CX World Cup round for Dublin in December

TheBlaaMan · 11-12-2022 7:45pm

Yeah, a great day out. I was impressed to see that Wout and Tom both put in three (maybe 4 ?) warm up laps before the Womens race - I'd have thought that they would keep their matches dry for the real thing and maybe just put on one warm-up lap.

Watching WvA come back from his set-backs - it took a real determination to win that race, but looking at his eyes in the pic, nobody was taking this win from him ! He commented in the after-race interview about the mental effort he put in to win

The atmosphere was fantastic, especially on the steep climb near the bridge - the cheering of the backmarkers to ride the hill (rather than run it as the front runners did) was great , with some of the riders joining in the fun.

Cold day. Crappy food queues. Great sunshine. Hope it is back next year

f1000 · 11-12-2022 8:10pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119984551#Comment_119984551

Van Aert praises Irish fans at Dublin World Cup as ticket sales figures revealed (stickybottle.com)

good wee piece here

breezy1985 · 11-12-2022 8:11pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119984121#Comment_119984121

I didn't see much of the front half but the back half by the big screen was a brilliant course and atmosphere.

JMcL · 11-12-2022 8:54pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119984525#Comment_119984525

We were just beside them. Mostly a club from Belfast (sorry, the name escapes me) who has somebody running in the elite women's I think. At any rate, they were having a ball and I'd hazard a guess the bus will be stopping quite a bit in the way back home 😅

If anyone finds a pair of prescription ray bands, they're mine 🥴

Fem Van Empel says otherwise 😁

Johnny Jukebox · 11-12-2022 9:03pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119983044#Comment_119983044

Yeah, lots of middle aged men heading for a swim this morning :-)

daragh_ · 11-12-2022 9:04pm

Speaking of lost property. This is a longshot but if anyone came across a Towel give me a shout. It's my favourite. Dropped near the pits I think.

Tenzor07 · 11-12-2022 10:44pm

What a great day, watching world class riders in a UCI World cup event racing in Dublin... amazing!

Shame the facilities were far far from world class, did the organisers think how they would cater for 8,000 fans with a few small coffee and burger stands, I think there was the same numbers and vendors you'd see at a local CX race and not a UCI World cup event.... terrible!

I saw a few people going around with UCI Worldcup rainbow hats, but nowhere onsite to buy them.. ?

breezy1985 · 11-12-2022 10:52pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119985308#Comment_119985308

The "fanzone" seemed to be a CI shop and 3 coffee stands with another stand near the big screen.

I assume that the licensed vendors just didn't bother making the trip or couldn't because of the weather. If the first is the case then just let more local coffee and burger stands in. It was the only downside.

Was very very impressed by Sports Ireland Campus. It doesn't seem to happen often but that is one of the major capital projects we really got right. Felt like I was walking round the London Stratford former Olympic site.

ednwireland · 11-12-2022 10:52pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119984573#Comment_119984573

fraid not, we were more restrained

Foxmoves · 11-12-2022 11:35pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119984883#Comment_119984883

VC Glendale

Jamie meehan and Dean Harvey previously where with them also

breezy1985 · 12-12-2022 12:03am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119984920#Comment_119984920

Some random lad found your famous towel.

Was it a gift from your Omi or Opi 🤣

Grassey · 12-12-2022 10:00am

I'd have gone to town on some tat if they'd been selling stuff!

Saw one lad taking one of the huge prints clipped to the metal fences and stuffing it in his bag afterwards.

Note to self: bring a pair of wire snips next time 🤣

fat bloke · 12-12-2022 10:11am

Watched the womens race. They were awesome. Savage bikes too. Stayed for a lap of the men and had to head then. Wasn't probably prepared, the cold got into me and I hadn't the footwear to go exploring too far either. Pity they hadn't like 20 coffee stands instead of 2, there was money to be made!

But overall a very impressive event.

loyatemu · 12-12-2022 10:24am

great day out - we were watching on one of the hills so got a great view of the competitors in maximum pain (except for Wout who seemed to be on another level). Fantastic atmosphere despite the Baltic conditions - I don't know much about cross other than having watched a few races on Eurosport but it's really entertaining in the flesh (and mud). The women's race was a real thriller. Hopefully CI can bring it back again next year and I can get hold of a cowbell and oversized bobble hat.

Fair play also to the Bray Wheelers lads near us who were pumping tunes out of a portable speaker and downing pints of Guinness from a glass they'd brought with them.

De Bhál · 12-12-2022 10:27am

Cycled out, couldn't find the bicycle shed promised but really I just locked it up by the first bike stands I saw by the Jumbo Visma caravan. Strolled in and was surprised at how open it was, no bag check or anything, just stroll in. The atmospere was great out there, and it all looked very professional from a course point of view, the lack of food on sale was ridicoulous. I brought some food with me but I wouldn't have said no to a burger if the queues weren't 40 people long. No cycling merchandise for sale as far as I could see anyway, only a Cycling ireland stand with some jerseys and hats. I was on for spending a bit of money on cycling crap I didn't need so was surprised there was nothing (maybe there was, but I couldn't find it). Couldn't believe the amount of people in light Skechers type runners. This was a wellies or big boots event.

