the unofficial UCI Mountain Bike World Cup thread

[J Wakefield]

15 minutes ago, DieselnDust said:

The gap is that big hey…!?!🤕

The gap of the understanding of what the level of the Tour alone is, is that big for starters. Never mind any rider going Top 50.  top 20 is another whole conversation

[NickGM]

22 minutes ago, DieselnDust said:

….And won the fun ride world champs

#jislikedoihavetoremindyou

He did?

[Irvin85]

38 minutes ago, J Wakefield said:

The gap of the understanding of what the level of the Tour alone is, is that big for starters. Never mind any rider going Top 50.  top 20 is another whole conversation

I was wondering the same thing, I have no idea what I am talking about, but from my little understanding of cycling. XCO is a short hard effort with respite from the downhills 1h30 max effort. On a real mountain stage that could be the total time ascending. If you look at the Olympic games where Pidcock attacked on the final lap and how he completely rode Alan off his wheel on such a short climb, just imagine what will happen to him against a guy like Roglic/Tadej on a 10km climb as Pidcock can't even hold their wheel,  not to mentioned the 3/4hours on the bike per day for 21 days.

There is a reason why so few riders find success in both disciplines.

So what does Hatherley's numbers look like compared to let's say a guy like Roglic?   

[Headshot]

20 minutes ago, Irvin85 said:

I was wondering the same thing, I have no idea what I am talking about, but from my little understanding of cycling. XCO is a short hard effort with respite from the downhills 1h30 max effort. On a real mountain stage that could be the total time ascending. If you look at the Olympic games where Pidcock attacked on the final lap and how he completely rode Alan off his wheel on such a short climb, just imagine what will happen to him against a guy like Roglic/Tadej on a 10km climb as Pidcock can't even hold their wheel,  not to mentioned the 3/4hours on the bike per day for 21 days.

There is a reason why so few riders find success in both disciplines.

So what does Hatherley's numbers look like compared to let's say a guy like Roglic?   

AH just needs to get a few TUE's and he'll be there like a mare.

['Dale]

Alan's 2025 roadie team are typically stage hunters in Grand Tours and stage races. Not sure what their roster is like for 2025 or which races they will prioritise to hunt for them UCI points.

It is not hard to conceive that AH could focus on the Spring Classics, especially the hillier races like Strade Bianchi or even the cobbled Classics with his extraordinary bike handling skills. It depends what his role in the team will be, of course.

Wishing him all the best in the hornet's nest that is the WorldTour.

Sauce: Procyclingstats.com

Edited yesterday at 11:14 AM by 'Dale

[J Wakefield]

27 minutes ago, Irvin85 said:

I was wondering the same thing, I have no idea what I am talking about, but from my little understanding of cycling. XCO is a short hard effort with respite from the downhills 1h30 max effort. On a real mountain stage that could be the total time ascending. If you look at the Olympic games where Pidcock attacked on the final lap and how he completely rode Alan off his wheel on such a short climb, just imagine what will happen to him against a guy like Roglic/Tadej on a 10km climb as Pidcock can't even hold their wheel,  not to mentioned the 3/4hours on the bike per day for 21 days.

There is a reason why so few riders find success in both disciplines.

So what does Hatherley's numbers look like compared to let's say a guy like Roglic?   

Just an Example of performance factors here -

TDU which is an early season race, not super deep in depth but very competitive with short stages. For a short effort of 10min that you need to be competitive at to be in the mix for GC you need to be doing 10min at and over 7w/kg +.
If not, you filling the field. However, also remember this is also after the stage and +- 3000kj or work which in WT level is not alot at all when you having to do this after 4000kj +  in a GT and 20min at 6.5-6.8W/kg after this energy consumption multiple days at a WT level race or stage race. There is a big big difference here. 
Take all the durability, power into account, then you need to be able to surf and place in the peloton - this energy consuming wise is huge if you cant surf a peloton. 

 

[Jbr]

Yeah I was having that chat with friends, from the few road races I had the chance to ride alongside him (mostly behind 😅, sometimes pretty far) he did not show the dominance I would've expected from any WT / TdF level rider. He did good a our local world champs but I mean, so did a few other riders he was in the break with and they're not even Conti. 

Seeing how Gibbons easily dropped Nortje from the breakaway to then win SA Champs seems more like what you can expect from a good WT/TdF domestique.

I really really hope for him that he gets to fullfill a dream by taking part at Tour de France and maybe then progresses on the road and who knows, find success.

