Patrick UCI Cyclo-cross World Cup: Compton and Nys take a win in Plzen 16.10.2011 US-champion Katherine Compton (Rabobank – Giant Off-road Team) and the Cyclo-cross legend from Belgium Sven Nys (Landbouwkrediet-KDL) won the first round of the 2011-2012 Patrick UCI Cyclo-cross World Cup in Plzen, Czech Republic. Tactical final In the Elite Men’s category Zdenek Stybar (Quickstep Cycling Team) was in the lead going into the last stairway of the final lap just 23 steps before the final corners with Sven Nys and local contender Kevin Pauwels (Telenet Fidea) close on his heels. Nys made a tactical move immediately after the stairway slipping into a narrow gap between a tree and Stybar. It gave him an advantage for the final sprint and allowed him to take the World Cup victory in Plzen, his 44th World Cup win. Pauwels sprinted past a disappointed Stybar, who settled for third in front of his home crowd. Compton holds off Van Paassen and Nash British Champion Helen Wyman (Kona Factory Racing) showed her form, leading the pack from the outset in the Women’s race on the slightly wet and very fast course in Plzen. However an acceleration from Compton during the second lap put Wyman in trouble. And from the third lap Compton kept extending her lead with home rider Katerina Nash (Luna Pro Team) battling with Sanne Van Paassen (Brainwash Wielerploeg) for second position. Nash kept gaining ground on Van Paassen but her run ended when she crashed at the end of the penultimate lap. Van …

UCI Patrick Cyclo-cross World Cup: Another victory for Stybar World Champion Zdenek Stybar (Telenet-Fidea) and Sanne van Paassen (The Netherlands) worked their way to solo victories during the second round of the UCI Patrick Cyclo-cross World Cup in Plzen, Czech Republic. Stybar extends his lead in the Elite Men’s category over Belgians Kevin Pauwels (Telenet-Fidea) and Niels Albert (BCKP-Powerplus) while Van Paassen moves into the World Cup lead together with her compatriot Daphny van den Brand (The Netherlands). Local rider Stybar won the Elite Men’s race in front of his home crowd after leading most of the race together with his team-mate Pauwels and former World Champion Niels Albert. On the dry and fast course in Plzen the three riders worked well together to build up a comfortable lead over French champion Francis Mourey (Française des Jeux) and Belgians Klaas Vantornout (Sunweb-Revor), Bart Aernouts (Rabobank Giant Offroad Team), Sven Nys (Landbouwkrediet) and Dieter Vanthourenhout (BKCP-Powerplus). Going into the penultimate lap Stybar attacked on the sloping uphill section at the finish line and only Pauwels was able to keep up with the World Champion. After a furious fast lap the two team-mates kept off Albert but just before entering the final lap Pauwels disappeared from the front with a flat tyre. The home crowd surely didn’t mind the Belgian’s bad luck as their champion could avoid risks while rolling towards his second win in the World Cup. Pauwels held on …

Winter snow offroad cycling (-14°C) with a cyclocross fixie bike, local forests and woods in Oulu, Northern Finland. Recorded with a GoPro Hero, with a chest mount, 6th of January 2011. It’s minus 14 degrees Celsius, that should be about 7 degrees Fahrenheit..? As for the speed, the whole video is at real speed. You can count the cadence if you wish, that’s quite easy since you see the knees quite often The bike is a 2009 Cotic RoadRat with 30mm Michelin Mud 2 front tire (no spikes) and Schwalbe Marathon Winter 35mm rear spike tire. In reality, both are about 33mm wide. The MaWinter is really, really bad on snow (good on ice though). You definitely do not need spike tires for riding on snow. The gearing is 46×19. Soundtrack: The Crackhead – Taste Me Sekshun – Still Smokin The Sinisters : Baby, Where’d You Go NO SE – Frustrator The Crackhead – Completly Mad Sidekick Lupchen and The Bad Generation – Motorboy Sidekick Lupchen and The Bad Generation – Hello-Song Diamond Dogs – Bound to Ravage Big thanks to all the artists. All music is under the CC BY-NC-SA license.

Question: what is a good cross country mountain bike for racing?
i want to find a good cross country racing bike. i’m going to start racing soon and need a light bike.

Answer:

Answer by curious dad
start by going to a bike shop, look around, ask questions, I am a road cyclist.. gotta pick the bike that is right for you and how you ride… there are carbon fiber, very light.. but brittle… aluminum.. light ..titanium, light as aluminum but stronger, .. and steel frames.. there are many brands, many styles.. you need to match the style of bike to what you intend to ride.. off road bikes… gary fisher bikes look pretty good, might even look into a custom made bike also, pricey though. gotta match what you can afford to what you want, might look at a few cycling magazines too.

2010-2011 UCI Patrick Cyclo-cross World Cup: Snow and ice can’t stop Boom and Compton The heavy snow showers of the last week turned the former F1 car racing circuit in Zolder, Belgium into a challenging cyclo-cross course for the UCI Patrick Cyclo-cross World Cup. Dutch champion Lars Boom (Rabobank) bested World Cup leader Niels Albert (BKCP-Powerplus) in the difficult circumstances in the Elite Men category. Nevertheless Albert strengthened his World Cup lead over Sven Nys (Landbouwkrediet). The win from Katherine Compton (USA) in the Women’s category moves the US-champion ahead of former leader Sanne van Paassen (The Netherlands) in the lead of the World Cup. The win from Boom in the Elite Men category came after an exciting duel with Albert. The duo quickly distanced the rest of the field. Early on Albert had the upper hand because Boom encountered repeated problems with his chain. The lead from Albert over Boom was never more than fifteen seconds and during the fifth lap the two 24 year-old riders were tackling the snow together. During the following lap Albert struggled with the deep snow while Boom powered away. Boom quickly gathered a gap of ten seconds and Albert was unable to close it back down. It allowed Boom to win the only World Cup round he’s racing this season. More than a minute behind the two protagonists Belgian star Bart Wellens (Telenet-Fidea) claimed the remaining podium spot. Belgian champion Nys finished only in fifth place. World Cup leader Albert …