I thought I'd start a new thread to kick off the new season. Given that most of the racers have just begun training for the 2019 season, one could say it's officially underway.
I have many questions. There are so many interesting narratives.
So, is 2019 the year we see Nino regularly beaten, is Gerhard Kerschbaumer the man to do it?
Does Emily finally take a win, or is her new teammate going to steal the show again?
What about Yana Belomoyna, can she overcome her injuries and compete for the overall again?
Will the UCI do anything to improve the short track?
Will Red Bull finally get their act together and gives us live on bike footage during the race? It's about to be 2019, the camera tech is definitely available and no longer expensive. Imagine how much a front and back facing camera would enhance the show...
Discuss.
World Cup schedule
27. - 28. April: Maribor (Slovenia) DHI 17. - 19. Mai: Albstadt (Germany) XCO/XCC 24. - 26. Mai: Nove Mesto (Czech Republic) XCO/XCC 01. - 02. June: Fort William (Scotland) DHI 08. - 09. June: Leogang (Austria) DHI 05. - 07. Juli: Vallnord (Andorra) XCO/XCC/DHI 12. - 14. Juli: Les Gets (France) XCO/DHI 02. - 04. Aug: Val di Sole (Italia) XCO/XCC/DHI 09. - 11. Aug: Lenzerheide (Switzerland) XCO/XCC/DHI 06. - 08. Sept: Snowshoe (USA) XCO/XCC/DHI
Tempier regularly uses a 38tooth chainring. For some of the XCC events he went for an Ultegra 11s cassette that is 11-34. For the XCO events it was a standard XTR cassette (not entirely sure about NMNM).
I've noticed this too. Also- her bike has not been pictured at all either (although I'm sure she isn't on anything new yet just in case). I feel like it's got to be Scott.
For all those speculating on Kate Courtney and Specialized parting company, BikeRumor just posted the press release from Spesh today. Interesting that the video was posted to YouTube on Oct 29, but likely only just made it accessible to the public with the press release.
"As 2018 comes to a close and plans for 2019 finalize, Kate has decided to make a change of direction with her program. We are extremely sad to see her go but also grateful for the many wonderful years we shared together."
My guess is that Specialized is losing the right to use Kate in their marketing on Jan 1, which would explain why they went public with this today. I’m sure they would have loved to keep her, but that they could not do so for various reasons, whether self-imposed or otherwise.
My guess is that Specialized is losing the right to use Kate in their marketing on Jan 1, which would explain why they went public with this today. I'm sure they would have loved to keep her, but that they could not do so for various reasons, whether self-imposed or otherwise.
I find it so strange that a company with the budget of Specialized, whose headquarters is based in California, USA, wouldn't do everything in their power to keep a World Champion athlete who also from California, USA. Specialized has thrown huge money for years at athletes such as Mark Cavendish, Peter Sagan, Kulhavy, etc. It makes no sense that they couldn't outbid a much smaller company to keep a young World Champion in their house; even if it meant cutting loose some of their "aging" athletes who have seen better days.
1. Specialized doesn’t own any of the World Tour (road) teams for which they provide equipment. So they don’t have to pay rider salaries, mechanics, director, support staff, travel etc. (They have a deal with Bora-Hansgrohe—they don’t pay Sagan’s salary!). The Specialized Factory MTB team is completely different economically, so there isn’t really a comparison. And MTB racing is also completely different economically from road racing. There is dramatically less money in the sport at present, and it is principally supported by the bike industry, riders and avid fans. Our best hope for that to change, in my view, is for the World Cup coverage to reach a wider TV audience. RedBull TV is great but it isn’t even among the 1000 channels of crap I get on cable.
2. It’s pointless to speculate why riders and teams separate. The only clear conclusion for those on the outside is that one or both parties concluded it was the right move. And those on the inside, who know the whole story, likely won’t discuss the details, which is as it should be. Teams and riders can make multi-year deals if they want to (look at the deal Egan Bernal just got from Sky, although that team likely won’t exist long enough to fulfill it). When they go year-to-year the future is less certain for everyone.
Sanne Cant has been racing once or twice a weekend since August and over five days in a row or something similar during the Christmas period. She's probably a bit tired
I did enjoy seeing Neff win though as Cant usually wins a last lap battle.
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