Elite Men's Les Gets XCO World Cup: Are You Excited for Tokyo? You Should be Excited for Tokyo.
All signs point toward the Elite Men's XCO race at the Tokyo Olympics being a banger. We break down how Les Gets Changed. Nothing. in that respect.
The final XCO World Cup before the 2021 Tokyo Olympics took place on Sunday in Les Gets, France. Earlier this week, we took a look at the Women’s race and analyzed the results with an eye toward What. Has. Changed. with respect to Tokyo 2021. We’d hate to overlook the Men, so today we break out the Change-o-Meter once again and take a look at their event.
While the Women’s favorite for gold is pretty clear, the Men’s field is significantly more open. There is a strong argument to be made that Switzerland’s Mathias Flueckiger has been the best and most consistent top rider this season. Flueckiger took the dub at Leogang and finished third at both Nove Mesto and Albstadt. However, Fluecki’s win came at a Leogang race where neither Mathieu van der Poel nor Tom Pidcock made the start…
The last time we saw Tom Pidcock, the man they call Pidders or perhaps even Picante ran roughshod all over the field at Nove Mesto to take a solo win. Pidcock unfortunately missed Leogang after breaking his collarbone in a terrible crash on the road, but he returned on Sunday at Les Gets. Pidcock looked like a world-beater at Nove Mesto, and we all celebrated him squeaking into an Olympic spot at the last second, but with the crash, questions swirled about what we would see from Pidcock on Sunday.
While the Women’s silver and bronze situation is currently murky, the Men’s ENTIRE PODIUM situation is tough to make sense of. Coming into Sunday, three different riders had won races—Victor Koretzky at Albstadt, Pidders at Nove Mesto, and Fluecki at Leogang—and seven different riders occupied the nine medal positions. Sunday provided an opportunity for riders to, dare we say, make a statement—or make the Tokyo situation even more exciting by shaking things up once again.
Elite Men’s Race
The Elite Women’s race had that cyclocross adjust-to-conditions-on-the-fly appeal with rain starting to fall midway through their race. By the time the Men took the course, the rain was in full downpour and the roots got slicker, the rocks more treacherous, and that grassy off-camber section at the end of the lap looking like a full-on slip-and-slide. We will get to it, but there is a good argument to be made that the pairing of riders’ abilities and the conditions had a major impact on how the race would play out.
One of the bigger stories for the Men was the presence of one-half of the Pidders/MvdP crossover-star two-headed monster. Van der Poel was still off in France after his week in yellow, while Pidcock made his return just over a month after breaking his collarbone in a collision with a mail truck during a training ride. Mountain biking is tough enough on a dry day, but with conditions taking a turn for the worse, Pidcock’s work was certainly cut out for him. At the same time, Flueckiger got his win at Leogang at a Pidders/MvdP-less race, so he had the task of showing he can win when the crossover stars are present.
The other most consistent rider this season besides Flueckiger has been THE CZANGLER Andrej Cink of the Czech Republic. After epitomizing the spirit of the Dangler with 4th-place finishes at Albstadt and Nove Mesto, the Czangler became the Czodiumer (?) with a 2nd-place finish at Leogang.
Cink’s forte has very much been going up, so it was little surprise to see him at the start of the first Neverending climb leading the field up the muddy ascent. A bit more surprising was seeing Italy’s Luca Braidot slot in behind him and then take over the lead on the descent. Cink worked hard on the second climb to attach to Braidot’s wheel, while Flueckiger sat back in 9th position at the start of the second, shorter climb of Lap 1. In the mix in the chase were Nino Schurter and World Champ Jordan Sarrou, both of whom were looking to regain an upward trajectory heading to Tokyo.
Missing from that lead selection was Pidcock. The messy conditions reared their muddy claws after the race’s first corner when a massive pile-up near the front sprung maybe 12-15 riders free off the front. Pidcock was caught up in the mess and found himself chasing from the get-go. Pidcock squeaked out a second-row start after crashing during the short-track race on Friday and having to chase back to finish 16th. His involvement in that melee again highlights the importance of having a good short-track race and thus XCO call-up position.
Flueckiger’s measured start was no matter, as he moved up on the second climb and then passed Cink before the second descent to move into second. He slipped and slid his way through the now-muddy off-camber descents and then absolutely bossed his way past Braidot on a long, sidehill straight section by demonstrating the old mountain bike tactic of dealing with tough features by just sending it.
