January Topper Chart: Tough Crowds and Course Corrections
The Media Pit unveils its classifications of Toppers, Subtoppers, and Middlers before Oostende Worlds.
Welp cyclocross friends, here we are, less than two weeks away from the 2021 Cyclocross World Championships. One of our goals of the Bulletin and The Media Pit podcast has been to track the ebbs and flows of the Euro cyclocross season and make sense of the results not just on a race-by-race basis, but in the bigger picture as well.
Bill’s CX Heat Check Power Rankings have been checking in to see who’s hot and not, and this season, we unveiled the Topper Chart, which is a monthly check-in on the state of the ‘cross peloton. Our first Topper Chart dropped in November, and then we followed it up with a post-MvdP-and-Wout edition in mid-December.
While the Topper Chart is meant to take a long-term temperature of the cyclocross field of play, last month’s was perhaps a bit influenced by recency bias, with Tom Pidcock scoring Topper status and Clara Honsinger jumping to the Subtopper line based on their performances at Superprestige Gavere. This month, it remains to be seen if there was, perhaps, a bit of a course correction.
If you are new to the Topper Chart, the positions are voted on by the three members of the Cyclocross Radio Media Pit—Micheal Boedigheimer, Bill, and myself. To garner a spot on a particular line—Topper, Subtopper, or Middler of Note—a rider has to get two of three votes.
Are these classifications, per se, a prediction for Worlds? No, not really. However, given the definitions—Toppers can win any given race and Subtoppers can win on the right day—the top two lines are where we will definitely be looking when it comes time to pick winners for next weekend’s Worlds races.
Elite Women
Toppers
Lucinda Brand
It seems almost quaint at this point in the season to look back at the first Topper Chart and see that Brand was picked as our number three Topper. Since we did those rankings following GP Leuven, Brand has low-key won 9 of the 13 races she started. The other four? She finished second.
Brand won at Namur, Zolder, and Dendermonde during the Kerstperiode racing block before “slowing down” toward the end with two second-place finishes at GP Sven Nys and World Cup Hulst. After a break due to the cancellation of Dutch Nationals, Brand aced her sand Worlds tune-up at Zilvermeercross Mol.
Brand has been at the top of the Women’s game since mid-November, but as we have said many times, to truly put a cap on her season as a Topper, she needs to show she can win the big one next weekend in Oostende.
Subtoppers
Denise Betsema
Last month, we had three Toppers. In this pre-Worlds edition, the Media Pit panel made a STATEMENT by only granting Topper status to Brand. Leading the way for the Subtoppers is Denise Betsema. Betsema had a 10-race podium streak snapped at Superprestige Zolder, and then she had a tough go at World Cup Dendermonde.
Betsema, however, bounced back by dropping a bomb on the Women’s field at World Cup Hulst to ride away from the field and take a solo win. She also finished a close second behind Brand in her favored sandy conditions at Mol.
While one of our panelists picked Betsema as a Topper, perhaps the classification is correct. On the right course (sand) or the right day (Brand and Alvarado do not neutralize her trademark fast start), Betsema can take the win. However, are you looking at her to win on the reg? Perhaps not.
Ceylin Alvarado
Last season, Ceylin Alvarado perfected the Worlds peak and rode it to a rainbow jersey while still classified as a U23 rider. This season, Alvarado was on fire early, went through a bit of a lull, and is now hoping that she brings her, say, Harentals or GP Sven Nys game to Worlds versus her Namur or Dendermonde game where she twice got Clara’d.
Alvarado’s selection as a Subtopper was a bit of a surprise to me. Since last month’s check-in, she won twice against Brand and Betsema and finished a close second at Superprestige Zolder. Her only time off the podium was when she finished fourth at World Cup Zolder.
Alvarado certainly has race-winning potential and is one of the favorites to win Worlds. Perhaps this Topper Chart will serve as a bit of bulletin board material for a rider who is known for her big-game performances.
Middlers of Note
Blanka Vas
With two potential Toppers dropped to the Subtopper line, that means the Middlers of Note are going to be extra spicy. First up is Blanka Vas, Hungarian National Champ and winner of two Belgian races in the last month.