Wout though, what a win. Watched it back last night.

loyatemu · 12-12-2022 10:30am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119984920#Comment_119984920

...

Paddigol · 12-12-2022 10:56am

That was a great weekend. Had a go at the course in the support races on the Saturday and even then it was clear that the course was a lot better/ more exciting than it looked from maps and drone footage. There was a noticeable difference between the conditions in the practice lap and the conditions in the senior race after the juniors had gone through. By the end of the race it was much more challenging, particularly the two hills and the couple of uphill drags.

Sunday was super too. Weather was proper Belgian - rain held off, no wind, so as long as you dressed warm it was as close to Flanders as you'll get in Ireland. We'd be lucky to get a weekend like that again if the WC comes back. Others have mentioned the lack of food and drink - while true, I can get over it. I missed the junior races... would probably have been a bit more peeved if I'd been there all day with no proper food options. Hopefully something they can get right if the race comes back again. 8,000 spectators showed up, off the back of minimal media promotion... that's an excellent return and should give the organisers real food for thought in terms of bringing it back again and putting on a big show.

Credit to the volunteers who made everything work smoothly - not a day for standing around directing people, so giving up their time is much appreciated. It was a really professional effort from them, everywhere from parking, to entrance, directions and spectator crossing points. No fuss and no drama, everyone in good form. Really added to the feelgood factor around the event.

Women's race was great... super performance from the young VC Glendale rider. Strangely enough, the men's race was an even tighter affair - I think there were still nearly 10 in the leading group around lap 5. It was fascinating to see the contrasting styles of the likes of Van Aert and Sweeck compared to Pidcock and Iserbyt... pure power v. light touch bike handling skills. Dean Harvey didn't look out of place in that field... will be interesting to see how he does over the next couple of seasons if he gives it a go in Belgium.

loyatemu · 12-12-2022 11:04am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119986229#Comment_119986229

oh yeah, as we were walking in, WvA came strolling out of his trailer and posed for photos with some fans - it's really relaxed compared to many other big events.

Weepsie · 12-12-2022 11:27am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119984631#Comment_119984631

First picture here is a missed marketing opportunity for Sam Bennett

Bot1 · 12-12-2022 12:19pm

Great day out.

Fantastic race and even better performance by WVA.

But why oh why were there not more food and coffee stalls??????

Hope it's an annual event.+

dastardly00 · 12-12-2022 12:48pm

https://twitter.com/CyclingIreland/status/1601916866842222592?s=20&t=84OhPrdZHObVYHwnT2MbEg

...

Squidgy Black · 12-12-2022 1:31pm

Hopefully if it comes back next year it’ll be lined up with the London course they’ve been promising, would make it a lot more attractive for sponsors and vendors to make the trip over on the ferry with their trade stands if they’re only across the way

Tenzor07 · 12-12-2022 1:52pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119985346#Comment_119985346

Yea was true, 20 to 40 deep que's to get a cup of coffee, note to self for next time is bring my own Belgian/Beer/Waffles/Frites... though didn't want to drink too much as the loo's also had a long que between races...

Also was wondering why I spent €15 on a ticket when no-one scanned the ticket to get in, everyone who walked into the place got a wristband without question..

Loads of people parked at the Swimming pool car park with no questions asked also rather than getting the Bus to the car park out in Meath...

ednwireland · 12-12-2022 2:00pm

did cycling ireland try and charge too much for food pitches ? After driving for 3 hours I could have done with at least a cup of coffee. the park and ride from m3 parkway was great. although we walked out at the end of the race straight for the bus and were on it within a few mins - we were on the m3 by 4pm. I believe the queues got a lot longer.

Tenzor07 · 12-12-2022 2:09pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119986989#Comment_119986989

Seems CI as usual didn't plan well for the Fans... After seeing all the adverts around the course for Belgian beer and not being able to get one cos they didn't apply for a licence, so I only imagine they didn't ask a lot of food vendors to come onsite either, what was there is all you usually see at a regular local event.. Strange really as at this time of year i'm sure there's dozens of food/coffee van vendor's who'd like a chance to make money on a Sunday.

breezy1985 · 12-12-2022 2:27pm

On the plus side at least the stewards didn't give a sht about all the cans of beer going round.

That wouldn't happen if the likes of Heineken were inside trying to rip people off.

JMcL · 12-12-2022 2:36pm

Got the photos off the camera and they're to be found at https://jmcl.smugmug.com/Other/CX-World-Cup-Dublin-2022/i-F26Kjjm

Just to put it in perspective though from the impression it'll make on Joe public. While I understand it had a segment on the RTE news yesterday, I had a look at the RTE website out of curiosity this morning. I eventually found a short piece buried in "Other sports" 2 places behind darts. Even The Guardian, who have some decent cycling coverage, have nothing at all on the CX world cup - their last cycling story was the Tour finishing in Nice, and the one before that about the head of British Cycling resigning over the Shell kerfuffle. So it really is a niche within a niche, but man what a niche :-)