With just one weekend left before the US National Championships, chaos ensued in Portland, leaving more questions than answers. Many, including myself, thought it would be a two-horse race in “the showdown” at the final two rounds of the USGP; however, by the time the dust settled, two new riders had thrown their hats into the ring for a national championship. Todd Wells and Jeremy Powers came-off the previous weekend’s victories to dominate the competition in two of the closest races we’ve seen all year. Meanwhile, across the Atlantic, the Czech National Champion Zdenek Stybar proved that he’s a force to be reckoned with by winning his second-straight World Cup race. The usual protagonists were there, including a frustrated Niels Albert and a bitterly disappointed Sven Nys, but it was the first time this season we saw daylight     (more…)

Just like last week, we have two new #1 riders in the rankings. Domestically, Jeremy Powers was one of a handful of big name riders to have raced this past weekend, and he won both races he entered. On the other side of the pond, things were a bit more interesting, and very surprising. Zdenek Stybar continued his run with a third straight victory, this time picking up a World Cup race. Sven Nys finally took his 50th Superprestige race victory and appears headed to a possible 10th overall title. In the end, Nys’ 2nd place to Stybar and his sheer destruction of the Superprestige field gave him the #1 nod this week. On both continents, there is no longer one dominant force (although it was refreshing to watch Nys ride away from everyone like the goed oude dagen). (more…)

Both continents witnessed dominating performances by two riders this past weekend, Tim Johnson and Zdenek Stybar. Johnson took the solo approach, attacking the lead group at both rounds of the Super Cross Cup on Long Island. He was clearly the best rider in the US this weekend, forcing me to rethink my “sure thing” at Nationals: Ryan Trebon. Stybar’s domination involved a little more luck and a whole lotta speed. The Czech champion used his newfound sprinting skills to win a four-up sprint on Saturday at the GVA Trofee round in Hasselt. On Sunday, Stybar again won in a sprint, this time against Sven Nys after another very fast race. Cleary, these are the two best riders right now on their repsetive continents. Johnson looks poised to carry his form into Nationals in a few weeks, while (more…)

We’re 10 weeks into the season and one fact has remained true: cyclocross is unpredictable. Determining the best rider in Europe and North America is tough. Once again, Ryan Trebon and Tim Johnson split victories in the US. In Europe, Sven Nys picked up another victory, as did Niels Albert. So what can we determine from this past week of racing? In the US, Ryan Trebon may be the best one-day rider with Tim Johnson a close second. In Europe, Nys can still win, but Albert always wins on the bigger stage. And it appears that neither of these trends will end anytime soon. Nys still seems to be one step behind Albert, for whatever reason he can come up with. Meanwhile, Ryan Trebon looks to be the odds-on favorite for a repeat at Nationals unless Johnson can make it a multi-day affair. Behind, there’s (more…)

Note: These are last weeks rankings that never got posted.

Now that we’re past the midway point of the season in the United States, we’re starting to see several riders who are clearly better then the rest. The issue that remains is filling in the top ten beyond the top five. This weekend should have given us a clearer view of the US scene since there was only two UCI races in the US. However, most of the top cross guys decided to take the weekend off and rest up before embarking on a final month of cross leading up to nationals.

In Europe, the top ten remained primarily the same as we’re seeing more consistent riding from the top names of the sport. On both contitnets the top five appear to be set for a while as the lead groups aren’t changing. However, within those lead groups, we’re seeing some interesting changes. This weekend, Jermey Powers and Jamey Driscoll picked up solid wins, while Niels Albert returned to the top step of the podium slightly ahead of ZdenK Stybar, who continues to ride extremely well. (more…)

The season’s biggest trends continued on both sides of the Atlantic this past weekend. In the United States, Cyclocrossworld.com still dominates the big races, but the little guys are getting some exposure at the smaller UCI races. On the other side of the Atlantic, there are two riders, Sven Nys and Niels Albert, who seem capable of winning every race they enter. So what does this mean? Well, if you show up to a race in the US and a member of the Cyclocrossworld.com team is there, you will likely lose. Similarly, if you race in Europe and your last name isn’t Stybar, you have little to no chance of winning as well. (more…)

Last week I made a bold statement saying that Niels Albert will dominate any race he enters. As many suspected, I was wrong. However, I did predict that Sven Nys would get out of his early season funk and remind us all why he’s the greatest cross racer ever. His victory at Kiremko Nacht van Woerden was predictable against a smaller, lack luster, field. However, the way he won Koppenberg Cross was remarkable. Albert put in a great performance considering his poor start and other issues, but eventually cracked and was saved by the fact that nobody took advantage of it. The other usual suspects where at the front, the only surprise coming from Zdenk Stybar, who launched an attack that eventually failed. It was very interesting to see these younger guys start to go for the win rather then just ride in the shadows of Nys and Albert. In the US, (more…)