First Edition Cycling News, Monday, January 30, 2012

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Date published:

January 30, 18:00

• UCI awards 2015 'cross worlds to Tabor

  

  Article published:

  January 27, 18:15

  By:

  Cycling News

  Track worlds to Belarus, Colombia

  The UCI announced today the locations of upcoming world championships for several disciplines after holding its first management committee meeting in Koksijde, Belgium. The Czech Republic city of Tabor was awarded the Cyclo-cross World Championships for 2015. It will be the third time the city has hosted the race.

  The last time Tabor hosted the 'cross championships was in 2009, when Czech Zdenek Stybar claimed his first rainbow jersey in front of his home crowd.

  The UCI also finalized the 2012-2013 Cyclo-cross calendar – naming the World Cup host venues for six cities: Koksijde, Roubaix, Namur, Heusden-Zolder, Rome and Hoogerheide as well as the UCI World Championships in Louisville, Kentucky.

  The mountain bike worlds will return to Pietermaritzburg in South Africa in 2013, and the track world championships will head to Minsk, Belarus in 2013 and Cali, Colombia in 2014.

  The town of Greenville, South Carolina, which also hosts the US Pro national championships, was awarded the Para-cycling world championship for 2014. The first world championships to be held in the Southeast.

  UCI President Pat McQuaid welcomed the first world championships to Latin America in 19 years. "It is with great pleasure that we note that the UCI World Championships will not only be hosted by venues that are well known in our sport such as Pietermaritzburg and Tabor, ... but also by new hosts. Greenville, Minsk and in particular Cali, which will welcome the first UCI World Championships in Latin America for 19 years, have all decided to share their enthusiasm for cycling with the UCI, which is indeed a very happy situation."
   

• Video: Ride the Koksijde course with Jeremy Powers

  

  Article published:

  January 28, 00:40

  By:

  Cycling News

  US champion tackles the X-Dune on the world championship course

  Want a first-hand look at the entire UCI Cyclo-cross World Championship course in Koksijde, but can't afford a ticket to Belgium? Just watch this video taken from a camera on the bike of none other than US champion Jeremy Powers (Rapha-Focus) for an insider's glimpse into every inch of the circuit.

  The race isn't all sand, but the dunes of Belgium's northern coast certainly create the toughest obstacles. Watch as Powers dances his way through the sandy dunes, glides up the flyover and hurtles across the muddy field.

  There's no sound, so put on your favorite seven minute song and watch J-Pow groove in Koksijde. Might we suggest this?

  Use this on all articles. The player is narrow enough to fit next to the article gallery images box on the right.

• Louisville offers a glimpse of its 2013 'cross Worlds in Koksijde

  

  Article published:

  January 28, 22:15

  By:

  Cycling News

  Tábor will host the 2015 world championships

  On the eve of the UCI Cyclo-cross World Championships in Koksijde, Belgium, the delegation of the 2013 edition in Louisville, Kentucky, organized a presentation in the casino of Koksijde. All sorts of representatives within the cyclo-cross world showed up to find out about the first world championships to be organized outside the old continent. Among them was a delegation of American riders from the Cannondale-Cyclocrossworld team including Caitlin Antonneau, James Driscoll, Nicole Duke and Timothy Johnson.

  Koksijde Mayor Marc Vanden Bussche started a series of short speeches. He explained how happy the Belgian coastal town was that a prestigious big city like Louisville follows in its footsteps. A representative of the Louisville tourism office taught the attendees how to pronounce the city's name. A good thing he did so as the host of the evening had started talking about Lewisville.

  The Mayor of Louisville, Greg Fischer, wasn't onsite to say a word but in a video message, he showed off the possibilities of Louisville and then offered everybody a glass of Bourbon whiskey, a treat that was well received in Koksijde as soon as it was distributed by local bar tenders.

  Steve Johnson, USA Cycling CEO, explained how important the cyclo-cross discipline has become and how much the discipline has exploded in the US.

  UCI president Pat McQuaid was onsite as well. He emphasized the fact that the American organizers cannot expect to attract the same amount of spectators in Louisville that are expected in Koksijde. "This year, the world championships are held in the heart of the cyclo-cross world. This weekend there will be around 50,000 spectators onsite in Koksijde. If the organizers can get only half that amount of people together in Louisville, they will have already accomplished their mission," McQuaid said.

