Cyclingnews Racing News

Caroline Mani renews with Raleigh-Clement

Alex Malone — Thu, 18 Apr 2013 16:41:36 GMT

Frenchwoman Caroline Mani has extended her contract with the Raleigh-Clement Cyclocross Team for two years, and will open her season at the Sea Otter Classic this weekend where she'll race the short-track, cross country, and cyclocross events. The 26-year-old emerged onto the U.S. scene in 2011 with an aggressive style and she quickly became popular with American fans. "I was super happy to race for Raleigh-Clement last year. It was the best support I've ever had. I’m proud to be part ...

New world ‘cross champion Nys arrives home

Laura Weislo — Tue, 05 Feb 2013 20:29:13 GMT

After a long overnight flight from Louisville, Kentucky, the new world cyclo-cross champion Sven Nys was given an emotion-filled homecoming in Zaventem airport in Brussels. Before leaving the baggage claim area, Nys was given his new Crelan-team rainbow jersey by his manager, and exited into the waiting arms of his wife, son and supporters. “It is very intense to be back to see my wife and son,” Nys told Sporza . “You share emotions with them all year long, so you want to have ...

Vos still has strong desire to win after Olympic gold

Daniel Benson — Tue, 05 Feb 2013 17:08:20 GMT

Marianne Vos is arguably the greatest cyclist of all time. No other rider, not even Eddy Merckx, has dominated across all of cycling’s disciplines as she has. But when you have won all that you can how do you stay motivated? Simple, says Vos. “I like winning, and I can’t stand losing.” She is only 25, but Vos already has a trophy room that looks like Ali Baba’s cave, filled with prizes from her amazing career to date. With her two Olympic gold medals from the 2012 road ...

Lechner finishes within seconds of medal at 'cross Worlds

Sue George — Tue, 05 Feb 2013 17:05:27 GMT

Mountain bike World Cup pro Eva Lechner ( Colnago-Südtirol ) put in a strong showing at the UCI Cyclo-cross World Championships in Louisville, Kentucky, on Saturday. She finished within seconds of making the elite women's podium. Lechner wrapped up her mountain bike season at the Langkawi International Challenge in Malaysia at the end of October. Then, she started her 'cross season at round 4 of the UCI World Cup in Roubaix, France, where she finished ninth. Her form improved as she logged ...

Dutch top medal count at Louisville 'cross Worlds

Sue George — Tue, 05 Feb 2013 14:09:10 GMT

Having won three of the four races in the UCI Cyclo-cross World Championships in Louisville, Kentucky, plus a silver and a bronze, the Netherlands led the medal count for the second consecutive year. Aside from Marianne Vos's sixth rainbow jersey in the women's race, the Dutch were top two in the juniors with Mathieu van der Poel and Martijn Budding, won the U23s thanks to a tenacious ride by Mike Teunissen, and Lars van der Haar was third in the elites. In addition, van der Poel and Budding were ...

Miracle workers rescue cyclo-cross Worlds from flood

Laura Weislo — Mon, 04 Feb 2013 06:49:02 GMT

It was a scenario nobody could have predicted: maybe it was global warming, vengeful Belgians poking voodoo dolls or simply the winds of fate, but the Ohio River was going to flood the venue for the UCI Cyclo-cross World Championships in Louisville, there was no doubt. The cause was an unusual storm system that dumped heavy rain in the northeastern United States where normally there would be snow in early February. The water was coming from hundreds of miles upstream, slowly but surely swelling ...

Owen rues missed opportunity at 'cross Worlds

Peter Hymas — Mon, 04 Feb 2013 00:06:15 GMT

If there was a gold medal offered for heart, resilience and determination from Saturday's junior men's cyclo-cross world championship few would dispute that American Logan Owen would be the recipient. The eight-time US junior 'cross champion had carefully crafted his season so as to be at his physical and mental peak for a 40-minute slugfest against Dutch star Mathieu van der Poel, but circumstances within both the opening minute and closing laps culminated in heartbreak for the 17-year-old American. ...

World ‘cross champions praise American experience

Laura Weislo — Sun, 03 Feb 2013 01:06:33 GMT

What they lacked in numbers, they made up for in enthusiasm. Lining the course of the UCI Cyclo-cross World Championships from the early morning junior race through the late afternoon elite men's event, screaming themselves hoarse, clanging bells and blowing horns, crowds in Louisville may have been a sixth of what Belgium produced in Koksijde for last year’s event, but many of the competitors praised the American fans for their non-partisan support, and the ebullient atmosphere they created. ...

