Man, if you didn’t have a chance to watch the World Cyclocross Championships that just finished, you need to watch the video. It was pretty great. The last two laps, Sven Nys and Zdenek Stybar were throwing blows at each other constantly. Nys looked like he had it under control, but bobbled a couple times and never got going again. Belgian guys finished 6 in the top ten, including 2-5th. I just hope that Stybar does a cross season this next year. I think it is important for the fans in Belgium to have the current World Champion participating in the sport. Jonathan Page rode a pretty good race finishing 17th, I think. Jeremy Powers was next, maybe around 24th, give or take a slot or two. Tim Johnson got caught up in an early crash and was out of it nearly from the start.
I guess that training in Mallorca Spain is the ticket when it comes to racing cross Worlds, with Sven and Zdenek both spending the last couple weeks there. It was interesting that it was two American bike company’s frames duking it out for the win, with Sven on a Trek and Stybar on a Specialized. So, back to the road season for a few more months. The cross season was pretty good this year.
Stybar will get a new World Jersey to wear. That will be 3 for him in cyclocross.
Sven will have to go back to his Belgian National Championship jersey.
World Cyclocross Championship Results
1 Zdenek Stybar (Czech Republic) 1:05:30
2 Sven Nys (Belgium) 0:00:12
3 Kevin Pauwels (Belgium) 0:00:40
4 Klaas Vantornout (Belgium) 0:00:58
5 Tom Meeusen (Belgium) 0:01:07
6 Lars van der Haar (Netherlands) 0:01:21
7 Rob Peeters (Belgium) 0:01:42
8 Francis Mourey (France) 0:01:52
9 Radomir Simunek (Czech Republic) 0:02:03
10 Wietse Bosmans (Belgium) 0:02:10
I thought Belgian Nationals were the real Worlds. Until today.
Poor Sven. Must hurt to be disgraced by a roadie in
such a way. Too bad…
Re: Women’s World Championships
Katie Compton must have a mental obstacle that she cannot
overcome at the World Championships. She can dominate all
year long but falls apart every year at the Worlds. Getting a good start
seems to be impossible on that one day and everything explodes from
then on. I have never competed at that level and can only speak as a
spectator and a fan of the sport. Whatever Marianne Vos has, Katie
does not. I would love Steve weighing in on this one.
That’s not really fair to Compton. Her main rival is a multi-discipline world champion who by just showing up at ANY race rearranges a podium.
Obviously, that did not go to plan, but there’s no room to criticize her for being the most consistent female ‘crosser in the world for the last couple of years. Unless, of course, you’d like to show her how it’s done….
FYI, Stybar was a ‘cross rider first. Not my favorite as he’s not a very versatile rider.
Oh, and FYI Steve, Specialized is Merida’s American brand and Giant builds/built?? high-end Trek.
Not much going on at either American company in terms of creating new bike frame product. They test what the OEM’s build. Their strength, at least in the U.S. is the vertical distribution model.
I know… I know… but he’s a roadie now and does CX just for fun.
Not a criticism of Ms. Compton….just an observation. She is the most consistent
until she gets to Worlds. It is a hurdle that she has yet to overcome. I root for
her every year but, for whatever reason, the rainbow jersey is not meant to be.
Or maybe having to travel back to the US to race nats so late in the season is bad for her?
I understand and agree with what Rod is saying. My understanding is that her schedule was arranged this year to focus on the worlds with less travel. She pretty much dominated the world cup but then had (another) bad day at the worlds. She was real distraught and I really felt for her and her level of frustration as she may have been having her best season. I think that what Rod was saying is that there have always been tremendously talented athletes who seemingly have some type of performance anxiety (ask Peyton Manning), Conversely, why does Vos never have a bad day?
I think that consistency is part of what makes Vos Vos — no or very, very few bad days at the biggest races. I have no idea of Compton’s World’s travails is due to confidence, but I do feel bad for her.
K a tie had an asthma attack during the world cup last week. I don’t think she recovered and her doctor probably adviced to don’t start. But she tried and she looked to hsve issue during the race. From my experience, one week is not sufficient for recovery.