Court is now on a WT road team. Is Amy still racing?
babse Posted February 2 Posted February 2 On 1/31/2024 at 10:48 AM, Danger Dassie said: Beers and Blevins are formidable, would be great to see them defend their title. The addition of Namibian Alex Miller to the team also presents some dark horse vibes, undetermined if he’ll be at Epic. In the women’s field it’ll be interesting to see if Amy Wakefield and Candice Lill team up again for unfinished business. They really had terrible luck last year. Unfortunately I don’t see Vera Looser and Kim Le Court defending since Le Court is now on a WT road team. Miller seems like the real deal ey... Hope he gets a ride with some decent folk. Looking forward to seeing some confirmed teams. The ladies field is a meh. Really hope for some better competition and decent racing. They get the coverage so...
Jewbacca Posted February 2 Posted February 2 22 minutes ago, babse said: Miller seems like the real deal ey... Hope he gets a ride with some decent folk. Looking forward to seeing some confirmed teams. The ladies field is a meh. Really hope for some better competition and decent racing. They get the coverage so... It's been a while since the lady field was genuinely competitive and more than 2 teams deep. It's a pity, but I remember reading 2 years ago that the cost coupled with the load as well the the timing aren't beneficial to most of the top ladies who want to race XCO. Hopefully they have something in the pipeline to attract a better ladies field down the line. DieselnDust and Danger Dassie 2
Danger Dassie Posted February 2 Posted February 2 The women’s field is all too often a throw of dice, although despite the lack of depth last year’s racing provided really good entertainment. I enjoyed following it as well as the men’s explosive stages. To be fair it takes more than throwing money at it, hopefully there’s more stability in the near future. Attakwas showed an encouraging level of racing. Jewbacca 1
Shebeen Posted February 2 Author Posted February 2 1 hour ago, Jewbacca said: It's been a while since the lady field was genuinely competitive and more than 2 teams deep. It's a pity, but I remember reading 2 years ago that the cost coupled with the load as well the the timing aren't beneficial to most of the top ladies who want to race XCO. Hopefully they have something in the pipeline to attract a better ladies field down the line. It backs up my theory that in most sports the move of having equal prizemoney is quick windowdressing and achieves almost nothing long term. Jewbacca, babse, DieselnDust and 3 others 5 1
Jewbacca Posted February 2 Posted February 2 20 minutes ago, Danger Dassie said: The women’s field is all too often a throw of dice, although despite the lack of depth last year’s racing provided really good entertainment. I enjoyed following it as well as the men’s explosive stages. To be fair it takes more than throwing money at it, hopefully there’s more stability in the near future. Attakwas showed an encouraging level of racing. 17 minutes ago, Shebeen said: It backs up my theory that in most sports the move of having equal prizemoney is quick windowdressing and achieves almost nothing long term. They will need a pretty big re-structure to get the top XCO women out here. One that balances the overall cost/recovery/effort and the season. Equal distance/time/effort/pay isn't attracting them now, so if they want to keep the 'pro centric' advertising and focus they need to change something. One can't advertise and sell it as 'the biggest, bestest, most competitive race' if it's being contested by people with little credibility near the top of the sport. DieselnDust 1
Danger Dassie Posted February 2 Posted February 2 19 minutes ago, Jewbacca said: They will need a pretty big re-structure to get the top XCO women out here. One that balances the overall cost/recovery/effort and the season. Equal distance/time/effort/pay isn't attracting them now, so if they want to keep the 'pro centric' advertising and focus they need to change something. One can't advertise and sell it as 'the biggest, bestest, most competitive race' if it's being contested by people with little credibility near the top of the sport. Why? Why the top XCO? Other than good PR. Marathon MTB, especially in the stage format is still a relatively new discipline that is growing. XCO is an exceptional baseline, but not all riders who specialise in the format enjoy/excel at Stage XCM. We also forget the effects of a post covid economy, which compounds many of the challenges and can cause a setback back by two years, within a broader timeline. Not sure I agree with the credibility assessment, last year we saw performances by two local teams that put them out there on an international platform. Kim Le Court is now on a WT team with AG Ins Soudal and took a commendable top 10 at TDU. Not saying that’s due to the ACE jersey, but it does play a role. As much as there’s an argument for change, we also should acknowledge the outcomes currently and those who do show up. Worth its own thread tbh as we‘re digressing here. BigDL 1
