Track Cycling at the Cycling UCI World Championships 2023

[OlympicsFan 860]

  On 8/7/2023 at 12:12 PM, Rafa Maciel said:

It's the same bike as she rode at the Europeans 

Expand  

Are you sure? The following article made it seem as if GB would use a new bike at worlds:

https://www.cyclingnews.com/news/the-hope-x-lotus-track-bike-for-the-2024-olympics-is-wilder-than-ever/

https://www.britishcycling.org.uk/about/article/20230727-about-bc-news-Paris-track-bike-to-be-debuted-at-2023-UCI-Cycling-World-Championships-0

Edited August 7, 2023 by OlympicsFan

[Dragon 1,898]

  On 8/7/2023 at 12:04 PM, OlympicsFan said:

I think it is at least 90 % the bike. She was completely lost at european championships not too long ago. She also never did anything remotely impressive at junior level.

Expand  

 

  On 8/7/2023 at 12:12 PM, Rafa Maciel said:

It's the same bike as she rode at the Europeans 

Expand  

Also she won two silver medals at the Europeans in February and was European Junior champion in 2019 as a 16 year old, beating cyclists two years older than her...

[OlympicsFan 860]

  On 8/7/2023 at 12:20 PM, Dragon said:

 

Also she won two silver medals at the Europeans in February and was European Junior champion in 2019 as a 16 year old, beating cyclists two years older than her...

Expand  

1) About the bike: Look at the articles i posted above.

2) She was completely hopeless in the sprint event at europeans and lightyears away from the german girls in qualification.

3) She finished 3rd at 2019 junior worlds in sprint and time trial. She got destroyed by Pröpster who is the german number 4. There was absolutely no indication that she was a special talent. In the time trial both Pröpster and Kouame completely destroyed her by 0.3/0.4 seconds, it wasn't even remotely close.

Edited August 7, 2023 by OlympicsFan

[Rafa Maciel 1,606]

  On 8/7/2023 at 12:20 PM, OlympicsFan said:

Are you sure? The following article made it seem as if GB would use a new bike at worlds:

https://www.cyclingnews.com/news/the-hope-x-lotus-track-bike-for-the-2024-olympics-is-wilder-than-ever/

Expand  

Yes I'm sure - the only rider who used the new bike was Charlie Tanfield in the men's pursuit (and we all know how that ended). Everyone else is on the old bike.

 

As far as I am aware, no nation is solely using their new kit - everyone is doing the bare minimum to register it and allow it to be used in Paris

[OlympicsFan 860]

  On 8/7/2023 at 12:27 PM, Rafa Maciel said:

Yes I'm sure - the only rider who used the new bike was Charlie Tanfield in the men's pursuit (and we all know how that ended). Everyone else is on the old bike.

 

As far as I am aware, no nation is solely using their new kit - everyone is doing the bare minimum to register it and allow it to be used in Paris

Expand  

Ok, as long as i don't have any proof i won't believe it (which doesn't mean that it isn't true). If she really used the same bike, then her progression makes even less sense. She wasn't even close to Grabosch at europeans and now she is faster than Friedrich who is lightyears ahead of Grabosch.

[Dragon 1,898]

  On 8/7/2023 at 12:26 PM, OlympicsFan said:

1) About the bike: Look at the articles i posted above.

2) She was completely hopeless in the sprint event at european and lightyears away from the german girls in qualification.

3) She finished 3rd at 2019 junior worlds in sprint and time trial. She got destroyed by Pröpster who is the german number 4. There was absolutely no indication that she was a special talent. In the time trial both Pröpster and Kouame completely destroyed her by 0.3/0.4 seconds, it wasn't even remotely close.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2019_UCI_Junior_Track_Cycling_World_Championships

Expand  

1 - Actually I thought that was true as well. Although I think not all the new parts will be on every bicycle.

2 - Finucane was 0.17 seconds slower than Friedrich in February, today she was 0.16 seconds faster. Not unexpected that a 20 year old could improve that much in 7 months.

3 - Very important that you remember that Finucane is eighteen months younger that Propster and Kouame and at the World Juniors was a sixteen year old competing against eighteen year olds. The fact she beat them at the European Juniors that year kind of proves my point.

[mpjmcevoy 363]

  On 8/7/2023 at 9:34 AM, Rafa Maciel said:

The Omnium has been part of the world schedule since about 2009/2010 - probably in preparation for its introduction to the Olympics in 2012.

 

At Olympic level, the Omnium came in to replace both the individual pursuit and the points race in 2012 and balances the schedule between sprint and endurance events. 

 

The current format of the omnium is a bit samey - the introduction of the tempo race in place of the individual pursuit was a mistake in my opinion - but as with many of the sports we've seen so far this summer, there is a major problem with how the scoring is presented, particularly in the points race. 

Expand  

I liked the original 6 event balance between endurance and sprint - frankly I don't see a good reason to not have a full schedule at the Olympics as you don't really need many/any extra quotas to make it work. I also think it's a mistake to lose the two TTs - Kilo and IP because, together with the road TT they seemed to create a useful coverage of types. The Madison's return was welcome, and the idea of an omnium, a multi-event test, is very attractive - but not three goes at essentially the same test (elimination is slightly different, and unsurprisingly, one of the most popular bits of the omnium).

 

The tempo race may be a legitimate test, but it's boring. simple as that. I'd personally drop it and bring back the IP, and consider a 'reverse' devil - winner of each sprint eliminated with max available points (1st sprint 40, 2nd 38 etc) for a fifth event

[SalamAkhi 323]

  On 8/7/2023 at 1:09 PM, Dragon said:

3 - Very important that you remember that Finucane is eighteen months younger that Propster and Kouame and at the World Juniors was a sixteen year old competing against eighteen year olds. The fact she beat them at the European Juniors that year kind of proves my point.

Expand  

? She's only 6 months younger than Kouamé, both are 2002. 

 

Anyway the fact that she beat them despite being younger does not account for a particularly "special" talent, no more than her being beaten until recently proves she shouldn't be here now. 

[OlympicsFan 860]

  On 8/7/2023 at 1:09 PM, Dragon said:

1 - Actually I thought that was true as well. Although I think not all the new parts will be on every bicycle.

2 - Finucane was 0.17 seconds slower than Friedrich in February, today she was 0.16 seconds faster. Not unexpected that a 20 year old could improve that much in 7 months.

3 - Very important that you remember that Finucane is eighteen months younger that Propster and Kouame and at the World Juniors was a sixteen year old competing against eighteen year olds. The fact she beat them at the European Juniors that year kind of proves my point.

Expand  

a) The european junior championships in 2019 were before the junior world championships, so your argument doesn't really make sense.

b) Finucane also never did anythting else impressive at junior or U23 level. Before today there was no competition that indicated that she was a special talent.

c) If you say that ther progression isn't unexpected for her age, then you would have to ask yourself why Pröpster, Kouame and Friedrich, who are all not much older didn't have a remotely similar progression.

d) If you think that Finucane improving by that much since the european championships was expected (in case british cycling clearly focused on worlds), then you have to ask yourself why Capewell, who was clearly faster than Finucane at the european championships, is now slower than her. If she indeed used the same bike, then there is no "logical" explanation for her improvement. Both her teammate (Capewell since the european championships this year) and her former peers (Pröpster, Kouame since 2019 junior worlds) haven't shown a remotely similar improvement.

[Jinzha 702]

The elimination race "You are eliminated" announcement is one of my favorite sounds in sports. However nothing can beat BMX's "Riders ready. Watch the gates. Dududu!"