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- Welcome back to the GCN Racing News Show.
Today, we're going to look at your thoughts
whether power meters should be banned in pro cycling,
we've got the latest round of
the Cyclocross World Cup in the Czech Republic,
the DVV trophy, we're gonna discuss
new teams and new contracts, and also the Ghent Six Day.
We'll start, though, by briefly looking
at your thoughts on power meters.
Now this is something that the UCI and ASO
have recently been strongly considering banning,
and so Jon Cannings asked the riders their thoughts
on this subject over at the Saitama Criterium in Japan.
- I'm not so sure it's about power meter,
I think they're just a bit sick and tired
of us winning, aren't they, I think.
- I think, if now we are so used to the powermeters,
I would be strange not to use them, but.
- So, the riders are pretty unanimous in their opinion,
with only Contador saying that he thought
they should be banned, it also seems that most of you
are in agreement with the majority of riders.
For example, Zachary Montalto reckons
that banning the powermeter won't do anything to change
the races, and that the UCI should instead make it mandatory
that teams release the data from their riders,
Dave Gearing reckons that if teams shared data with viewers,
and other teams, it should liven things up,
DFWKen says that seeing the power they do is inspiring,
and Stephen Butler says they need to go the other way,
and share power data and GPS for broadcasters
to help make them more engaging.
And I think your opinion has changed my opinion,
to be honest, I had thought that a ban in the mountains
might see things change, but I guess that riders are now
so in tune with their effort levels,
that not seeing their power in mountain stages
is unlikely to suddenly provoke a lot of attacking.
The real issue, though, I think, is that the UCI
are trying to progress the sport by taking us back
15 to 20 years, and by doing this, they are
further alienating themselves from riders and teams.
Instead, as a whole host of you
have suggested in the comments section under that video,
we should be looking for ways to embrace the data available
and use it to progress the sport in a way
that is more beneficial to the viewing public.
Speaking of the UCI, we also had a comment
under that video from Tomas who said,
"Between this nonsense and sock length enforcement,
"I'm worried this sport is losing the plot."
Which leads us nicely into discussion
about the new sock length rule, doesn't it.
Very exciting stuff.
This is something that has been reintroduced by the UCI,
so next year, they are going to be
strictly imposing the rule that states,
"A rider's sock height must not exceed the midpoint
"of the lateral malleolus and the fibula head,"
or the ankle and knee to you and I.
This announcement caused a number of people to question
whether the UCI really concentrates
on the important issues facing the sport.
I mean, who really cares about sock length?
Certainly not triathletes, and probably not
many cycling fans, either.
Right, before we get onto cyclocross,
we're gonna have a quick interlude now,
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Right, let's get on to cyclocross now,
and on a technical course for the fourth round
of the UCI Cyclocross World Cup in Tabor in Czech Republic,
Mathieu van der Poel was once again on top form,
pulling clear just after the first quarter of the race.
Van der Poel will have many happy memories on this circuit,
having won a World and a European title there
over the last three years, and second place,
it was Michael Vanthourenhout,
whilst world champion Wout van Aert had an off day,
finishing down in seventh.
In the women's race, Lucinda Brand of Team Sunweb
came across the line ahead of the rest,
to claim her first win the round of the UCI World Cup,
second place on the day went to newly crowned
European champion Annemarie Worst of Steylaerts-777.
Worst, though, claimed that she didn't hear the bell
to signal the final lap of the race,
and to be fair, they did use some kind of
electronic beeper there, rather than the traditional bell.
However, she did make up for it the following day, though,
winning the Flandriencross DVV Trophy in Hamme
ahead of world champion Sanne Cant.
In the mens' race there, surprise, surprise,
Mathieu van der Poel led from start to finish,
however, on this occasion, he did appear to spend
all but the final lap riding in assistance of Tom Meeusen.
Yes, you could be forgiven for thinking that
Van der Poel has no teammates,
but when he has a chance, he does help them out.
Van der Poel did accelerate to victory
with just over a lap left to race,
distancing himself from Meeusen,
who maintained his second position on the day.
Meeusen actually also clawed back
one minute and 45 seconds of his four minute deficit
in the overall series classification,
from Toon Aerts, who finished in eighth.
The overall classification being done on time,
rather than points.
Instantly, Van der Poel came under fire this week
from the Flemish cyclocross and road racing legend
Roger De Vlaeminck, who said,
"Van der Poel makes cyclocross kapot,"
to which Van der Poel simply responded,
"I train to win, not to create suspense,"
which is fair enough, isn't it?
