On countdowns, cross and comebacks

Greetings fine fellow racing enthusiasts, I hope you’re all keeping well out there in these uncertain times, in the week in which we hit 100 days to Omloop (it’s actually now just 92, at the time of writing).

In case you’re not fully in tune with the winter countdown, it’s long been tradition to count down to Opening Weekend – Omloop Het Nieuwsblad and Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne – two one-day classic races that signal the beginning of the road racing season ‘proper’.

Obviously there are caveats, the most obvious being - there are races before Omloop. Quite a few actually, some of them quite decent. 2023 will see the return of the Tour Down Under after a long absence due to covid. There’s the roundabout-strewn desert hellscape that is the UAE Tour (which is 5 stages too long but has a couple of climbs if you’re desperate), and there are the likes of Etoiles de Besseges, the Mallorca Challenge series and the GP Marseillaise, all of which combine to ensure cycling fans are a-froth with speculation by the time the classics season really kicks in.

Yet something about this mystical beginning gives us focus - Omloop is the light at the end of the long, dark tunnel of winter - a way back out to our beloved road racing, and the start of the fabled Spring Classics. OK fine yes I'm a bit nostalgic today, but I have a good reason - read on to find out more.

Until then, there are a few titbits of news to report, and a healthy chunk of cyclocross to look back on, so without further ado, let’s get to it.

Nairo Quintana races on; Cav still in doubt

The troubled Colombian rider was reported this week to be soon to announce a deal with a World Tour team for 2023. It immediately became a guessing game, with Bahrain-Victorious quashing rumours it would be them, and a few days later, EF Education-EasyPost and Intermarche-Wanty-Gobert having their metaphorical hats thrown into the ring for them by other sources. (It's not EF - Vaughters confirmed they are full for 2023. Intermarche have yet to respond).

At the time of writing it’s yet to be confirmed – either way, there will be question marks hanging over the head of the former Arkea-Samsic rider following the tramadol case and his subsequent retroactive disqualification from the 2022 Tour de France.

In other ‘rider currently without a team who is subject to endless speculation’ speculation, Mark Cavendish remains currently without a team – the B&B Hotels team who have been very publicly linked to the Manx missile are in crisis, given until the end of the month to find the sponsorship to cover them financially, to enable them to remain a team at all.

More on both of these next time, hopefully.

Bitesize chunks of News, YUM

• With the Olympics taking place in Paris in 2024, there’s been rumours this week over the 2024 Tour de France Grand Depart possibly taking place in Italy – Florence, Bologna, Romagna and Piedmont are all reportedly in line to host stages, according to VeloNews

• British continental women's team Le Col-Wahoo are another to feel the pinch, as Le Col announced last week they would no longer be able to meet the financial requirements of title sponsor next season - the team is now seeking another sponsor (cue much tongue-in-cheek speculation about INEOS stepping in to fill the void - not actually a terrible suggestion...)

• As the football World Cup kicked off, cyclocrossers showed off their fancy footwork in this video, with former footballer Fem van Empel absolutely crushing the rest, perhaps unsurprisingly...

Shout out to my CX

There comes a time in every cyclocross season when you look at the picture on your screen and you say ‘yes, it’s cross season.’ Of course, the beauty of cross is that it comes in all shapes and sizes, all weathers and parcours, and it's nothing against the warm, dry races of mid-September, but let's be honest with ourselves - the mud-spattered faces and slip-sliding off-camber sections, the thrills and spills of cross season as we remember it, romanticised in our minds as we sit with tea and cake in front of roaring log fires feeling thoroughly relieved it's not us out there (OK maybe that's just me), is what cross is really all about. And it happened, this past weekend in Overijse. But there were a few more races before that. Here's a round-up:

Superprestige Niel (11th Nov)

Ceylin del Carmen Alvarado crossed the line in tears after her first top level cross victory since February 2021 following a string of issues and injuries. The win was met with widespread joy from the cyclocross community, as Ceylin is clearly a lovely person who deserves nice things.

In the men's race, Laurens Sweeck bested Lars van der Haar, and we all cheered because isn't it nice to see a more level playing field in the men's races this season, and both Laurens and Lars seem like thoroughly decent guys who deserve nice things.

NICE THINGS FOR NICE PEOPLE IN NIEL!

UCI World Cup Beekse Bergen (13th Nov)

Alongside a recreation lake in a holiday park, another new World Cup venue played host for the first time. I will never go into great detail on course design as I have no expertise in the area (Jens Dekkers’ blog which I linked to in my last newsletter is great for this kind of detail). I can only respond as a spectator and what Beekse Bergen lacked in notable features, it more than made up for in entertainment. Watching the laps tick over, there were no major climbs, no bridges or steps, a not particularly troublesome sand section and one awkward turn over some tree roots, but while we were busy calling the parcours ‘a bit boring’, the racing that unfolded over it was anything but.