  Louisville race organizer Bruce Fina then gave commentary on video footage which showed the location of the world championships venue - the Eva Bandman Park - and the most important parts of this newly designed cyclo-cross course. The city park was named after the lady from whom the city inherited this piece of land next to the Ohio river. "After the start, the riders make a drop of about five meters due to the natural elevation from the higher river road down to the land along the river," Fina said. The course includes a fly-over and two run-ups. "The technical riders will be able to ride over this obstacle while the fast runners will do it in the same time."

  Fina informed people that the venue is 3km away from the Galt House Hotel, which will be the official UCI hotel; it has almost 1300 rooms. The local airport is less than 10km away and connects with Chicago, Washington and Newark.

  By the end of the presentation, all attendees were handed their glass of whiskey. The presentation concluded when all speakers were joined by co-organizer Joan Hanscom on the podium and they raised their glasses of bourbon whiskey to the 2013 world championships in Louisville.

  Hanscom informed Cyclingnews that live broadcasting of the event had been decided yet. "But that part of the organization is in the hands of the UCI as it has those rights," Hanscom said.

  Later on Friday evening, the news was announced that the Czech city of Tábor will once again host the world championships, this time in 2015. The city organized the event a first time in 2001 when Erwin Vervecken won the elite men's race and Hanka Kupfernagel the elite women's race.

  Just two years ago, Tábor organized the world championships for a second time. Zdenek Stybar (Omega Pharma-Quickstep) won on home soil in 2010 while Marianne Vos (Stichting Rabo Women) won the women's race.

  The 2014 event hasn't been awarded just yet.

• Vos faces three challengers at 'cross Worlds

  

  Article published:

  January 29, 08:39

  By:

  Brecht Decaluwé

  Women's battle set for Sunday morning

  On Sunday morning, the elite women will battle it out at their UCI Cyclo-cross World Championships race in Koksijde, a town at the North Sea coast in Belgium. The top favorite for the win is Marianne Vos (Stichting Rabo Women). If she wins, it'll be the third gold medal for The Netherlands at these Worlds.

  Vos dominated the cyclo-cross races during the last two months, winning 15 races in a row out of 16 total in which she participated this season. Since the one race she didn't win was held on Sunday's world championship course, the gathered opposition is hoping Vos will again be beatable in the Koksijde dunes.

  The strongest challenger seems to be European champion Daphny van den Brand (AA Drink-Leontien.nl) who is riding the last race of her career. US champion Katie Compton (Rabobank-Giant Offroad Team) and Katerina Nash (Luna Pro Team) are outsiders for the gold on Sunday.

  According to Vos, there's little chance that someone other than her will grab the rainbow jersey and in her case, it would be her fourth succesive world title. "I'm ready for it. I've won 15 races except for Koksijde. I made a big step forward on the road this season, and then you hope that it reflects in my cyclo-cross season and I've succeeded woderfully. Fifteen wins in a row is really special, but these are the world championships. It's a different race and at the start, we're all equal," Vos told NOS radio.

  "The fact that I didn't win in Koksijde makes me sharp," Vos told Cyclingnews. When asked why she was unable to win that particular race, Vos knew the exact reasons. "Because the technical aspect of the course suits Daphny well. Also because riding your first cyclo-cross race of the season is always hard. I'm still happy with that second place because that morning I feared a much worse result. It's a very nice course but it's the uncertain factor for me. It's technically different [compared to the muddy course at the World Cup round in Hoogerheide] with lots of running. It's not specifically my thing. At any moment, anything can happen. You can run into bad luck and lose the race just like that. It's not something I think about. My form is good but I already knew that. Everybody will be 110% ready, just like me. It's nice to head into the world championships with these sensations," she said.

  Two weeks before the cyclo-cross world championships, Vos crashed hard during the penultimate World Cup round in Liévin, France. Despite going on to win the race, it turned out the crash did cause some damage. "The first couple of days after the crash I felt sore. The biggest fear was that it would hinder me at the world championships but that's no longer an issue after my win in Hoogerheide," Vos said.

  Compatriot Daphny van den Brand will end her career in about a month after the last rounds of the Superprestige series and Gazet van Antwerpen Trophy. In her last season, the 33-year-old won the World Cup, including the win over Vos at the round in Koksijde. Despite the impressive series of victories from Vos following that race, Van den Brand believes in her chances.

  "How to beat her? You have to look at yourself and be in top shape. If I'm good, then everybody is beatable. You can't predict how things ought to happen because a world championships race is always a strange race; it never happens as you want to," Van den Brand said.

