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2019 World Cup XC

144K views 2K replies 170 participants last post by  TDLover 
#1 · (Edited)
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
 
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#40 ·
People are always judged on their appearance. It is a fact of life like it or not. Athletes unlike models are not to be selected based on appearance. They should be selected based on performance, but being attractive helps. Men do it and women do it. It happens in Tour de France riders. Kittel, Cancelara, etc yeah looks are always a factor when it comes to endorsements and sponsor value. It has no impact on performance, but when trying to sell a product looks have an impact. Not recognizing it is just putting your head in the sand to reality.
 
#41 ·
Even though I was gonna post about how much I disagree of JoePAz analysis on Kate's athlete career I read nothing "wrong" in it.

I suggest the one who brought up misogyny to learn its proper definition, because I have received numerous negative rep calling me a misogynist as well, for things that aren't, and what JoePAz wrote has nothing of misogyny in it.

I would say looks do matter, this is life, it isn't fair for everybody. An athlete that has good looks will have an additional advantage over one that is ugly, be that a man or girl.

I, myself, am pretty ugly, but it's easy to reckon that I were more handsome life would be easier, better job, easier to mate, better social treatment and so on. Being a girl even gives you more privileges in life, whether you are open to admit it or not.

It's funny, but if we were discussing some male the same way Kate was being discussed and brought his looks, nobody would be defending him calling them misandrists to those talking about his looks.

I'm sorry to tell you, but you are the problem briscoelab, you clearly can't discuss truths of life without calling others something you don't even understand.
 
#54 ·
I have received numerous negative rep calling me a misogynist as well, for things that aren't, and what JoePAz wrote has nothing of misogyny in it.

Being a girl even gives you more privileges in life, whether you are open to admit it or not.

It's funny, but if we were discussing some male the same way Kate was being discussed and brought his looks, nobody would be defending him calling them misandrists to those talking about his looks.

I'm sorry to tell you, but you are the problem briscoelab, you clearly can't discuss truths of life without calling others something you don't even understand.
You claim to have wrongly accused of being labeled a misogynist and then promptly say:

"Being a girl even gives you more privileges in life, whether you are open to admit it or not."

Wow, just wow. Let me shed some tears for the plight of the "poor man" in our society... :yikes: Few would not interpret this as a blatantly sexist and patriarchal statement. I would go further to hedge that it is in fact based on misogynistic aspects of your personality, but others might not agree.

Splitting hairs on the definition of misogyny to only reflect the pure hatred of women is weak sauce. Misogyny is manifest in many ways, including social exclusion, sex discrimination, hostility, androcentrism, patriarchy, male privilege, belittling of women, violence against women, and objectification.

No one would every bring up a male Pro XC racer's looks when it factors into contract negotiations. That's the whole point.

Kate is an amazing athlete and just won the World Champs as a first year elite. That is and should be good enough for us all the be excited about her future team prospects and career. To bring up her "looks" only belittles her efforts and accomplishments, whether you interpret it to or not.

Do beautiful people have advantages in certain social and professional interactions and situations? Certainly this is the case in life. But, that doesn't mean we shouldn't strive to change that when it comes do professional trajectory (for both men and women). Your "truths of life" exist only because we allow them to do so.

I'm an advocate, an ally, and intolerant of bull$hit. More importantly, I'm happy to be part of the "problem" as you see it.

Now... let's get back to the thread folks!
 
#208 ·
#38 ·
I'm happy to be called a social justice warrior.

In the end it's just about right and wrong. Don't let yourself be on the incorrect side.

Misogyny is so ingrained in our world that people do it without considering it as an overt action and sometimes without even really meaning (or processing the impact of) the words they are saying.

That doesn't mean their words and actions don't have a real effect on the people, individuals, and groups they are marginalizing (inadvertently or otherwise).

That's the end of my comments on this. Hopefully we can move this thread forward in a constructive manner and focus on the upcoming WC season.
 
#51 ·
Generally, if a rider is staying with a team it is announced pretty early (October). If a rider is switching teams then there is no announcements until their contract with the old team is up, which in most cases is in January.
 
#207 ·
Not sure why the rehash of the Jenny-Worlds-Scott vs Sweden idiocy, but it always appeared to me to indicate some combination of immaturity/poor organization of the sport (the sponsorship contracts should have anticipated this kind of conflict and provided a means to resolve it) and obstinacy of one or more of the personalities involved. We can all agree that keeping the reining champ out of Worlds was the worst possible result of the conflict. It’s almost as stupid as shutting down the whole government over a disagreement about 0.5% of the budget. This one should have been much easier to solve.

Similar issues must arise in other sports. What happens when an Adidas athlete runs for the Nike-sponsored US Olympic team?

