WORLD CUP discussion! (Focus on the women's race)

[BeDrinkable]

Time for a little nationalistic chest thumping (and maybe some transatlantic MBPost rivalry?). The first stop on the UCI circuit and Gwin seems to be picking up where he left off. 2nd is very respectable for the first race of the year. Not to mention, he's coming off one of the most dominant seasons ever for a DH rider. After 2010 it seemed like we were in for a few years of Atherton dominance, but that was not to be. I'm just glad that there's an American we can proud of in international competition, in a sport we invented! Sam Hill is still lurking about and quite a few excellent riders are nipping at the heels. I hope for a great season.

If anyone needs to see it, I think the video is still up and available HERE. The XC race is also available and also exciting.

[Visentin]

Transatlantic rivalry you said ? Here we are : we follow XC
I admit DH also is spectacular but I'm more on about the forthcoming duel between Kulhavy and Absalon, and with the medalistic expectations of pretty Maja and her friends in the female category Ray ? Andy ?
Ok, back to DH I admit my knowledge of the forces in presence is poor. Is there any serious french polish or british challenger to rivalize with Aaron Gwin ?

[Visentin]

p.s: I know this Redbull TV link ! I watched Maja's victory in Pietermaritzburg the other day. What a finish ! She literally ate the Canadians in the end.

[BeDrinkable]

p.s: I know this Redbull TV link ! I watched Maja's victory in Pietermaritzburg the other day. What a finish ! She literally ate the Canadians in the end.

This could be fodder for another transatlantic rivalry. Although Maja looks great, Emily Batty may be coming into her own this year. Should be a great series of races!

[Visentin]

We could even start a thread in the thread: who's the prettiest female MTB rider The only thing that disturbs me while watching them is to picture myself twice slower

[BeDrinkable]

All right, I've changed the title to match the drift of this thread. Great race this past weekend! It looks like Maja is going to have a tough time this year with Pendrel regaining some excellent form! I am really looking forward to following the races this year. Emily Batty may make a run (but she's still quite young) and Julie Bresset is never out of the picture.

And not to ignore the men's race. As dominating as Pendrel was, the men's race was a nail biter! There's a sizable group of guys who have a shot every race. Great stuff.

[Visentin]

Apparently on her facebook profile she says there was some kind of collision with other bikers at the start, and consequently retrograded almost to the last position, and caught up back during all the race to pick finally the 3rd place. She must be really strong... if nothing like that happens during next races I don't know who can stop her...
Absalon won in the men category. Kulhavy is disappointing in this early year but his facebook also says he "crashed" in the last lap.

[BeDrinkable]

It will be an exciting season, for sure. It'll be interesting to see if Maja can gain back her 2010 form. Last year bad luck bit her at just the wrong time. I think Pendrel is probably the only one right now who can challenge her at every race.

Did you happen to catch any of the "XC Eliminator" race? I saw just a bit and enjoyed it more than I expected. I want to be Brian Lopes. The man is kickass!

[Visentin]

What's "XC Eliminator" ? never heard of it.
How to find the calendar of next world cup events in XC ? To be honest I didn't watch Maja's and Absalon's races, just saw few parts on Youtube, but I want to catch next times..

[Visentin]

http://www.uci.ch/templates/UCI/UCI5/la ... I&LangId=1

Ok, I found

Next time in Czech Rep ! I must watch it. Kulhavy's land ! It will be packed with crowds. And next in the list my home country (despite far from my home region), in the Alsace.
Waiting also impatiently for Fort William, magic scenery on the foot of UK's tallest mountain, and Norway, quite unusual.

[BeDrinkable]

The eliminator is the (probably temporary) replacement for the 4X in the UCI races. They use a shorter version of the XC course and send 4 riders in heats, with the top two advancing to the next round. Brian Lopes took the men's race (at 40!) and Annie Last the Women's. I still like the traditional XC better, but this is kinda fun! Try this link below. I think it works worldwide. That site keeps the last races up for a while, so you can view the entirety of the traditional XC races as well.

http://live.redbull.tv/events/37/uci-mtb-world-cup-houffalize-belgium-cross-country-eliminator/

[AnimalFromSpace]

Cyclists need well developed legs.

[Visentin]

http://live.redbull.tv/events/37/uci-mtb-world-cup-houffalize-belgium-cross-country-eliminator/

My internet connection as well as processor are too poor for watching that, but definitely I'll record the races on TV next time !

[Visentin]

French misfortune in the men (Absalon out) and eastern European succes (Kulhavy 2nd), the opposite in the female category, Bresset 1st and Maja 7th.
Absalon was said to be ill before the race, and made a fall that led to abandon. He switches back to 5th position in rankings and lost probably most chances to get the title.
Maja got severely injured on the arm during a training couple of weeks ago and restarted to train recently, however she doesn't use it as a justification. The pack of leaders was very tight, all were within 20s and she says she isn't too worried about the result despite 7th is of course disappointing.
Pendrel 6th moves 2nd in rankings, Batty 10th.

[BeDrinkable]

I had a race myself this weekend and was unable to watch either the race in its entirety or the highlights. But I did look over the results. I remain impressed by Burry Stander! He has not yet had a bad race. All the top women looked good, even with a little mixing up at the top. I expect Emily Batty won't a huge threat for this year, but she is still young. Pendel, Maja and Bresset all look strong. Do you think anyone else will surge to challenge one for the overall title? On the US side, Georgia Gould would do well for a top ten overall and I think she would be happy with that.