But right now I think XCO/XCC is a way better fit for his skillset/power profile and he won't be anywhere near winning at international level on the road. Just hoping he doesn't throw away a great career in MTB. Nino proved you can have a long successful career in the sport, whereas if you're just another helmet in the peleton, who knows how long you can make a living from it (not to mention all the sacrifices to be there and stay there when home is so far away).

Edited yesterday at 11:13 AM by Jbr

[Jbr]

 

27 minutes ago, J Wakefield said:

For a short effort of 10min that you need to be competitive at to be in the mix for GC you need to be doing 10min at and over 7w/kg +.

 

I remember chatting to Finn last year after he had a go at Chappies KOM, "mmmh I did only 7w/kg" I was like "wait what ??? 🤯" 🤣

Edited yesterday at 11:01 AM by Jbr

[Irvin85]

58 minutes ago, 'Dale said:

Alan's 2025 roadie team are typically stage hunters in Grand Tours and stage races. Not sure what their roster is like for 2025 or which races they will prioritise to hunt for them UCI points.

It is not hard to conceive that AH could target the Spring Classics, especially the hillier races like Strade Bianchi or even the cobbled Classics with his extraordinary bike handling skills.

Wishing him all the best in the hornet's nest that is the WorldTour.

Sauce: Procyclingstats.com

62kg on a 1.80m frame. that is a what they call "cab watch skinny" 

[Jbr]

6 minutes ago, Irvin85 said:

62kg on a 1.80m frame. that is a what they call "cab watch skinny" 

He definitely looks shorter and heavier than those numbers

Edit : mmmh no it looks like the 1.80 is actually legit, the 62kg though, he doesn't look THAT skinny

Edited yesterday at 11:39 AM by Jbr

[Irvin85]

10 minutes ago, Jbr said:

He definitely looks shorter and heavier than those numbers

Edit : mmmh no it looks like the 1.80 is actually legit, the 62kg though, he doesn't look THAT skinny

Agree, Jonas is listed as 1.75m and 60kg. If I look at them both I doubt that Alan is only 62kg. 

And Tadej is listed as 1.76 and 66kg. 

Edited yesterday at 11:47 AM by Irvin85

[Jbr]

4 minutes ago, Irvin85 said:

Agree, Jonas is listed as 1.75m and 60kg. If I look at them both I doubt that Alan is only 62kg. 

Yeah, Jonas looks like a bone sack as we say in french 😅

Alan doesn't look thick but he looks like a mountain biker

[J Wakefield]

1 hour ago, Jbr said:

He definitely looks shorter and heavier than those numbers

Edit : mmmh no it looks like the 1.80 is actually legit, the 62kg though, he doesn't look THAT skinny

67-68kg looking at him

Edited yesterday at 01:32 PM by J Wakefield

[ChrisF]

4 hours ago, Irvin85 said:

I was wondering the same thing, I have no idea what I am talking about, but from my little understanding of cycling. XCO is a short hard effort with respite from the downhills 1h30 max effort. On a real mountain stage that could be the total time ascending. If you look at the Olympic games where Pidcock attacked on the final lap and how he completely rode Alan off his wheel on such a short climb, just imagine what will happen to him against a guy like Roglic/Tadej on a 10km climb as Pidcock can't even hold their wheel,  not to mentioned the 3/4hours on the bike per day for 21 days.

There is a reason why so few riders find success in both disciplines.

So what does Hatherley's numbers look like compared to let's say a guy like Roglic?   

 

And AH has a pattern of "resting" on the climbs, loosing a bit of ground to the racers up front, then closing the gap on the downhill .... good strategy, in XCO, to conserve energy where you can.

 

Would be interesting to see how he does in the big road events.

 

Maybe .... get asthma like 80% of the peleton (percentage from a recent article about the performance of the riders in the road circuit).  

 

 

 

all jokes aside, BEST wishes to him !!

[OVERDRIVE]

I think this is a bad idea. 

But each man to his own career

[DieselnDust]

I’m sure there is a solid plan. I doubt this is a whim and has been thought through with people who know what’s required. I’m looking forward to watching him progress over the next two years. If it doesn’t work out he still has two years to prep for LA 2028 by which time he will have some competition for that spot in the RSA XCO Olympic team

Now that’s its Saturday, I can say that I doubt his ambition is to win the tdf, rather just to ride it, complete it and cross the finish line in Paris. Whatever happens inbetween is a bonus.

Edited 15 hours ago by DieselnDust