Regardless, I would bet good money that this kind of bs sponsorship conflict, even if it were to arise, won’t prevent Kate from racing Worlds at MSA this year.
 
#211 ·
Not sure why the rehash of the Jenny-Worlds-Scott vs Sweden idiocy, but it always appeared to me to indicate some combination of immaturity/poor organization of the sport (the sponsorship contracts should have anticipated this kind of conflict and provided a means to resolve it) and obstinacy of one or more of the personalities involved. We can all agree that keeping the reining champ out of Worlds was the worst possible result of the conflict. It's almost as stupid as shutting down the whole government over a disagreement about 0.5% of the budget. This one should have been much easier to solve.

Similar issues must arise in other sports. What happens when an Adidas athlete runs for the Nike-sponsored US Olympic team?

Regardless, I would bet good money that this kind of bs sponsorship conflict, even if it were to arise, won't prevent Kate from racing Worlds at MSA this year.
Yep. Scott team should have/could have anticipated these issues with the federation WELL ahead of time.

If they actually cared about their athlete and having her race, they would have mitigated what they could have and dealt with the rest of the fall out. In the end, they dropped the ball on sorting out the issues ahead of time and decided it better to not allow her to race than use some non-sponsor equipment.
 
#279 ·
The whole concept of ebike racing is unbelievable. Posting this here because its a relevant discussion. If they think its hard to monitour the Grand tour now, they have their hands full or are turning a blind eye to ebike.

Coming form the the Car racing world, People have been programming and modifying OBD2 encrypted software for many years with undetectable results by dealer diagnostic software by VW and BMW, etc. They would have to put these bikes on a Dynanometer after the race to measure the power output. Even then, it wont tell you if they have some type of BT activated sensor that affects power output when the rider is within proximity or triggered by some specific threshold or event (think accelerometer that measures movement or tilt angle and allowed it to output even more power than if it was being tested in the stand or lab. The turbo lev was already tested to put out far above stated power.

You are entering the world of auto racing and engineers and mechanics will find every way to skirt rules and go as fast as possible. Its just what you do and how you win.

It will be a complete S show and probably entertaining to watch.
 
#281 ·
The whole concept of ebike racing is unbelievable. Posting this here because its a relevant discussion. If they think its hard to monitour the Grand tour now, they have their hands full or are turning a blind eye to ebike.
Wholeheartedly agree. It seems to fly directly in the face of what human powered competition is based upon. Personal dedication, discipline, and heart.

It's either human powered or motor sports. Anything in the gray area seems pointless.
 
#433 ·
Sorry I’m newer to this forum, can someone please open a separate thread and explain the history and phenomenon that is “LaneDetroitCity”? Being a local from the Detroit suburbs myself, I hate to see the good reputation and name of Detroit being sullied.
 
#435 ·
Sorry I'm newer to this forum, can someone please open a separate thread and explain the history and phenomenon that is "LaneDetroitCity"? Being a local from the Detroit suburbs myself, I hate to see the good reputation and name of Detroit being sullied.
Suburbs? You know what we call the people from the suburbs who claim to be from Detroit right?
 
#597 ·
Kate Courtney was so efficient and smart in the women's short track race. She rode almost the entire race 3rd wheel and only put down the watts when it mattered. I love the tactics of short track racing.

No one in the field has the 1 minute max anaerobic power of MvdP. But, in a 90 minute race, I foresee him struggling to win as he lets small gaps open on off camber turns and downhills. Closing all those small gaps over a 90 minute race will use up his anaerobic power. He's also much bigger than the other guys so longer climbs will hurt him more.
 
#669 ·
Watching Neff vrs Kate I'll stick with my old argument that Neff is still spinning while others are hammering a bigger gear. Neff is still scary fast on the downhills she has amazing skills/courage watching her fly down that mud rear tire power sliding the corners my viewing buddy said "here comes crazy!"
 
#762 ·
I would not be so confident he will go all road after the olympics. He really seems to be enjoying the XC racing and the diversity of taking all disciplines is probably making him happier and thus less prone to burnout. I don't see him racing XC out of courtesy nor should the sport be humble and gratefull he is here.

If he doesn't sign a WTour contract binding him to road, we will probably see him all across, and he doesn't seem eager to sign anything out of Circus.

If one is smart and can afford it, this switching back and forth is the best approach, and if you look at Canyon sponsoring him, they want him on all three bikes :)
 
#870 ·
I agree, It was a good race to watch. I was a getting angry that they were following Terpstra from arial shots and basically boring coverage while the real exciting stuff was going on a few spots back with Belamoina and Rissveds....

Im also going to go out on a limb and say Neff doesnt look nearly as fast or composed on the downhill sections on the new Trek... She certainly didnt at the last round either. She is still fast, but I dont think nearly as fast as she was, even on the Hardtail.
 
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