When Vas finished fourth at World Cup Tabor, it was very much a 👀 situation. When Vas then started fast and overcame an early crash to finish fifth at the famed World Cup Namur the 👀 were upgraded to 👀👀. Vas capped her impressive month with wins at Bredene and Gullegem and then another wide-angle-podium finish at World Cup Hulst. Not bad for a 19-year-old from a country that is not exactly a cyclocross powerhouse.
Vas will enter the U23 Women’s race as one of the favorites, and with her wins in those Elite races, she has shown she has the skills to not only ride really hard and get in the top 5 of a World Cup but also race from the front and win races.
Annemarie Worst
After a tough result at Gavere, Annemarie Worst skipped Namur and shut things down for a bit to rest off some fatigue and return to Kerstperiode racing refreshed. Since her return, Worst has been good, not great, finishing third at Zolder fifth at Dendermonde, and then moving up to fourth at World Cup Hulst.
At this point in the season, given Worst’s season-long struggle to deal with the effects of her summer crash, it is hard to see Worst winning a race in the next two weekends—thus the Middler classification—but she could still salvage her campaign by sneaking onto the podium at Oostende Worlds, and given how things have gone since early November, such a result would be one to build on for the 2020 silver medalist.
Clara Honsinger
Look, while the Topper Chart aims to be scientific and free from emotional biases, the members of the Media Pit are human and yes, we are always cheering for Lil’ Glowplugs (USA! USA! USA!) All of this is to say that perhaps it was a bit premature to crown Honsinger as a Subtopper after her performance at Gavere.
All of that said, Honsinger has had an impressive month. She beat both of this month’s Subtoppers at World Cup Namur and then beat them again at World Cup Dendermonde. IDK if it’s a thing, but from here on out, getting Clara’d will be that moment when a rider fades in bad conditions while Honsinger calmly rides right past and onto the podium.
Honsinger is now a consistent top 10 performer with podium potential, which, regardless of how Worlds goes, will be a great season for the young Oregonian to build on heading into the future.
Sanne Cant
Thanks to the Sanne Watch in the weekly preview, Cant gets more pixelated ink than anyone in the Women’s field, so I don’t know what more there is to say. Perhaps Cant will join Honsinger in using Lucinda Brand’s quote about not being concerned about the non-Dutch women at Worlds as BULLETIN BOARD MATERIAL and use it to pull off a podium shocker at Oostende Worlds.
Marianne Vos
Athletics can be cruel in their what-have-you-done-for-me-lately nature. Two years ago, the cyclocross world was #hype when seven-time world champion Marianne Vos decided to start her cyclocross season in September and race all the way through to Worlds.
This season, Vos returned with little fanfare at the robot emporium, even though she won, and she has struggled to play a role at the front of races. After finishing outside the top 10 at both Hulst and Dendermonde, Vos returned with a third-place finish at Mol, suggesting she is getting her cyclocross legs back. Despite that result, if we are being honest, this Middler of Note pick likely has more to do with those seven rainbow jerseys than recent results. Respect is given where respect is due.
Elite Men
Toppers
Mathieu van der Poel
After only winning 4 of his first 7 races of the season, Mathieu van der Poel calmly used the tail end of the Kerstperiode to remind us how good he is. After a tough day in the mud at Dendermonde, Van der Poel used his trademark attack to get a decisive gap at GP Sven Nys, and then he turned in a vintage Van der Dominant performance at Hulst where he lapped like 2/3 of the field.
Dendermonde aside, it is clear Van der Poel is trending back to form, and after his Spanish vacation with Gianni Vermeersch, it is hard to see anyone but Van der Poel be the favorite for Oostende Worlds, a week and a half hence.
Wout van Aert
Last month, Wout slid to the Subtopper line after slowly easing his way into the cyclocross season. World Cup Namur quickly reminded us that yes, Van Aert is very good, and he then rode that wave to wins in his home town of Herentals and a random field outside Dendermonde. Throw in the birth of new cyclocross royalty, and the sum is a spot on the Topper line.
