ebbe nieuweboer
Men's elite #Cyclocross #CX race #Superprestige #Aardbeiencross #Aardbeiencross22 #Aardbeiencross2022 in #Merksplas starting in a few minutes! The course is a bit further down in my timeline, so you can check it out there. Here's the current GC standing:
Nov 19, 2022 at 2:03pmWeb
Show threadebbe nieuweboerNov 19, 2022
Pidcock is back in the field, and he even practised a few sentences in Dutch/Flemish. And quite good too!
Show threadebbe nieuweboerNov 19, 2022
Pidcock was asked why he picked this specific cross as his season starter. He couldn't really answer it, but it's a bit of a useless question to begin with. He needs to start somewhere, and his buildup needs to culminate in a top form around Worlds. If this cross apparently fits best in that program, then this is the right cross to start in.
Show threadebbe nieuweboerNov 19, 2022
Sweeck and Vandeputte shoot off right from the start. Iserbyt leading a chase right behind them. And he (very nearly) does just before the sand pit.
Show threadebbe nieuweboerNov 19, 2022
Juast as Iserbyt joins Sweeck and Vandeputte, he has to dismount in the mud while the other two can keep riding. So now there's again a gap too close.
Show threadebbe nieuweboerNov 19, 2022
Ah, this I was expecting, and I think we all were: Vandeputte can't keep up with the pace of Sweeck, and now also Iserbyt overtakes him. But if he can tag on to Iserbyt, hold off van der Haar, and cling on to third position untill the finish (that's still a long way out, since we're only in lap 2!) that would already be a top performance for him!
Show threadebbe nieuweboerNov 19, 2022
Van der Haar doesn't want to let the pace drop and give Sweeck too much slack. So he puts a little hammer down. The others are able to follow, for now. In the background we can se that Pidcock already has quite good speed in just his first cross of the season.
Show threadebbe nieuweboerNov 19, 2022
Sweeck is really flying this season! I bet he's over the moon with his change of teams. Van der Haar now at 14 seconds behind Sweeck, and he's nearly the best of the rest right now.
Show threadebbe nieuweboerNov 19, 2022
These are my favourite obstacles in cross: Those insanely steep but very short climbs, that you can *just* make or *just* fail on.
Show threadebbe nieuweboerNov 19, 2022
In race situations like we have now, where there's a clear leader and they have a big lead, I wish they'd show more of the riders in 5th to 15th place. I'm sure there's more racing happening there than there is at the front, but we never see it because of this obsession with the race leader.
Show threadebbe nieuweboerNov 19, 2022

Today's lesson: How to get your rainbow jersey all muddy, 101.

Meanwhile, van der Haar is making up half second by half second on Sweeck. But there's a lot of half seconds to make up still!

Show threadebbe nieuweboerNov 19, 2022
Last lapt for Sweeck. I don't see van der Haar catching up to Sweeck. And I don't see Iserbyt and Vanthourenhout catching up to van der Haar either. So podium spots 1 and 2 are set I think. Team mates Iserbyt and Vanthourenhout to battle it out for that 3rd podium spot?
Show threadebbe nieuweboerNov 19, 2022
Iserbyt stumbling up the stairs, and losing contact with Vanhourenhout. That's the podium decided then.
1) Sweeck, who als scores nicely for his GC.
2) Van der Haar.
2) Vanthourenhout.
Show threadebbe nieuweboerNov 19, 2022
Very nice course, OK race. Have to go and quickly do the last bit of my sawing before the sun goes down. Cheers everyone!