Armel
Player Valuation: £15m
I hope he catches him on the clime; I think he'll catch him.
Cycling thread
- Thread starter Bruce Wayne
- Start date
I hope he catches him on the clime; I think he'll catch him.
Utterly dominant. Just goes to show how important it is to target an event.
Black Belt Jones
Player Valuation: £25m
See the young UK rider Tom Pidcock won the junior TT. Monstrous talent, as he won the world junior cyclocross last year as well.
Frang
Player Valuation: £70m
wiggo has snapped him up for his team
Armel
Player Valuation: £15m
No he rides for Fidea; team Sven Nys.
Black Belt Jones
Player Valuation: £25m
He'll race the superprestige this winter I believe - do you follow that Armel? I love cyclocross but don't follow the pro scene all that closely, mainly because there's not many UK riders (particularly the men) who have been competitive at the top level. Ian Field dominates the UK champs, but the Belgian events are levels above - he rides superprestige but can't hit the sharp end of it AFAIK.
It's a civilised country when Sven Nys is better known than Romelu Lukaku.
Armel
Player Valuation: £15m
I heard he'll mostly ride on the U23 level this year, he'll only occasionally ride with the pro's (in Kruibeke he'll ride with the pros and that one isn't far away 14/10).
Yes I follow them all; and occasionally go to one; last year I went to Namur, de Koppenbergcross (my stepsister lives almost next to that one so I got free tickets) and the SP (Superprestige) of Middelkerke. It's quite difficult not to follow it tbh; every race is broadcast live on television (and streamed off course) and there are loads of races. It's during the off-season so otherwise there would be no cycling to watch. Some pro's like Roger De Vlaeminck, Adrie Van Der Poel and loads of others used to compete to keep fit during the winter. Well that and/or track racing (all the six day tournaments like in Gent etc)
The top-level is mainly a Belgian(Flemish to be precise; decades since there last was a decent Walloon rider)/Dutch affair. This always surprises me a bit; you have loads of spectators and if you are somewhat decent you can easily make more money than on the road (only for starting - and you're in the top 15- you get 5000 euro; a top one like Van Aert gets 18000 €). From time to time there's a good Czech or something similarly exotic in the mix; I miss Stybar. They've been trying for a while now to broaden the appeal; seems to be working in the USA but they still haven't got a somewhat decent rider. The ones they do send are eccentrics that save up for the entire year to be able to ride the races in Belgium, and who's main objective is not to get doubled. Same goes for a Japanese like Yu Takenouchi (has been coming here for ten years and his best result is 22th)... . More competitive riders would be nice.
Mountain-bikers quite dislike cyclocross-riders since they get paid a pittance in comparison. Have to say quite ridiculous that. Nobody is stopping you to compete; some tried, they failed. Cyclocross is +- 1 hour full gas so they tend to be more explosive. Cyclocross-riders who compete in Mountainbike are usually quite successful (Nys did good; Van Der Poel is awesome- he can become the Olympic champion in a couple of years). They are usually quite good riders on the road too; De Vlaeminck, Van Aert, Van Der Poel, Stybar etc...
These are all the races: https://www.veldritkrant.be/kalender. Especially during the Christmas period they are racing almost daily.
Black Belt Jones
Player Valuation: £25m
Nice post Armel. Cyclocross is really popular here at grassroots level, local race might get 200 riders over all categories, whereas mountain biking would get a quarter of that. But for young riders trying to step up to pro level it must be really difficult as the elite training program of British Cycling is very track based, as that is were the olympic medals are. Plus cyclocross is still very niche and has little visibility in the mainstream media over here.
The field size is sort of a vicious circle, as the reason amateur CX is so good is that you always get into battles with those around you - whether you're in 1st place or 121st place. With the small fields of MTB racing there's less of this, and the bikes are so capable relative to the terrain, that it can end up being a pretty painful hour of riding round a rubbish course on your own. So CX grows while MTB XC dwindles - ironic that it got into the olympic games ahead of CX.
Armel
Player Valuation: £15m
For years they’ve been promising us that CX will be in the next Winter Olympics. Every time some other more obscure sport gets selected. I understand you would basically be giving Belgium at least a couple of medals, but you have to put it in to make it more popular. Also that’s probably the only winter sport we’re good at.
The UK had a World Cup race in 2014 I think, Milton Keys, the year afterwards it was no longer there. Don’t know why. Since then then there have been some cool cx races in the US though, loads of fans there. They just need a good rider to kick it off a bit.
Pidcock says he prefers riding CX, more exciting . So maybe he can challenge in the coming years. He looks quite small though, quite a handicap in CX so I hope he grows a bit.
thirdmantackle
Player Valuation: £35m
Anyone got any advice for buying a new road bike?
Have decided to take up a bit of cycling as the mornings are very nice and I want to use the time for exercise, without the pounding on the roads that running brings.
I've been a regular user of my hybrid bike (no clips or shoes) for the past 7 years but need a road bike to properly get out and enjoy it
budget - £1000
cheers
Have decided to take up a bit of cycling as the mornings are very nice and I want to use the time for exercise, without the pounding on the roads that running brings.
I've been a regular user of my hybrid bike (no clips or shoes) for the past 7 years but need a road bike to properly get out and enjoy it
budget - £1000
cheers
Black Belt Jones
Player Valuation: £25m
Best value road bike would be a decathlon triban or a boardman from halfords - think you'd get a carbon frame for under a grand, and they're very good. Years ago you wouldn't go near a big store like for a bike purchase as they largely sold rubbish, but that's all changed nowadays. Just be aware that most of the staff aren't cyclists so don't really know what they're talking about [you get the odd exception], so you have to be careful if they start offering advice on sizing or other stuff.
If you want something with a bit more cachet then a giant defy or a cannondale synapse are often recommended - boss bikes with the base model prob coming in around a grand, certainly for last year's stuff which is discounted now.
Second hand is best for bargains - ebay will churn through defys every week. Second hand obv has a small amount of risk, and the bike has no warranty. The biggest issue is that you prob only have a rough idea about your size, which will vary according to different frame geometries - you really want to be riding the bike before you buy it to get this right. It's critical on a road bike as you're in the same position for extended periods of time [MTB is more of a compromise as you move around a lot].
Is the grand including shoes etc?
thirdmantackle
Player Valuation: £35m
need to get shoes and clip pedals as well (I don't mind paying above the grand including shoes)
we've a bike to work scheme in ireland
I get over 50% off anything up to a grand value
we've a bike to work scheme in ireland
I get over 50% off anything up to a grand value
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