  With 45,000 people expected to show up in Koksijde on Sunday, the atmosphere for the women will be special. Riding through the sand isn't easy and that doesn't get easier when that many spectators watch every move you make. "You need some luck to in the sand because when you have to run where others can ride, you have to close a gap right away. You have to be top class if you want to grab the title," Van den Brand told NOS radio on Saturday.

  Outsiders Nash and Compton seem to be the only riders capable of fighting the two strong Dutch women. Especially Compton showed in the past that she deals well with the Koksijde sand, although this year she never managed to show that in the highly-contested European races. Last year she won the World Cup round in commanding style, pushing first chaser Van den Brand more than two minutes back.

  "Winning last year doesn't mean anything for this year," Compton told Cyclingnews. When asked about how she felt Vos was riding, Compton didn't have much to say. "I never saw her. I'll do everything I can to ride a clean race in Koksijde. If I had more power, everything would be easier and if I would know the reason [for the lackluster results this season], I would fix it. It's an off-year maybe," Compton said.

  In the past, Compton had some issues with travelling and after the World Cup round in Hoogerheide, a journalist asked whether it wouldn't be better to race the whole European season instead of traveling back and forth during the season. "I travel less than last year, but maybe next year we'll do it differently," Compton said.

  For Nash, things are going the right direction especially after her third place at the last World Cup round in Hoogerheide. It was a race in which she fought a good battle with Van den Brand for second place, at long distance from Vos. "I'm on the right track. I've never done it [Koksijde] but I've seen it and talked with the Czech people who know it," Nash said. This week, she trained on the course for the first time but a race situation is completely different to a training ride. The US-based Czech rider was confident that her sand-riding skills are good enough to have a good race in Koksijde.

  "I probably live closest to any desert of everybody at the start line. I live in Lake Tahoe at the border of California and Nevada," Nash told Cyclingnews. When asked about top gun Vos, the Czech rider realizes her chances for the world title are slim with such a rider on the start line. "During the race, you just see a white flash which is quickly gone. She's got it all, the whole package of skills you need for cyclo-cross," Nash said.

  The rider that beats Vos in the dunes of Koksijde will be reaching for a gold medal and the rainbow jersey on Sunday.

  Tune in on Cyclingnews to find out about the outcome of the women's race. Racing starts at 11:00 am local time.

• Massive crowds at 'cross Worlds make organizers cautious

  

  Article published:

  January 29, 10:08

  By:

  Brecht Decaluwé

  Over 50,000 expected to turn up

  With the cyclo-cross world championships being organized in the heart of the cyclo-cross world, being the Flanders region in Belgium, massive crowds are expected to show up. Shortly before the actual races the organizers are taking steps which should avoid problems in the coastal town of Koksijde on Sunday afternoon.

  On Friday evening the organizers decided that they would no longer sell tickets on the day of the race. Earlier this week the Koksijde organizing committee announced that about 30,000 tickets were already sold but during the following days about 20,000 additional tickets were sold. Not all spectators are expected to show up on Sunday as a reasonable number of people solely bought a ticket for the racing action on Saturday, the first day of the ‘cross world championships.

  Then again many of those people bought a combi-ticket which allows them entrance for both racing days. About 13,000 people attended the races of the youth categories where Dutch riders Mathieu van der Poel and Lars van der Haar crowned themselves world champion. On Saturday evening the organizers said that 51000 tickets were sold for Sunday’s day of racing in the dunes of Koksijde. That number probably includes VIP’s but not the spectators who bought their tickets in combination with a railway ticket. The situation along the course in Koksijde will be incredible as one can expect that – somewhat drunk – Belgians will create an incredible atmosphere. Top favorite Sven Nys already described it as if a football player would score a goal in the Champions League in front of a 50000 crowd, but then for one hour. Nys also thought about using ear plugs as the noise of this crowd would be hard to stand.

  Despite the cancellation of tickets sales on Sunday it seems like the organizers still underestimated this high interest for their event. On Saturday evening they announced that during the Elite Men’s race an extra measure would be put in place to avoid problems during the race. After the first lap the crossings throughout the course will be shut. By taking this measure there’s no risk that spectators would be blocking the way for the riders. As an extra measure the organizers already added a second line of fencing to make sure the spectators would not be able to touch the riders when they pass.

  It’s unsure whether all these measures will avoid problems. The photographers on site already warned that it would be nearly impossible for them to take snaps of the racing action on the course and at the finish line as they are not allowed to walk on the course, nor use the crossings.

