
Chris Donaldson
Cycling Correspondent
1:00 AM 14th December 2024
sports
The Spin
Cycling Round-Up
![Photo: maxmann]()
Photo: maxmann
Despite the road season being on a hiatus and the curtailing of much of the weekend's high-level racing, it has still been another busy week in the world of elite cycling on and off the bike. Here is a round-up of some of the week's top stories.
Wind Puts Paid to CycloCross in Sardinia
Sunday's planned 3rd round of the UCI CycloCross World Cup in Cabras on the island of Sardinia, was cancelled due to the storms sweeping across Europe. Gusts of nearly 100 kilometres per hour decimated the infrastructure around the course on Is Arutas Beach.
The risk to riders and spectators meant that the race organisers announced at 11am local time, that the racing was off. Despite this setback, the organisers plan for the race to return to the sandy course in 2025. The next stage in the series now transfers to Namur in Belgium this Sunday. One to watch.
Horror Crash Injures Marchant
Crashes are not an unfamiliar sight in the velodrome, but the finale of the UCI Track Champions League had to be abandoned last Saturday evening, following a shocking crash between Katy Marchant, from Leeds, and Germany's Alessa-Catriona Propster.
During the heats of the women's keirin, the pair veered sharply up the banking, over the Perspex barrier and into the crowd at the Lee Valley VeloPark in London. Marchant suffered a broken arm and dislocated fingers in the incident, while Propster and the affected fans were able to leave the venue under their own steam, following treatment by medical staff. After a lengthy delay, the remaining events were cancelled.
That cancellation meant that the winners of the series was decided on the points garnered from racing to that point.
Scottish track superstar Katie Archibald had already secured the Women's Endurance title, whilst Alina Lysenko won the Women's Sprint crown.
On the men's side, Canada's Dylan Bibic and the Netherland's Harrie Lavreysen won the Endurance and Sprint competitions respectively.
Pidcock Joins Q36.5
Off the bike, Tom Pidcock, the double Olympic cross country MTB champion and high-profile road racer, has joined the Swiss UCI ProTeam squad Q36.5. This move brings to an end the season long saga surrounding Pidcock and his previous employer Ineos Grenadiers.
A young rider of such stature joining a team that isn't part of the UCI World Tour may raise a few eyebrows, but the move may make a lot of sense for all parties. Q36.5 are an ambitious team and are managed by Douglas Ryder, who has tasted success in the past with the pioneering South African Team, Qhebeka, and former Tour De France winner Vincenzo Nibali has worked with the team in a technical advisor capacity. The signing will undoubtedly help the team attract sponsors and big race invites.
Dropping to a “2nd division” team is likely to provide the extremely versatile rider with the opportunity to continue to compete in multiple disciplines, while still developing as a leader on the road.
That is something that was unlikely to be allowed to continue at Ineos Grenadiers following the completion of the latest Olympic cycle. Such flexibility at Q36.5 is already being evidenced by the announcement of the highly unusual arrangement, where Pidcock will be allowed to continue to ride Pinarello bikes for off road exploits, whilst also riding the team issued Scott bikes on the road in 2025.
For Ineos Grenadiers, the departure is the latest in what appears to be a root and branch clear-out. Pidcock follows Director of Racing Steve Cummings through the exit door, with Cummings having joined Jayco AlUla earlier in December. The pair famously appeared to clash last season as documented by the Netflix series Tour de France Unchained.
Several other key staff members have also left for pastures new, including rider/engineer and former UCI Hour Record holder Dan Bigham. The situation at a team so used to success appears to mirror that another Jim Ratcliffe backed sporting giant Manchester United, and they will be looking for a major turnaround in fortunes in 2025 as a result of the changes.