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Derek Zandstra » What The F*ck Is The UCI Thinking?! - The Dirt Ep. 6

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May 16, 2012

Six weeks have passed and things are dirtier than ever! We ask what the f*ck the UCI was thinking with the latest Cross Country Eliminator course, Geoff Kabush takes big wheels, and CyclingDirt names one half of the USA and Canadian Olympic teams. Officially Unofficial. Congrats Schultz, Kabush, Gould, and Pendrel!

Speakers: Colt McElwaine, Geoff Kabush, Max Plaxton, Derek Zandstra, Catherine Pendrel, Georgia Gould, Emily Batty, Marie-Helene Premont, Heather Irmiger, Mary McConneloug, Lea Davison, Todd Wells, Sam Schultz, Stephen Ettinger

Categories: the dirt

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6 comments

Greg 7 days ago

I saw that UCI Eliminator coverage too and thought the exact same thing. What's the point of it? Do these guys also ride the XC? If so, how do they compare to the Ninos, Julians, Burrys, Luks, etc..? I understand that they need to keep it wide and open for passing, but really...riding across hay??

Peanut Gallery 1 week ago

Why all the fuss? Lopes, even at 40 is a straight legit world caliber athlete! Sure he won't be competitive in XCO or STXC on a world stage, but remember the guy comes from a BMX and Gravity background. Heâs fitter than most people give him credit for!

Shouldn't the Eliminator merge both disciplines into its concept? Otherwise what's the point; we already have short track and XC in place if we just want a VO2 race!
I don't know the UCI's purpose for the Eliminator, but if itâs just a stripped down, weak sauce race like it was last week, then they are just diluting the sport.
I feel the Eliminator should allow both sides of the sport to come together for some fast, tight and solid heads up racing. I mean the course last week was so biased towards XC that it was pathetic! Why don't they make the next one so gnarly and technical that Aaron Gwinn can win the thing! That's about what the UCI did last week stacking the deck with that sorry excuse for a course!

Colt McElwaine 1 week ago

I gotta disagree. If Brian Lopes and Tracey Mosely are even qualifying for the sprint eliminator the course is way too easy.

Brian Lopes placed 132nd out of 139 finishers in the XC race. The guys who finished behind him probably flatted. His best lap times were nearly a minute slower then what the top women were doing on their last lap of the race. He is fit and fast, but is nowhere near a world class XC racer.
How can a event that begins with XC (XCE) be won by a guy who can't match best women in the world in a XC race?
Yeah, the UCI is out to lunch their eliminator course are too short and too easy. Make the races hard and 4 to 6 minutes in length. Then you will get a race that show cases the best riders in the world.

Bob,

I've got to disagree with you on some of that. Lopes is exactly the kind of rider who should be in the final of an "XC Eliminator". That is, Lopes 10 years ago. The fact that a 40 year old guy is winning says more about the level of talent he's going up against more than the style of course. Lopes at his prime had max power on par with Green Jersey winners. As for his XC result last weekend, that's meaningless. The guy did the race for fun.
4-6 min is way too long for one of these races. When you say, "show cases the best riders in the world" you mean the best XC riders. That's what the XC race is for. That's why Short Track will never work; it's just a shorter XC race on a worse course with the same results. "Eliminator" racing needs to be to XC what 4X is to DH. A couple guys race both, but each has it's own huge stars that specialize in one or the other. The fan base on the other hand has nearly 100% crossover. Gravity fans like gravity...
Road racing has room for all types of riders. Climbers, Sprinters, TTers, Cobbles, Hilly Classics, Stage Racers, etc. And for the pure sprinter there is the Velodrome. Mountain Biking as it is has options for two types of riders. Slow twitch guys who can climb well for under two hours, and slow twitch guys who can climb well for over two hours.
Eliminator racing could provide an avenue for the MTB racer who can't hang for 90 minutes, but has the fast twitch to light it up over a couple minutes. Like 4X it would be way more spectator friendly. And, given the right course, would draw fans from both the XC crown and the 4X crowd.
A proper course would take less effort than XC, 4X, or DH. In fact, part or all of it could be incorporated into the XC. One or two short technical climbs, good dh with an A/B line for passing, and a touch of man made flair would make a huge successes for the UCI, industry, and more importantly the riders.

Bob Stevens 1 week ago

I gotta disagree. If Brian Lopes and Tracey Mosely are even qualifying for the sprint eliminator the course is way too easy.

Brian Lopes placed 132nd out of 139 finishers in the XC race. The guys who finished behind him probably flatted. His best lap times were nearly a minute slower then what the top women were doing on their last lap of the race. He is fit and fast, but is nowhere near a world class XC racer.
How can a event that begins with XC (XCE) be won by a guy who can't match best women in the world in a XC race?
Yeah, the UCI is out to lunch their eliminator course are too short and too easy. Make the races hard and 4 to 6 minutes in length. Then you will get a race that show cases the best riders in the world.

JK 1 week ago

It's simple. A sprint eliminator course should allow Brian Lopes and Tracy Mosely to at least make it to the semifinal.

Houffalize was about 10 times as exciting as Nove Mesto and that was a simple brutal climb / not as brutal descent loop. Add some line choices to the downhill for passing and you've got a winner.