UCI Cyclo-Cross Worlds Live Coverage

Sue George — Sat, 02 Feb 2013 15:39:14 GMT

The UCI will be live streaming coverage of its Cyclo-cross World Championships from Louisville, Kentucky in the USA this weekend, on Saturday, February 2. You can watch it right here on Cyclingnews at the following times. It is the first time the UCI is providing free, live broadcasts of 'cross Worlds The UCI is also planning to provide live coverage of its world championships and World Cup events in the road, track, BMX and cyclo-cross disciplines. Mountain bike and trials will also be live, with ...

Belgium's cyclo-cross dominance under threat

Laura Weislo — Sat, 02 Feb 2013 02:36:51 GMT

Belgium may be the historical heart of cyclo-cross, but its neighbor to the north may be poised to take its place in ‘cross dominance if the younger riders’ categories are any indication. The Netherlands has won more medals in the UCI cyclo-cross world championships junior men’s event than any other nation in history, and, taking into account only the past ten years, its under 23 men have surpassed the Belgians in the medal count. In addition, the Dutch women have dominated the ...

Rescheduled 'cross riders rolling with the punches

Sue George — Fri, 01 Feb 2013 21:37:12 GMT

Expected flooding has caused a headache for the organisers of the 2013 UCI Cyclo-cross World Championships in Louisville, Kentucky, and they were forced to move the elite men and women's races from Sunday to Saturday, but it seems most of riders whose events were shifted a day earlier are taking the situation in stride. The change is not because of harsh weather in Louisville, but because of the heavy rains to the north earlier in the week. The water is still draining into the Ohio River basin, ...

Page in search of "magical" Saturday at 'cross Worlds

Sue George — Fri, 01 Feb 2013 19:22:50 GMT

For an uncomfortably lengthy stint of the current cyclo-cross season, Jonathan Page faced the grim prospect that perhaps something which had previously been a given in his years in the elite ranks, a start at the 'cross world championships, would not come to fruition. And this of all years, the first time in the history of the cyclo-cross world championships that not only would the event take place outside of Europe, but on American soil in Louisville, Kentucky. Adding insult to injury is the fact ...

Floods risk forces changes to world cyclo-cross race programme

Stephen Farrand — Fri, 01 Feb 2013 16:35:02 GMT

The organisers of the UCI Cyclo-Cross world championships in Louisville, Kentucky have confirmed that all the races will be held on Saturday due to a risk of flooding on the course on Sunday. The revised race schedule was decided after meetings between the local authorities, organisers and the UCI. It means that the four titles will be contested on one day, at the following (local) times. The tight schedule means the medal ceremonies will be held at the end of the racing, following the Elite men's ...

Powers confident in build-up to 'cross Worlds

Peter Hymas — Thu, 31 Jan 2013 21:43:31 GMT

Top-ranked US cyclo-cross rider Jeremy Powers expressed confidence this week heading into Sunday's UCI World Championships in Louisville, Kentucky . The Rapha-Focus rider told Cyclingnews he hopes familiarity with the North American-style course combined with the benefits of racing at home will help lift himself or one of his fellow countrymen to an historic result during the first-ever elite cyclo-cross world championships on American soil. "Speaking strictly from an American standpoint, I ...

Compton hoping for lucky 7th cyclo-cross worlds

Laura Weislo — Thu, 31 Jan 2013 15:24:40 GMT

It is the first time the UCI Cyclo-cross World Championships will be held on American soil, and although Katie Compton has been a perennial contender for the rainbow jersey and is the season’s World Cup overall winner, she’s feeling remarkably relaxed and excited about racing in Louisville, Kentucky for Sunday’s elite women’s title. Compton, 34, has struggled over the past few years with a variety of health issues, but says that since discovering that low thyroid function ...

Gallery: Belgian 'cross team trains in Louisville

Peter Hymas — Tue, 29 Jan 2013 19:39:52 GMT

The powerhouse Belgian national team has arrived in the United States for the upcoming UCI Cyclo-cross World Championships and has proceeded to settle into the Louisville, Kentucky area. Mechanics have been hard at work assembling the sizable number of team bikes while the riders have been brushing off the jet lag with training rides both indoors and outdoors. While not officially open for course recon yet, nonetheless the Belgian squad hopped on the Worlds parcours in Eva Bandman Park for a preview. ...

Albert headlines strong pre-'cross Worlds field in Cincinnati

Peter Hymas — Sat, 26 Jan 2013 20:58:05 GMT

With the final round of the UCI Cyclo-cross World Cup in the books last Sunday, members of various European national teams for the upcoming UCI Cyclo-cross World Championships have begun to arrive in the United States in preparation for the historic event taking place in Louisville, Kentucky on February 2-3. And with Cincinnati, Ohio located just 90 minutes north of Louisville, several stars of the European 'cross peloton, most notably Belgium's Niels Albert, have opted to join many from the US ...