One lap in, Flueckiger had a 4-second lead on Cink and Luca Braidot, and a 10-second advantage on Alan Hatherly, Schurter, Sarrou, and Daniele Braidot.
If the Czangler Czangled in the past, on Sunday, he assertively bridged to Flueckiger on the Lap 2 Neverending climb. Just as happened at Leogang, it was again Flueckiger and Cink off the front.
Flueckiger has a history of being a rider who has zero fear of sending it, and his swift climbing and caution-to-the-wind style of descending has made him into the force he currently is. Cink, on the other hand, has shown major weaknesses as a technical rider, which is the trait largely responsible for him being dubbed THE CZANGLER as he loses time on the descents and makes it up on the climbs.
Technical skill does not necessarily translate to a win in every muddy race (Mathieu van der Poel, not a mud racer, amirite?) but in conditions like those at Les Gets on Sunday, being comfortable letting the bike slip and slide a bit is a must for riding fast. Flueckiger’s riding style played perfectly to the course conditions, with the Swiss rider picking up a second or more on Cink in every technical section.
This was on display in Lap 2 when Flueckiger went into the rooty off-camber with a 3-second lead on Cink and emerged with a 4-second advantage. Then, after the exit, Cink struggled with a slick, muddy turn, giving Flueckiger another second-worth of advantage. Cink’s struggles on the descent were so pronounced that Flueckiger opened up a 13-second advantage by the time they reached the second climb of Lap 2. Flueckiger opened up a 13-second advantage on a descent. On a descent! One descent!
Cink, meanwhile, slipped back to Sarrou, Hatherly, and Schurter. Flueckiger held a 23-second advantage after the second lap, and his lead would stay exactly there for the rest of the 7-lap race. He led the rest of the laps by between 25 and 29 seconds and won by 25 seconds. The win gave him two straight World Cup wins, including one started by Pidcock, and made him the favorite (?) heading into Tokyo 2021.
Flueckiger’s ride Changed. Nothing. in regardless to his status as the best Men’s not-Pidcock/MvdP rider thus far this season. However, with Pidcock forced to chase early and then withdrawing midway through the sloppy race, it is tough to say that Flueckiger’s win Changes. Everything. in regards to him being the Tokyo favorite. A healthier Pidcock and then Van der Poel loom as wild cards, so let’s go ahead and leave them there as intriguing bits of intrigue for the race coming up at the end of the month.
Cink finished 2nd in the Leogang short-track, 2nd in the Leogang XCO, 2nd in the Les Gets short-track, and by golly if he was going to be denied the silver in Sunday’s Les Gets XCO. Cink has shown a willingness to throw everything he has at the climbs, and in doing so on Sunday he finally broke free from Sarrou and Hatherly on the Neverending Climb in Lap 5 and opened up an 8-second advantage that he would hold on to the rest of the way to take that silver.
Does Cink’s run of silvers presage a run at silver (or better) in Tokyo? The needle seems to point toward This. Changes. Nothing. We know Cink is a phenomenal climber but not necessarily strong technically, and that is what he showed at Les Gets. He does, however, have a great nickname, if I may say so myself, so maybe that is worth a little bit when everything is on the line in Tokyo.
One was the Les Gets World Cup was unique compared to the others that have preceded it this season is fans were allowed trackside at the venue (Of course, they let fans in and it pours ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ No worries though, they were probably stoked to be able to watch bike racing).
It would be hard to argue anyone benefitted more from the home-crowd advantage than Jordan Sarrou. Wearing the rainbow stripes and competing for his first podium of the season, Sarrou rode the roar of the crowd to a solid 3rd-place finish by outriding Hatherly in the last lap. Also turning in a result of note was Nino Schurter, who rode his way to a 5th-place finish and spot on the podium.
Van der Poel’s successful trip to the Tour and Pidcock’s injury meant the race in Les Gets was not likely to give any clarity to the Men’s Tokyo situation. In fact, with Flueckiger riding out of his mind and Cink playing a worthy foil, it is hard to imagine a scenario where the Elite Men’s race in Tokyo could be more interesting.
Like, literally, what is going to happen? Is Fluecki going to continue his dream season with an Olympic gold? Is Van der Poel going to put his meh results from the first two races behind him and come in and do Van der Poel things to win the Olympics? Is Pidcock going to bounce back and show Nove Mesto was the rule, not an exception? Can the Czangler pull off the upset? Can Nino pull perhaps his greatest trick yet?
Folks, for real, the Bulletin is excited for this Elite Men’s race in Tokyo. You should be too, not going to lie.