  
   

• Albert II crowned king of the Belgians

  

  Article published:

  January 29, 23:18

  By:

  Brecht Decaluwé

  25-year old wins second world title

  With an irrefutable performance in the dunes of Koksijde 25-year-old Niels Albert (BKCP-Powerplus) completed a race-long solo to capture his second win at the Cyclo-cross World Championships. No other rider combined his excellent technical skills through the sand stretches with the brutal power he had on the sections in between the two unforgiving dunes.

  The race in Koksijde, a coastal town at the North Sea in Belgium, was attended by a crowd of more than 60000 'cross crazy fans which included the Belgian Prime Minister Elio Di Rupo and – he must be an Albert-fan - the King of Belgium, Albert II. After the first world championship race was held in Koksijde back in 1994 a dune was named after winner Paul Herygers. The organizers promised to name the now-called X-dune after the winner of Sunday's race.

  "I thought about that the last time I rode it, thinking that he was now mine. This feeling is unbeatable. It's the biggest win of my career. Now my season succeeded," Albert said.

  In mid-November the cyclo-cross season of Albert was brutally interrupted when he broke his trapezoid bone during a training ride. An overall win in one of the three major series was no longer possible since he missed rounds in all of them. Despite wins in Ruddervoorde and Zonhoven it was clear that Albert needed to come up with a big win to save his season. There were two options, the Belgian national championships and the world championships.

  "After the Belgian championships I gathered with my entourage and told them I would put all my money on the world championships," Albert said. Together with his BKCP-Powerplus manager and friend Christoph Roodhooft, he headed to Spain to prepare in the best possible conditions. "We created a bond there and the people close to me live along with that. If you can pull of a win after these sacrifices then it's no wonder that there are emotions."

  At the post-race press conference in Koksijde the new world champion talked about how dedicated he was in that build-up. "I headed there with the idea that the world championships would be mine, only mine. On the beach I marked out a course with plastic chairs to train on the turns and on how to choose the lines in the sand. The guys from the Topsport-Vlaanderen road team were sitting a bit further with their coffee and must've thought that I was crazy. I'm not the man of the classic training rides. I need these crazy things to become better," Albert said.

  And Albert got better. After the Belgian championships Albert only returned from Spain to ride the World Cup rounds in Liévin, France and Hoogerheide, The Netherlands. In Liévin he finished on a distant 12th place and in Hoogerheide he positioned fourth. The results don't reflect how much better Albert was becoming.

  "I rode in Hoogerheide and on Monday I felt better than on Sunday during the race. On Tuesday I felt even better. Wednesday was worse but from then on I constantly improved. You feel it in the legs when you draft behind the car, they feel very relaxed. You could feel that this was going to happen," Albert said.

  After his training camp Albert arrived in Koksijde seemingly without stress, knowing that he had done everything he could to perform well. "I arrived here without stress. Last night I purposely didn't set my alarm and I woke up just before nine o'clock. I arrived downstairs and on the table there was only one loaf of bread left. Everybody was gone to prepare for the race. I noticed it was nine o'clock and thought I was too late," Albert said.

  Of course he wasn't too late and in that relaxed state of mind he started his build-up to the race.

  "Today I came from the trainer with the mission to ride a one hour time trial," Albert said. Half a lap into the race Albert started his time-trial and nobody else was able to stick on his wheel. "I claimed the holeshot which is possible for me if I'm totally focused. I went flat out and on the road I was riding on a 46x12 gear while trying to shift to a higher gear which wasn't there," Albert said.

  Next week Albert turns 26 but at despite his young age he has now already collected two world titles. When asked whether he thought about the record amount of seven titles from Eric De Vlaemynck he reacted modestly.

  "One has to be realistic. You can't compare this era with the old days. Seven titles is no longer possible since Stybar already collected two of them. If you can win four titles you're already among the legends," Albert said.

  Compatriot Sven Nys surely is a cyclo-cross legend but despite his dominance in the sport he only captured one world title so far. Another chance was wasted for Nys on Sunday when he finished last of the Belgians in seventh place and he stated he would no longer ride the world championships.

  "Personally I think that would be very sad. He's one of the greatest cyclo-cross riders around. You can't judge somebody on the amount of world championships he won. I've got two now and he's got one," Albert said.

  Seemingly realizing that Nys doesn't like the fact that some riders save their energy throughout the season to focus on the world championships Albert pointed out that he didn't intend to be more fresh than the others.