In fact, let's go through some of the comments
that you left underneath last week's Racing News Show,
where we asked, "Is Van der Poel killing cyclocross?"
Well, in the poll, 85% of you said no, he isn't,
and it seems that most of you are loving
watching his dominant displays of skill and power.
So, for example, D5295 just enjoys Mathieu van der Poel's
power and technique and crushing everyone else,
Van der Poel is the only reason that
Yanai Sabbah watches cyclocross,
whilst Moro Tughton only started watching cyclocross
because of Van der Poel.
David Tuttle was one of the few who has been put off,
saying, I prefer to watch women's racing,
because yes, one or two laps, then meh for the men.
Now most of the comments last week, though,
focused on Ollie's hair, and I can see why, too.
I've got absolutely no idea what was going on there,
but I did chuckle at this from John Matthews in particular,
"Why is Ollie's hair trying to escape his head?"
I think I've got the answer,
it's probably through embarrassment.
Right, onto the road now, and the demise of team
Aqua Blue Sport gets messier and messier as the weeks go on.
Last week, Andy Fenn, one of the riders
who doesn't appear to have found a new contract yet,
wrote an open letter to the team principals
Rick Delaney and Tom Timmerman,
outlining the frustrations he has had in trying to
recoup his salary for the final parts of the season.
Riders and staff are apparently
still missing salaries from September,
and are also having to continually chase their wages
through the UCI, who'd apparently failed
to inform the riders of the need
to supply more completed paperwork.
Team CEO Tim Timmerman has since resigned,
and publicly vented his frustration
that his riders have publicly vented their frustration.
I have to say, it's a real shame
to see what basically promised to be such a good project
end in the way that it has.
Now, one of the riders who has, thankfully now,
found a new home for next year,
is the currently Irish national road champion,
and breakaway specialist supreme, Conor Dunne.
He's signed with the Israel Cycling Academy,
which must've come as a huge relief,
after a long wait from August to mid-November,
so well done to you, Conor.
Meanwhile, Marc Madiot continues his commitment
to young riders with the launch of a
Groupama-FDJ La Conti development squad,
touting a very international lineup, mainly under-23 riders.
The team will be run under the management
of the now-disbanded BMC development squad,
who ran a very successful program themselves.
Let's give the UCI now a pat on the back, though,
shall we, because they've also introduced
some welcome new rules to women's cycling.
So, the minimum wage for riders in World Tour teams
next year is going to be 15,000 euros,
the aim being to raise that gradually,
so that by 2023 it will be the equivalent
of the men's Pro Conti minimum salaries.
World Tour riders will now also be entitled
to maternity pay, three months full pay
and five months half pay, which I think we can all agree
is a step in the right direction.
This, I will admit, is starting to a feel a little bit
like the UCI Race Show, but they've also allowed
Wout van Aert to start searching for a new home for the
2019 season, a home that is very likely to be LottoNL-Jumbo.
You'll probably remember, but he was being used this year
as a bargaining chip between the acting agent of his team,
Sniper Cycling, and almost any other team
that they could attempt to do business with,
Wout van Aert basically had enough,
he broke his contract with the team in September,
and started the cyclocross season as an individual rider.
Unfortunately for him, despite that UCI ruling,
it appears the long legal battle will still ensue.
Onto the road again now, and having announced his retirement
this summer, Simon Gerrans has now revealed
what his post-racing career will involve.
He will be entering the London office
of the Goldman-Sachs securities team,
whilst on an athlete internship.
A world away from bike racing, that's for sure.
And meanwhile, over at the Ghent Six Day,
the lead changed every single night
for the first three nights, but the final overall
was clinched by the quickstep pairing
of Elia Viviani and Iljo Keisse,
with the final overall result coming down
to the very last sprint on the very last night.
Robbe Ghys and Kenny De Ketele
pushed the leaders right to the end,
missing out in the end by just eight points
after six nights of intense competition.
And finally, speculation continues as to whether
Andrea Tafi will race next year's Paris-Roubaix.
The latest speculation's come from La Gazetta dello Sport,
who have said that Tafi could be racing
for team Dimension Data in 2019.
I'm sure there'll be more on that again next week.
Right, that is all for now, next week,
we'll be back with all the news
from the world of pro bike racing,
including the next round of the UCI Cyclocross World Cup
over in Koksijde, I will see you then.
In the meantime, if you'd like a unique insight
into a lucrative world of racing
that gets very little coverage here in the Western world,
check out the video just down here from Jon Cannings,
looking at Keirin racing in Japan.