Fayetteville, Hopefully the Beginning of a New Cycling Style
The 2022 UCI Cyclo-Cross World Championships in Fayetteville, Arkansas are brought to us by Walmart. And like Walmart, they do not include the top quality racers Wout Van Aert and Mathieu van der Poel. Nevertheless, many great racers did make it across the pond to the US.
Watching the pre-race coverage on Belgian television, the overall sentiment is that this is a blah-world championship. The parcours is too fast and too wide. It is not technical enough. And the 4-person relay is just a gimmick.
I can appreciate a nice cyclo-cross race, but have never been fanatic about them. The race is too much single track and too much mano-a-mano from the beginning. Don’t get me wrong: mano-a-mano is pure and great in any sport. Yet, I miss the team tactics and group dynamics with unlikely alliances and peloton rivalries. I miss the cat and mouse pursuit.
I am in favor of wider parcours with more opportunity to pass. Harder surface with more gravel will broaden the sport. Gravel bikes are super popular these day, especially in the US. If cyclo-cross can merge with gravel biking, both will win in worldwide appeal. And with worldwide appeal comes more television coverage, more countries participating, and more sponsors.
So yes, Fayetteville may not be your traditional cyclo-cross. However, it may be the beginning of something new. Imagine Overijse meets Belgian Waffle Ride.