what a shitty way to change a world championship with a mechanical. kinda ruins the entire race. congrats you won, you busted your ass, but you were not the fastest and you got lucky.
Not shitty at all. If you notice at 39:50, Marian didn't handle that hairpin correctly and her chain slipped. She is the greatest women's CX champion of all time, but yesterday she made her own bad luck. That's what makes bike racing so incredible. The result is never preordained.
bianchi1885 a mechanical isn't her own bad luck. most turns are made in ruts as they get formed similar to motocross but not as deep. she was winning, she was stronger, and it ruined the whole race. I get it, shit happens in racing, I race too. but closing an 8 second gap because a chain came off and winning the world title from it? I wouldn't wanna win like that. I'll take the win sure, but I'd rather win from being a better rider and not from a chain falling off.
Chris, I understand your argument, but you're denying fact: her chain didn't just magically fall off. The direct cause of her chain falling off was a small technical mistake Marian made. She took a bad line (not the only bad line she took yesterday -- she could have hit that off camber descent at 44:02 a bit higher and with less braking action and, I think, still win the race) that put her into that rut that caused the chain to slip. (Rut? Or was it the steel base of one of those barriers protruding out? Hard to tell, but Marian clearly pointed her front wheel into something that caused the sudden and substantial jolt to her drivetrain.) Sure Marian was stronger, sure she was winning, but when it mattered most where she was nursing a comfy 8-second lead, she caused her own mechanical. I think Sanne's win is one that she should be very proud of. Marian I'm sure will be the first to tell you she made at least a couple of technical mistakes that hurt her from scoring her eighth CX rainbow jersey.
bianchi1885 even still, I can bunny hop my road bike hard and never drop a chain. jolt or not the chain shouldn't come off a bike if everything's adjusted right. mind you I woulda been totally okay with Vos sliding out, or losing traction and having to dismount up a hill after losing all momentum. but a chain drop? meh, I feel Like Vos lost the race more then cant won it. it was close at the end and they were both pushing sure. but it woulda Been nice to see cant close that gap on her on strength and not a misfortune of someone else. yes it's racing but I'm talking ideal. like the few times wout has been really far back and basically drilled it to the front and won.
Cant could very well have closed the gap. She had sliced off a couple of seconds right before Chain-Gate, so it's a possibility. I've raced amateur CX, and you try to find the smoothest, firmest patch to avoid these types of scenarios. Looking at the replay several times, I think her front wheel hit the metal base of the barrier as opposed to a natural rut of the turf. That's a mistake. She was certainly tired and at after 45 minutes or so, your brain isn't exactly razor sharp. That's part of racing. Mistake = mechanical. I will say it a third time: Marian Voss is the greatest CX rider of all time, but Cant's win is not diminished in the slightest.
