World Cup Preview: Round 4 – Igorre, Spain

After several days of heavy rain, the course in Iggore will once again be extremely muddy and challenging, making the battle for the win and the overall even more spectacular. Currently Pauwels leads Nys by a slim five point margin, with Stybar a distant third, 25 point behind Pauwels. Francis Mourey, who finished second in Iggore last year, sits fourth overall, 50 points back. Mourey has had a solid season and would love to podium again in Iggore.

Outside of the affore mentioned riders, look for Klass Vantornout to contend for victory, especially if the conditions are as muddy as predicted....Continue Reading

North American Cyclocross Preview: NBX Showdown

This weekend marks the finale of the inaugural Shimano New England Professional Cyclocross Series presented by Verge as well as the final leg of the Verge New England Cyclo-Cross Series. Over the past three months, we’ve been treated to the best and most competitive racing in the country, boasting huge fields with marquee riders from across the globe. With the New England hotbed of cyclocross racing’s storied past, this season has been able to showcase the heritage through America’s best courses, while also, through the rapidly growing Amateur fields for both men and women, demonstrating that New England is also...Continue Reading

North American Cyclocross Weekend Review, Thanksgiving Edition

Jamey Driscoll fired the first shot at Rock 1, kicking off the three-day Jingle Cross Rock races by pulling in a Cannondale-Cyclocrossworld.com victory for a squad that has underperformed in the Wins department. It was a commanding victory – Driscoll finished nearly 20 seconds ahead of Chris Jones and almost a minute ahead of Driscoll’s teammate Tim Johnson. The race was well blown apart, as National Champion Todd Wells rolled across the line a minute after Johnson to pick up fourth place in his final weekend of cyclocross racing for the season.

As expected, Driscoll and Johnson skipped a very muddy...Continue Reading

On the Nys-Pauwels Sprint

If you tuned in on Twitter or any of the cycling media, you probably heard of the contentiousness of the sprint. Nys attacked Pauwels before the final corner, nearly overshooting the corner as he entered the pavement on the far left side of the course. He immediately opened his sprint, steadily drifting all the way to the right side of the course, effectively blocking in Kevin Pauwels. Once Pauwels was firmly blocked in, he raised his hands in animated protest and sat up – among other things, a way to discredit for posterity your opponent’s win in the resulting photographic...Continue Reading

International Cyclocross Week in Review: From Hasselt to Gavere, Pauwels is There

Kevin Pauwels once again proved he’s a force to be reckoned with this year picking up his third GVA Trophy victory in as many races. Pauwels out-sprinted World Champion Zdenek Stybar, beating him by just a few inches. Sven Nys and Tom Meeusen rolled across the line in third and fourth, respectively. Pauwels win gives him a massive 12 point lead over Stybar as the series takes a one month break. While many were focused on the action at the front, it was a pair of logs that created the most exciting and dramatic action of the day.

During the first...Continue Reading