Molly Cameron and Aaron Tuckerman dueling for the podium ©Nick Fochtman
The disc brake revolution has arrived, folks: just look at Tim Johnson’s bike for this weekend. But has that really changed the game? Only time will tell. But enough tech talk, there are more important things to discuss, like: Amy Dombroski, still taking Europe by storm. Ever deepening fields: is that really what is keeping Albert from finishing top five? Justin Lindine, straight to the top. Kevin Pauwels, World Cup Winner, World Cup Leader and still down to earth. Wellens and Fidea have words. This Week’s Working Man’s Edition Heads to the Northwest with Molly Cameron.
Amy Dombroski: Europe is My Playground
Amy Dombroski deserves a lot of credit, folks. She has really gone full gas in the ’cross world and as far as I’m concerned she is taking Europe by storm with her new Race Club 11 team. So, how has the season been going? Well, 13th in a World Cup is no result to sneeze at, is it? And doing that while travelling around Europe, man, doesn’t that sound like the life? (Don’t forget, pro racing is a job and it’s not all fun and games, but we like to think it is!)
Niels’ Excuse, Does it Really Hold Up?
This week Niels Albert did a little bit of excuse-making and whining about why he hasn’t been at the front like usual in the World Cups. In Plzen, it was understandable and the whole cameraman incident is understandable as far as explaining Niels’ (as well as a few others) result. But, in Tabor, that wasn’t exactly the case, he had a good start and did a fair bit of driving at the front early in the race. Then, well, he just couldn’t stay there and the rest of the field just sort of rode away. So, what’s the excuse? The fields are getting deeper, and it used to be on a bad day that he could finish top five in the World Cup races. To me that just sounds like, “everyone got faster and I didn’t.” But it’s still early and I am going to give Niels the benefit of the doubt, because we all know that if you’re fast in October, being fast in December, January and February is hard unless you’re Sven!
Justine Lindine, Top US Rider?
There has been a lot of discussion about Justin Lindine recently, does he receive the credit he deserves? Is he really that fast anywhere but New England? Is it a bad thing that he doesn’t leave New England, for the most part, all season? Well, with what is on the line for the Shimano NEPCX, it doesn’t make much sense to fly around the country. Not only is Lindine winning the NEPCX series, but he has garnered of UCI results and wins to be leading the US national calendar rankings. Well, that’s nothing to sneeze at, now is it? With the Louisville USGP coming up, I guess we’ll see how he’s stacking up. Nice job, Justin, keep it rolling forward, you definitely deserve more respect than you’re sometimes given.
Kevin Pauwels, Staying Down to Earth
Now as we head back to the Euro scene, there is one Euro that, no matter how fast he gets, stays down to earth and calm. Kevin Pauwels may have just won a round of the World Cup and taken over the series lead, but, unlike his compatriots, he did not buy a plane ticket to go home to Belgium. Nope, it was too expensive and he opted to take the camper home and sleep on the road. Even Pauwels’ teammate, Vantourenhout, thought he was silly to not get a flight. Hmmm … down to earth, quiet, calm and powerful. Not quite a professional ‘character’ by making the news too often, but have to admit, Pauwels has class!
Wellens and Telenet Have Words
Telenet-Fidea is having all kinds of problems with their riders recently. Bart Wellens, in a public statement, talked about his frustration with the team management this week as his excuse for his poor World cup performance. Apparently they had team photo shoots late in the week and this made him too tired to race at his best. Well, Telenet did not take kindly to the criticism and responded by saying that Wellens needed to be more professional. Really, Telenet, Wellens needs to be more professional? I can’t imagine he is anything less than professional in his approach to his job. Then again, it’s never a good idea to to go after your sponsors publicly like that. Are we going to see another mass Telenet exodus again?
Working Man’s Edition: Molly Cameron
Molly Cameron is quite the character and absolutely lives and breathes ’cross, for that she deserves a lot of respect. Well, not only does she work super hard with her various business’, but she is also taking the Cross Crusade by storm. With some awesome results (top five’s recently) against super strong fields, man, that is awesome! I don’t know how she does it.
