Cyclocross Worlds 2013

Flandria

Entire weekend programme moved forward to today as heavy flooding expected tonight in Louisville. What looked like a meh course in the dry now looks like a proper mud-fest:). UCI streaming all races http://www.louisville2013.com/site/index.php live

dave2pvd

So guess where I ended up for the weekend?

I've watched a lot of bike racing over the years and I'm quite sure nothing comes close to the spectacle that is Cyclocross Worlds.

Louisville was a fantastic venue. The weather was appropriately awful. The Ohio River didn't exactly play nice by going into full flood mode; the elite events all had to be held on Saturday. The course was several feet under water when I went back to look on Sunday.

The Belgian and Dutch domination of CX is just plain ridiculous. Top 10s of every race seemed to have 8 riders either clad in orange or light blue. US fans had something to cheer about with junior Logan Owen coming in 4th and and Katie F Compton in 2nd.

Sad to see no Irish racers in any category.

Marianne Vos looked absolutely unbeatable. Maybe there needs to be a whole new category for her? She had ~2mins on 2nd place by the finish.

Elite Men’s was mind-blowingly fast. Despite the severe degree of schlomp on the course, those guys rode like they had 30mph tailwinds.

I'm glad I took photographs. By the time Mourey exploded and hit reverse gear, the Sierra Nevada was taking its toll. Sadly, I don't even remember McQuaid being booed during the podium presentation.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w9S55ej4WpE

Raam

It was a great spectacle. I'd have preferred if the elite men's outcome had not been so decided, but such is the sport.

dave2pvd

Raam wrote: »

It was a great spectacle. I'd have preferred if the elite men's outcome had not been so decided, but such is the sport.

So of the 4 elite races, 3 were foregone conclusions. Unusual perhaps.

Despite that, there was a LOT of fantastic racing. What surprised me was just how entertaining the juniors were to watch. So many decisions made with the heart, not the head. No shortage of 'incidents' in that race.

Raam

I'm talking about when Klass got stuck on the fence near the end. He was riding very well up till then.

Flandria

Nice pics, thanks for posting. I was at Koksijde last year and the atmosphere was electric. The Dutch took the juniors, espoirs and ladies as well last year but Sven's name was on on the trophy for this year. Nailed on. I always felt that the move would come at that corner when they came off the road, and when it did the race was over. Shame Vantournot caught his pedal but it wouldn't have made any odds really...

dave2pvd

Another Video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=crAW1hJ0p8U

stripeypaint

the amount of background work the Belgian Cycling Team put in for that worlds was outrageous. hired out a full convention room in a hotel and brought 20 riders and nearly 70 bikes over 140 sets of wheels. CI could learn a thing or two about how to go about their business from their Belgian counterparts.

infro here http://www.bikeradar.com/gear/article/inside-the-belgian-headquarters-at-cyclocross-worlds-36338/

dave2pvd

Good article from CN here. Included an observation about McQuaid's reception:

6. Time to go?: As much as the outcomes of each championship race was the topic of conversation that Saturday evening, also grabbing one's attention was the impossible-to-ignore, impassioned booing dished out by spectators to Pat McQuaid as the UCI president was introduced for the presentation of rainbow jerseys. The unflappable Irishman took it in stride, never missing a beat, put it speaks volumes to the lowly opinion the sport's most ardent supporters have for McQuaid's leadership.