Despite getting MvdP’d at GP Sven Nys and Hulst, Van Aert has clearly reestablished his spot in the MvdP >> Wout >> Everyone else continuum. While not at Van der Poel’s level, Van Aert seems destined for at least a silver at Worlds and perhaps his fourth gold if Van der Poel is off his game in any way.
Subtoppers
None
Whaaaaaaa? No Pidders? No Eli? No Mikey V? The crowd, it is tough this month.
Middlers of Note
Tom Pidcock
Last month when the Topper Chart came out, Tom Pidders Pidcock was coming off a historic win over Mathieu van der Poel at Superprestige Gavere. Perhaps we were a bit premature in anointing him a Topper based largely on that performance.
Although, TBH, halfway into World Cup Namur, that anointing did appear prophetic. Pidcock got off to a lead that lasted for the middle 2/3 of World Cup Namur before Van Aert helped drag Van der Poel back to the leader before the Dutch star ultimately won. Following that race, Pidcock had a poor showing at Zolder and then joined Eli Iserbyt in getting Dendermonded. However, following Dendermonde, Pidcock did finish 3-2-3 to close out Kerstperiode, so perhaps the Middler designation is a bit harsh?
Toon Aerts
Toon Aerts has been struggling to get the love around these parts while always being up there but never UP THERE. Bill summed up Aerts’ existence perfectly in the Oceans Power Rankings when he compared him to Linus Caldwell, Matt Damon’s character—”Be specific but not memorable.”
Aerts finished third at Dendermonde but then followed that result up with a sixth at Baal and fifth at Hulst. If Aerts is looking for a bright spot, he did take second at Belgie Natties by outriding the Sauces to finish behind Van Aert. Aerts lands in the Middler category because with Van der Poel and Van Aert in the mix, he is not going to win a race, but as I mentioned in the most recent Weekend Preview, Aerts could salvage his season with a podium finish at Worlds—even though we will likely be talking about Van der Poel and Wout. Poor guy.
Mikey V
After winning at Merksplas and Tabor, Mikey V solidified his Subtopper bona fides by showing that when things fell just right, he could take the W. Since having that mid-November moment, Mikey V has had to step to the fore for the Sauces as teammate Eli Iserbyt has struggled to recover from the arm injury he suffered at Superprestige Zolder.
Vanthourenhout has been a reliable rider for the Sauces, but like Toon Aerts, his solid results have kind of gotten drowned out by the focus on Mathieu and Wout. Since Gavere, Vanthourenhout has finished 4-3-5-4-3-5-4-3. Good, not great, and if the power of numbers is to be believed, he will finish 5th at Hamme, 4th at Overijse, and 3rd at Oostende Worlds. If I were a betting man, I’d bet on Mikey V taking up numerology in the next week and a half.
Eli Iserbyt
We have said a lot of things about Eli Iserbyt around these parts, but regardless of your feels about the young sauce, you cannot deny the kid has heart. After suffering an arm injury that twisted his elbow in grotesque ways at Zolder, Iserbyt was back trying to race less than a week later at GP Sven Nys. He had a good result there, finishing fourth, before getting done in by another crash at World Cup Hulst.
While he has struggled recently, especially after the return of Mathieu and Wout, Iserbyt is still one of the top riders in the Men’s field, and his result at Baal shows that he is still a rider not to count out even when he is not at 100%.
Laurens Sweeck
Sweeck is another of those riders who gets a lot of pixels at the Bulletin thanks to the Is LaUrEnS sWeEcK eLiTe? section of the Weekend Preview. Sweeck has done fine in the last month. He finished fourth at Belgie Nats and second in a light field at Mol, but with his year in the Belgian tricolour over, he now faces the challenge of getting some more results to hang his hat on for another season.
Lars van der Haar
Closing out the Middlers of Note is our good old friend Lars van der Haar. After finishing third at Zolder, Van der Haar also got Dendermonded, which was the perfect way of summing up Van der Haar’s BACKness. He did fine at Baal and Hulst, finishing seventh and sixth, and finished third behind Van Aert and Sweeck at Mol.
At this point in the season, there is not much to be said about Van der Haar. He pretty much is who we thought he is. In this case, that means our final Middler of Note for perhaps the final Topper Chart of the 2020-21 season.