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With all due respect to U23 womens 'cross, if people are using motors there, what on earth are Tinkoff-Saxo / Astana doing when the stakes (money) is higher?
the risk of getting caught is higher as UCI have been examining and X-raying Pro Tour bikes since 2010 and
I'm hoping it's a one off, but if the technology is available and being used, despite the tests*, at this level then I'm concerned for the sport as whole,
* presumably her and her mechanic thought they wouldn't get caught?
maybe at a lower level they believe there will be less testing? Look at British Juniors and Masters getting popped for EPO and steroids
every man on the street has heard of EPO, but people racing at lower levels don't expect to be monitored and tested as stringently?
I'm hoping it's a one off, but if the technology is available and being used, despite the tests*, at this level then I'm concerned for the sport as whole
No-one yet seems really sure it was actually a motor. It would be relatively easy to conceal a small motor with a tiny battery (long enough to last 30 mins or so in a CX race) and the relative noise of the crowd, the noise of the bike over rough terrain and the fact that the whole thing will be covered in mud enough to disguise it and in a technical race like that it could make a significant difference.
But in a 5hr road stage where conditions are completely different, where a rider is in amongst a peloton and tactics play a bigger part I think it'd be more trouble than it's worth. Battery wouldn't last long enough for it to be worthwhile, it would be much more difficult to hide the noise, you'd have to be very clever with bike changes...
But in a 5hr road stage where conditions are completely different, where a rider is in amongst a peloton and tactics play a bigger part I think it'd be more trouble than it's worth. Battery wouldn't last long enough for it to be worthwhile
You wouldn't need 5hrs, an extra 50w for 5 mins up the Cauberg could win you a rainbow jersey (for example).
The battery may be powered by a Dynamo type charging system or even Solar?
[quote=Munqe-chick ]I love the fact someone at the start said words to the effect of "not sure people will log on to watch Women's U23"!
I presume you're referring to my comments, and to be fair I suggested I wasn't expecting people to be avoiding the results of the U23 race to watch it later - most people in the local club she belongs to were watching it live (quite a few out in Belgium), and plenty of spoilers posted on the club FB page! I certainly wasn't suggesting it wasn't likely to be exciting, simply that I expected the interest to be somewhat limited.
Is the men's race 2pm UK time?
Yes it is, 2pm for the Elite men's race.
With all due respect to U23 womens 'cross, if people are using motors there, what on earth are Tinkoff-Saxo / Astana doing when the stakes (money) is higher?
Of course those pesky eastern Europeans are bound to be cheating 🙄
Great Womens Elite race, had me gripped when Nikki went off the front, some really good skills and thinking tactics in what was a difficult course.
Great overall result I reckon.
cruel but I had to laugh 🙂
Nailbiting stuff this U23 Men's race!
I feel so sorry for that poor Czech rider, what must he be thinking right now?!
oh dear 🙁
I suppose he might not have had the same advantage if he had raced the extra lap but the last half mile of "his" finishing lap was impressive
Poor lad. The Belgian crowd did laugh a bit though...
What time is men race?
Youtube stream starts at 1.50pm, race starts at 2pm. 45 minutes time.
thanks , should be a good one .
Crowd going wild as Sven Nys finally gets on terms with the front group. 🙂
Brilliant race so far
Jack Clarkson has withdrawn, he had a crash on one of the descents. Think Liam Killeen is somewhere around about 40th at the moment.
What did the fans do to the Dutch guy? The commentators kept mentioning it, but I didn't see anything...
Threw beer in his face mostly
What a finish!
cracking race.
cracking finish, shame for VDH, didnt have the running legs on that final hill. Incredible bike handling, He was taking some of those descents like he was on a full-on MTB!
Thank you. Yes, great race!
Incredible. Particularly impressive for Van Aert given how much he got held up by somebody sticking a foot in his spokes. I think the beer throwing is pretty much par for the course for Belgian cross races, so they're probably used to it - which doesn't make it right. Though looking on the plus side for VdH, he's got a head start on the post race beer drinking 😉
Those that run MTB races take note....how to make a bike race spectator friendly
Cracking race,I hope they get to make CX an Olympic event.
Cracking race,I hope they get to make CX an Olympic event.
with lots for your starting position.
Well what a pair of races, simply map biting the pair of them. Impressed with the strength of a zipp wheel, thought they had both blown their chances at that point. What happens to M van der Poel being in 3rd and then coming in fifth, did he have an off or a slight mechanical?
i think he blew up from the all out effort to get back on
mad descending skills at the end, shame he didn't get the win, that pass was class
Those that run MTB races take note....how to make a bike race spectator friendly
It could have been 200 miles from civilization,at an undisclosed time,on an island with no ferry and guarded by machine gun wielding ex-traffic wardens.
50,000 half cut Belgians would still have turned up 2 days early and proceeded to have the biggest party ever.It's in their DNA.
Sitting in Brussels airport. Haven't quite dried off from yesterday yet alone today but that was great.
The party sounded like it was only just getting going when we left. There were some very happy Belgians at the end!
Bloody great weekend..
Totally enjoyed the Women's race, such a great effort by Helen and how she carries on is quite beyond me 8)
Then the Men's race, just awesome to see Sven on the front for a lap, but my hope was for Lars to do it. He looked totally cooked on that last flat before the drop, but he still managed to chase hard on the finish straight.
But a great win in the end.
Awesome.
CX is awesome.