Vantornout cleared to compete in cyclo-cross Worlds

Peter Hymas — Wed, 23 Jan 2013 18:00:32 GMT

Klaas Vantornout received good news from his team doctor on Tuesday as the injuries the Sunweb-Napoleon Games rider sustained during a crash in last Saturday's Kasteelcross Zonnebeke race will not prevent him from taking his place on Belgium's team for the UCI Cyclo-cross World Championships . Vantornout, the newly crowned Belgian 'cross champions, injured his left buttock in Zonnebeke and was unable to finish the race. His injuries also prevented him from contesting the final round of the World ...

Harris withdraws from cyclo-cross Worlds

Laura Weislo — Tue, 22 Jan 2013 18:03:36 GMT

Great Britain's Nikki Harris, the number five rider in the world cyclo-cross rankings, will not take part in the UCI Cyclo-cross World Championships in Louisville, Kentucky because of a knee injury. Harris, the British national champion and winner of four Belgian races this season suffered the injury in a crash in December, and has not been able to rehabilitate it in time for Worlds. “I've had some issues with my knee over the past few weeks after I hit it on the handlebars at the Zolder World ...

Eckmann clears hurdles to race cyclo-cross Worlds for Germany

Laura Weislo — Mon, 21 Jan 2013 20:40:02 GMT

Yannick Eckmann won his first US Cyclo-cross Championship in Verona, Wisconsin last week, racing against the best U23 riders in the country , but he will not be able to fly the "Stars and Stripes" at the world championships in Louisville on February 2. After sorting through the myriad UCI eligibility rules, which both Eckmann and his father say were sometimes contradictory, Eckmann will race for Germany in Louisville. "Since I switched in December, for my USA Cycling code, it means ...

Vantornout questionable for Hoogerheide World Cup

Laura Weislo — Sat, 19 Jan 2013 19:14:03 GMT

The new Belgian champion Klaas Vantornout may not be on the start line in the final World Cup in Hoogerheide. The Sunweb-Napoleon Games rider crashed on the hard, frozen ruts in Saturday's UCI C2 race in Zonnebeke and says "the pain is enormous". "As I feel now, I cannot start Sunday in Hoogerheide," Vantornout said, according to Sporza . The race followed a winter storm that left much of Belgium covered in several inches of snow. The Kasteelcross course was rutted and icy as ...

First-year success sees Wilcoxson bound for 'Cross Worlds

Alex Malone — Fri, 18 Jan 2013 22:31:02 GMT

When the cyclo-cross season started back in September, Jade Wilcoxson's name was not on anybody's list of possible candidates for the US team that will compete at the world championships next month in Louisville, Kentucky . Wilcoxson, a first-year road pro who had never before raced a full season of cyclo-cross, had not even submitted her own name to USA Cycling for Worlds consideration. But a season of consistently improving 'cross results for the Optum Pro Cycling rider, capped by an improbable ...

USA Cycling names team for cyclo-cross Worlds

Laura Weislo — Tue, 15 Jan 2013 14:27:43 GMT

USA Cycling today announced its 22-rider team for the 2013 UCI Cyclo-cross World Championships, which take place in Louisville, Kentucky on February 2-3. The main contenders had already earned automatic nominations: World Cup overall winner Katie Compton (Trek), who secured her ninth straight national title on Sunday, will lead the women’s team. Compton’s young protégé Kaitlin Antonneau (Cannondale-Cyclocrossworld) also earned an automatic bid through a ninth place finish ...

Belgium names cyclo-cross world championship team

Peter Hymas — Mon, 14 Jan 2013 20:37:39 GMT

The Belgian Cycling Federation announced today the riders who will contest the 2013 UCI Cyclo-cross World Championships . Twenty riders plus nine reserves will make up Belgium's squad for 'cross Worlds, taking place for the first time on U.S. soil in Louisville, Kentucky, February 2-3. The perennial cyclo-cross powerhouse won six medals at last year's 'cross Worlds on home turf in Koksijde , including a remarkable sweep of the first seven places in the elite men's event. All six medalists return ...

USA Cycling's cyclo-cross championships live streaming on Sunday

Laura Weislo — Sun, 13 Jan 2013 17:19:58 GMT

You don't have to travel all the way to Wisconsin to see the action from the USA Cycling Cyclo-cross National Championships - the elite men and women's races will be streaming live on Cyclingnews . The weather forecast is calling for sunny skies but very cold temperatures, which will freeze the snowy, rutted course for Sunday's races. The singlespeed , masters and juniors will have thoroughly tested the Badger Prairie State Park circuit in the four days of racing leading up to the marquee ...