The dynamite trio of Fem van Empel, Puck Pieterse and Shirin van Anrooij teamed up once again to duke it out at the front of the race with Ceylin del Carmen Alvarado and Marianne Vos not far behind in 4th and 5th. Once again, there was nothing to call between the three until the end of the penultimate lap, when van Anrooij launched a blistering attack on the flat crossing the finish line to begin the final lap. Pieterse and van Empel did not mark her back, watching one another instead. Van Anrooij was able to capitalise on their indecision, maintaining her gap all the way to the finish, hanging on to her lead following a ride of true grit, to take her first World Cup victory.

The men’s race was equally thrilling, with an almost unprecedented five riders in the mix all the way to the finish line. Sweeck, van der Haar, Eli Iserbyt and Michael Vantourenhour were joined by Baloise Trek's newest acquisition, Joris Nieuwenhuis, but it was the man of the moment Laurens Sweeck who was able to make his superior power count when it mattered, storming over the line just ahead of van der Haar. Definitely one to revisit on a dreary Tuesday in December.

Superprestige Merksplas (19th Nov)

The top 3 of women’s elite cross opted out of this one to save themselves for the World Cup on Sunday, leaving the way clear for another in-form rider, Ceylin del Carmen Alvarado. The Alpecin-Deceuninck rider dominated throughout and won comfortably, 18 seconds ahead of Denise Betsema, to make it two wins from her past three races.

Tom Pidcock marked his return to ‘cross at Merksplas but he would need time to warm up (not long as it turned out) and didn’t feature in the selection of the day. In the end, the dynamic duo of Sweeck and van der Haar rose to the fore to battle it out for the win once again, with the former proving slightly stronger in the final sprint for the line and taking victory, with Pidcock back in 7th and proclaiming himself a 'stommige ezel' (stupid donkey) in his Dutch interview after the race. It was Sweeck's third win in eight days, and he's in the form of his life.

UCI World Cup Overijse (20th Nov)

In the slick mud of Overijse, the women’s race was a complete reversal of recent World Cups, in that the outcome became a foregone conclusion very early on. Puck Pieterse put her supreme bike handling skills into action from lap 1, executing the muddy cycling equivalent of ballet as she floated over the rutted surface, riding up things that everyone else had to dismount for and generally face-planting less than everyone else. She won by over a minute from Fem van Empel to take her first World Cup victory, and it’s anybody’s guess how the rest of the season is going to play out with conditions coming into play and so many women in such exceptional form.

The men’s race was a proper thriller, with Tom Pidcock taking one race to be back to his belligerent, chaotic best. He started from the back of the field following a mechanical issue right off the start line, and worked his way through the rest to be up in contention by lap 2. The Pauwels-Sauzen Bingoal pair of Vantourenhout and Iserbyt kept him company for a while, but they weren’t able to hold on to him as he surfed the muddy descents with reckless abandon and gathered a lead. However it was his aforementioned reckless abandon that got him into trouble on the day, as he suffered two separate incidents that cost him time, and allowed Michael Vantourenhout to catch and pass him. In the end, there were just a few seconds in it, but Vantourenhout was clinical and consistent, making fewer mistakes and holding strong to take his first World Cup win of the season, while Pidcock was left to rue his losses.

Final Thought: Don't call it a comeback

Fairweather cyclocross fans are understandably awaiting the arrival of the two biggest names in the men’s elite field, Wout van Aert and Mathieu van der Poel. Following a 2022 season in which the two appeared together just twice, enthusiasts of the duo will be encouraged to see both riders announce a fairly busy cross schedule, leading up to the World Championships in Hoogerheide, where both will challenge once again. Here is the schedule of races where both will be in attendance - there are six opportunities to see them battle it out before the end of the year.

Tom Pidcock will feature in a number of races against one or both of the Valiant Vans (trademark pending) but has announced he doesn’t intend to defend his rainbow jersey in 2023, as he targets a strong spring classics season. There has already been speculation over the form of the pair - van der Poel insists he's ready to challenge for the win in his first race this Sunday, whereas van Aert insists he won't be at his best until later on in December. With the depth and quality in the men's field this season, many hardcore cross fans might wonder - do any of the others stand a chance against the two kings of cross? And will this be the season in which Pidcock truly proves himself against the pair?

While it's difficult to see past another winter in which head-to-heads between the two eclipse the rest of the field, the excellent form of Sweeck and van der Haar, combined with Pidcock's insane skill and rampant disregard for his own wellbeing, hint at the potential for a few upsets. Either way, I cannot WAIT to see them back in action.

The Last Word

I was lucky enough to be commissioned by Rouleur this past week to reflect on the key moment’s of both the men’s and women’s 2022 road seasons, and having observed the necessary post-season mourning period, I must confess I’m starting to pine for the new season. The sport will fizz back into life over the next few weeks as teams begin their winter training camps, new kits are revealed, and the build-up to the early season races begins, and I for one am beside myself with excitement. In the meantime, I’ve booked tickets to see UCI World Cup fixtures in Dublin and Benidorm, so if you’re attending either of those, do come and say hi, I will be acting perfectly sensibly and not at all like an excited puppy.

Read my pieces for Rouleur, below.

Many thanks for reading, I'll speak to you again in a fortnight!

Cheers,

Katy

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