Re: early season championship

On 1/26/2025 12:33 PM, AMuzi wrote:

https://www.rfi.fr/en/sports/20250126-van-der-poel-gears-up-for-worlds- with-cyclo-cross-double

I watched both of those races live. The Maasmechelen race on saturday was an epic classic Belgian Cx race in cold temperatures, race, and copious amounts of mud. The racers jerseys were no longer recognizable by the race finish. Van Aert was battling for 1st position with VDP until he made a critical mistake in the 3rd lap and endo'd on a short steep descent, causing a mechanical issue with his bike. He managed to get it straightened away and still finished a solo 2nd place, though over a minute down.
Van der Pol has won every CX race he has entered this year, usually by wide margins. Todays race was no exception. Before the end of the first lap he attacked a small group that had gotten off the front, extending his lead on every lap and winning by ~ 1:45.
As great as it is to see someone with VDPs talent riding near-perfect races (the coverage did slo-mo replays of him pedaling through a powerslide in the mud), it's actually quite boring when someone just rides away from everyone else.
The only way VDP doesn't do a repeat on the world championships is though a crash/severe mechanical.