January 28/22 14:40 pm - Italy Wins Inaugural CX Team Relay, Canada 4th & 7th
Posted by Editoress on 01/28/22
The 2022 Cyclo-cross World Championships opened on Friday with a test event - the first ever Team Relay. Originally designed for teams of six riders, it was changed to four per team a day before the race, since COVID positives are affecting the ability of countries to field a squad with riders in every category. Seven teams from five countries took part, with Canada and the USA both entering two teams.
Italy won a hard fought battle with USA A, followed by Belgium in third place. No rainbow jerseys were awarded for this test event. Canada A came back in the final lap to finish fourth, with Canada B finishing seventh.
Weather conditions were almost perfect - just above freezing with sun and a slight wind. The track was fast, however, a few off-camber corners were slippery and gave riders issues. The course is almost entirely man made from a flat field, with numerous short, sharp climbs and descents, as well as a very long stair climb.
Italy led off with Under-23 rider Samuele Leone, but Belgium had sent out their Elite Man, Daan Soete, and he was in the lead by the halfway mark and handed over to their second rider with an eight second lead over USA A, with Italy at 11 seconds. Canada A, led off with their Elite Man, Michael van den Ham, who finished the lap in fifth at 20 seconds and Canada B (Elite Man, Tyler Orschel) was sixth at 23 seconds.
Italy took over the lead early in Lap 2, with most teams running one of their women, however, the Czechs had saved their Elite Man, Michael Boros, for this lap and went from last to first. Unfortunately for them, the gap to second and third was smaller than hoped for at the end of the lap, since Boros crashed and dropped his chain. Canada A, with Sidney McGill (Elite Women), finished the lap in sixth and Canada B, with Isabella Holmgren (Junior Women) was seventh.
The Czech team had an Under-23 Woman, Kristyna Zemanova, for their third rider, and she managed to hold onto the held by a two second margin over USA A and Italy. Canada A, with Ava Holmgren (Junior Women) improved to fifth by the end of the lap, only 14 seconds out of fourth. Another Junior woman, Jenaya Francis, rode for Canada B, who remained in seventh.
The Czech team sent out their Elite Woman, Katerina Nash, as their final rider, while both Italy and USA A sent out Under-23 men. Both quickly passed Nash, and the Italian, Davide Toneatti then dropped Scott Funston (USA A) to open a strong lead for the win. Belgium took third, with Canada A improving one more spot to fourth, on the ride of Owen Clark (Under-23 Men). Canada B finished seventh overall, with Ian Ackert (Junior Men) the final rider.
Michael van den Ham spoke to us after the race about his ride and the course, which he will race on again on Sunday, in the Elite Men's race.
"The first Relay, the inaugural Relay, is a wrap! It's pretty cool to do an event like this. I think for the Canadian team we are already pretty tight and enjoy each other's company, and being able to incorporate that into a team race ... you really get to cheer each other on and be at the race and watch it unfold. It was a really great experience."
"We had teams finish fourth and seventh, and that's great. I remember doing my first Worlds in Louisville [Kentucky] in 2013, and to see how far the program has come since then, and to see that we have multiple riders capable of getting top-5s, top-10s [in international racing] is such a huge improvement from 8-9 years ago. So I'm excited to see where we are in another 8-9 years. I don't think it is unrealistic that Canada is a country that can get medals in an event like this, assuming it continues."
"As for the course itself, it's kind a of a freeze-thaw situation, so it starts in the mornings as slippery and slick and by 12:30 [pm, Central Time] when our race started, it had dried out quite a bit. It was slick, and I had to change to intermediate [tires], and even an hour later I probably could have been back on file treads."
"It's a shockingly hard course, though. I think it's easy to think 'it's dry, it's wide open, it's going to be a bunch race' ... but I'll tell you now that the section where you are going over the top and absolutely smashing it, it's a big, big effort. It's good to see the course at race speed and see what lines work, and now I know that some lines in training won't work at race speed."
"That section from the top of the climb to the first knoll is full gas, and the same thing coming to Pit 2, so people will pop. I don't think we are going to see big groups, maybe small ones, but ultimately it is going to be a course where the strongest person wins. And that's all you can ask for."
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