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Bicycle Racing News and Opinion,
Sunday, November 27, 2022

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2022 Tour de France | 2022 Giro d'Italia

Why don't they pass a constitutional amendment prohibiting anybody from learning anything? If it works as well as prohibition did, in five years Americans would be the smartest race of people on Earth. - Will Rogers

Les Woodland's book Paris-Roubaix: The Inside Story - All the bumps of cycling's cobbled classic is available in print, Kindle eBook & audiobook versions. To get your copy, just click on the Amazon link on the right.

Upcoming racing

• Dec 4: Scheldecross Antwerp
• Dec 10: Exact Cross Essen
• Dec 26: Gavere Cyclocross
• Dec 27: Heusden-Zolder Cyclocross
• Dec 29: Diegem Cyclocross
• Dec 30: Azencross-Loenhout
• Jan 1: GP Sven Nys Cyclocross
• Jan 14 - 22: Schwalbe Classic & Tour Down Under
• Jan 22 - 29: Vuelta a San Juan
• Jan 25 - 29: Challenge Illes Balears-Volta Ciclista a Mallorca
• Jan 28 & 29: Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race

Latest completed racing:

• Nov 20: Vlaamse Druivenveldrit Overijse Cross
• Nov 5 & 6: European Cyclocross Championships
• Nov 1: Trofee Oudenaarde-Koppenbergcross
• Oct 29: Superprestige Ruddervoorde Cyclocross
• Oct 11 - 18: Tour de Langkawi
• Oct 16: Japan Cup
• Oct 16: Veneto Classic
• Oct 16: Chrono des Nations
• Oct 12: Giro del Veneto

Here's the report from men's race winner Tom Pidcock's Team INEOS Grenadiers:

Tom Pidcock claimed his first victory in the elite cyclo-cross rainbow jersey with an impressive ride in Kortrijk.

Tom Pidcock finished three seconds ahead of his nearest chaser.

Making his debut on the Urban Cross course, the Brit pushed clear on lap two and proceeded to manage his slender advantage for the final seven laps of the race.

The duo of Lars van der Haar and Eli Iserbyt kept the Grenadier honest throughout the race, with the former pegging the advantage at nine seconds for five laps, before finally seeing the gap spin out as Iserbyt regained contact.

The win marked Pidcock's first elite success in the long-running X2O Trofee series of races, in addition to his first win of the winter season.

He continues a busy schedule on Sunday with the World Cup in Hulst, which sees Mathieu van der Poel resume his CX season on home soil.

Reaction:

"It was hard, it was just super fast. I got a bit of a gap but I couldn’t really extend it. It was always Lars at seven, eight [seconds]. It was a hard race trying to stay focused and keep my pace. I knew if those two came together they’d be thinking about the overall, and sure enough, when they got together I got a bit more of a gap.

"It’s similar to last Saturday but much better than that. This year I’m certainly in better shape, I think I showed that last weekend too. I was feeling a bit tired this week, but it’s good that I still felt good today.

"Every day I get to race in this jersey it’s enjoyable. It’s a nice experience. All the fans support my really nicely in Belgium, that’s why I’m trying to learn a bit of Flemish as well! I’m going to enjoy this winter for sure."

Results:

1. Tom Pidcock (INEOS GRenadiers) 1hr 2min 59sec
2. Lars van der Haar (Baloise Trek Lions) @ 3sec
3. Eli Iserbyt (Pauwels Sauzen-Bingoal) @ 4sec
4. Michael Vanthourenhout (Pauwels Sauzen-Bingoal) @ 1min 0sec
5. Niels Vandeputte (Alpecin-Deceuninck) @ 1min 49sec
6. Jens Adam @ s.t.
7. Joris Nieuwenhuis (Baloise Trek Lions) @ 1min 50sec
8. Vincent Baestaens @ 2min 24sec
9. Lander Lockx (Deschacht-Hens-Maes) @ 2min 29sec
10. Gerben Kuypers @ 2min 58sec

And here's the report from the women's race winner Marianne Vos' Team Jumbo-Visma:

Marianne Vos has won the X2O Bathrooms Trophy in Kortrijk. The world champion battled her countrywomen Denise Betsema and Ceylin Alvarado for a considerable amount of time before winning the race with a decisive final sprint.

Marianne Vos wins, finishing just ahead of Ceylin Del Carmen Alvarado.

Vos' ambitions became immediately clear. The Dutch rider immediately positioned herself on the front row. In the second part of the race, the leading situation of the race took shape. At that point, Vos rode in front with Betsema and Alvarado. It was clear that the winner would come from this group. Alvarado attempted to unload Vos after Betsema fell behind, but the world champion outsprinted them.

"This is a wonderful boost”, Vos exclaimed in delight after her first win of the cyclocross season. "You never get used to winning, of course. It was a fast race in which the girls kept the speed unprecedentedly high. The moment Alvarado caught up, I knew she would be very dangerous. She accelerated in the last lap, but I was alert and closed the gap. I gave it my all in the last lap, and the sprint was a great finish. I'm glad I was able to demonstrate my good form today. This is a great feeling. The course was fantastic but very tough. In the end, the hard efforts were all worth it."

The cross in Kortrijk marked Vos' final race of the first half of her cyclocross season. "In the next weeks, I'm going to ease up a bit. I already planned to do that. I'll be back at the beginning of the new year. It's good to have such a feeling in the end, and I'll carry it over to the second half of my cyclocross season. The next few weeks are all about training."

Results:

1. Marianne Vos (Jumbo-Visma) 47min 3sec
2. Ceylin Del Carmen Alvarado (Alpecin-Deceuninck) @ 1sec
3. Denise Betsema (Pauwels Sauzen-Bingoal) @ 10sec
4. Lucinda Brand (Baloise Trek Lions) @ 54sec
5. Sanne Cant (Crelan-Fristads) @ 1min 7sec
6. Yara Kastelijn (Crelan-Fristads) @ 1min 16sec
7. Anna Kay (777) @ 1min 22sec
8. Marion Norbert Riberolle (Crelan-Fristads) @ 1min 37sec
9. Aniek Van Alphen (777) @ 1min 39sec
10. Zoe Backstedt (EF Education-Tibco) @ 2min 26sec

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