  "I didn't want my season to go like this. There are three top guns now. Pauwels has the World Cup, Sven won the Belgian championships and now I. There are still the series to capture a price but this saved my season," Albert said.

  
   

• Nys might pull the plug on worlds

  

  Article published:

  January 30, 04:50

  By:

  Brecht Decaluwé

  Belgian champion disappointed with his string of off-days at worlds

  After another lacklustre performance (7th) at the Cyclo-cross World Championships which were held this weekend in Koksijde, Belgium, Sven Nys(Landbouwkrediet) hinted out that he might skip the event in the final two years of his career.

  The 35-year-old Belgian didn't manage to keep his compatriot Niels Albert (BKCP-Powerplus) from the title although he previously said that he would have a good chance on the win in the dunes of Koksijde. With another chance gone, Nys feels like he simply can't build-up his season towards the event. Nys dominated the cyclo-cross sport for more than a decade, being UCI-leader for most of the time and claiming wins in all major series. At the world championships he was only able to convert his dominance into a title once, at the championships in Sankt-Wendel in 2005.

  "It might have been the last one I rode. It's probably a bit too early to say something like this but if I look at it now I feel like saying that,"

  Nys said shortly after his race in the studio of Sporza. "It's the disappointment. I expected a lot from this race and felt like I was in the form of my life but it wasn't enough. Then you have to make your conclusions because this was a course where it could happen one more time," a clearly disappointed Nys said.

  "My priority is elsewhere than on that single day at the world championships. It's a fact that there are men on the podium of which I didn't expect that they would finish ahead of me. Then you have to admit that you simply can't keep up on a day like this. Maybe this is something that doesn't suit me, something that turned out to be a fact in recent years. Maybe I don't have to worry about it in the future and leave it to other boys," Nys said.

  When asked whether his busy program in the weeks ahead of the race might have ruined it for him Nys denied that was the case. The day before the World Cup rounds in France and The Netherlands, the Belgian champion was taking part in a smaller event.

  "I don't think I should've raced less but it's true that today's winner raced – due to injuries – the least of all of us. The man in second place, Rob Peeters, raced as many races as I did in the build-up to this race. It's not an excuse. I was at my best at the Belgian championships. Last year it was the same and then I felt like I rode a world championships race like never before. I don't know where I made a mistake but you see one guy riding away and there's nothing you can do," Nys said before coming to a conclusion. "Maybe my skills are suited for a season-long battle for the classifications instead of one event. I pulled it off one time and it'll remain the only one," Nys said.

  He added that he actually enjoyed riding in front of the 60000-plus crowd in Koksijde. "We shall see. I was proud to be here because it was really special."

  Peter Van den Abeele, manager of Off-Road disciplines at the International Cycling Union (UCI), was surprised to hear the statement from Nys. When thinking about next year's world championships he said that Nys was needed in Louisville, Kentucky. "Sven needs to fly abroad. We need him for the sport," Van den Abeele said on Sporza.

  In a first reaction fresh world champion Niels Albert said that he regretted a possible withdrawal from Nys.

  "Personally I think that it would be very sad. He's one of the greatest cyclo-cross riders around. You can't judge somebody on the amount of world championships he won," Albert said.

   

• Gallery: Japan at the Cross Worlds

  

  Article published:

  January 30, 17:35

  By:

  Cycling News

  Growth of cyclo-cross in Asia reflected in Japan's Worlds performances

  While Belgium may be the world's power in cyclo-cross, and the USA might be the biggest emerging market for the discipline, Japan is also a hotbed of 'cross and the top racers from that country took part in the UCI Cyclo-cross World Championships in Koksijde on Sunday.

  Yu Takenouchi, the Japanese national champion and runner-up Keiichi Tsujiura took part in the elite men's race, but with few UCI points and a poor starting position on the grid, they could not hold off being lapped by winner Niels Albert from Belgium.

  In the elite women's race, Ayako Toyooka and Sakiko Miyauchi put up a good fight, and were only overtaken by Marianne Vos on the final lap, finishing just behind 31st place.

  The future of Japan's 'cross team is bright, as junior racer Toki Sawada put in an extraordinary performance to take 19th place, while Kota Yokoyama and Michimasa Nakai finished in 41st and 42nd, respectively.

  Enjoy this gallery of the Japanese riders in Koksijde, courtesy of Sonoko Tanaka.