Jewbacca Posted February 2 Posted February 2 28 minutes ago, Danger Dassie said: Why? Why the top XCO? Other than good PR. Marathon MTB, especially in the stage format is still a relatively new discipline that is growing. XCO is an exceptional baseline, but not all riders who specialise in the format enjoy/excel at Stage XCM. We also forget the effects of a post covid economy, which compounds many of the challenges and can cause a setback back by two years, within a broader timeline. Not sure I agree with the credibility assessment, last year we saw performances by two local teams that put them out there on an international platform. Kim Le Court is now on a WT team with AG Ins Soudal and took a commendable top 10 at TDU. Not saying that’s due to the ACE jersey, but it does play a role. As much as there’s an argument for change, we also should acknowledge the outcomes currently and those who do show up. Worth its own thread tbh as we‘re digressing here. I'd suggest 75% of cycling fans can't name the top 5 ranked XCM females without google. I'd also say that getting unknowns onto teams is development, not having the top racers in the world competing, which is more in line with the marketing and coverage focus than a stepping stone TO the top tier. So yes, it is entertaining, but it isn't the deep, competitive field of top female athletes that the coverage and hype says it is. Danger Dassie 1
Danger Dassie Posted February 2 Posted February 2 16 minutes ago, Jewbacca said: I'd suggest 75% of cycling fans can't name the top 5 ranked XCM females without google. I'd also say that getting unknowns onto teams is development, not having the top racers in the world competing, which is more in line with the marketing and coverage focus than a stepping stone TO the top tier. So yes, it is entertaining, but it isn't the deep, competitive field of top female athletes that the coverage and hype says it is. Yip, there’s good few things to consider, hence suggesting a seperate thread. Also a lot of semantics, we could be here forever discussing, unfortunately don’t have the luxury of spending a good portion of the day on forums. Jewbacca 1
Shebeen Posted February 2 Author Posted February 2 1 hour ago, Danger Dassie said: Why? Why the top XCO? Other than good PR. Marathon MTB, especially in the stage format is still a relatively new discipline that is growing. XCO is an exceptional baseline, but not all riders who specialise in the format enjoy/excel at Stage XCM. We also forget the effects of a post covid economy, which compounds many of the challenges and can cause a setback back by two years, within a broader timeline. Not sure I agree with the credibility assessment, last year we saw performances by two local teams that put them out there on an international platform. Kim Le Court is now on a WT team with AG Ins Soudal and took a commendable top 10 at TDU. Not saying that’s due to the ACE jersey, but it does play a role. As much as there’s an argument for change, we also should acknowledge the outcomes currently and those who do show up. Worth its own thread tbh as we‘re digressing here. because if you don't have the best riders there you need to stop calling it the TdF of mtb. I do think that one is done now, maybe every edition after the olympics they should somehow do an XCO slanted version and make it more exciting to get the biggest names out here (speaking about the men, but sure it applies to both). We had nino vs spez team vs cannondale on the epic podium and the olympic medals and the Bulls keeping it flying for the marathon guys. I feel the level has dropped since they moved it to XCM. Rowl and DieselnDust 2
Pieterlab1 Posted February 2 Posted February 2 Matt and Alex will team up for Epic this year. Blevins will be preparing for the Olympics. eala, DieselnDust, Danger Dassie and 1 other 4
DJuice Posted February 2 Posted February 2 From this article Candice is riding with Mona. https://www.netwerk24.com/netwerk24/sport/nog-sport/lill-spog-met-nuwe-span-borgskappe-en-epic-spanmaat-20240130 DieselnDust 1
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