The World Cup is Back!

What a strange year with the first UCI World Cup race occurring in late November. But with Covid-19, everything is possible. Every Cyclocross fan has been looking forward to the kick-off event in Tabor. This is a popular venue with the Czech city previously having hosted both European and World Championships.

And, after the first event, we finally get to see who will kick off the year in the Word Cup leader's white jersey. Here are the first round winners:

• Zoe Backstedt ( Junior women) – Challenge supported rider
• Matej Stransky ( Junior men) – Challenge supported rider
• Blanka Kata Vas ( U-23 women) – Challenge supported rider
• Thomas Mein ( U-23 men) – Challenge supported rider
• Lucina Brandt ( Elite Women)
• Micheal Vanthourenhout ( Elite Men)

Tabor included the first ever WC Junior women race. On the podium were Zoe Backstedt, Marie Schreiber, and Lucia Bramati, all of who were running Challenge tires.
The morning temperature in Tabor was quite low and terrain was a bit frosty:

“I think the Grifo was the right choice for the course today as it was still a little bit frosty on the ground so I had the perfect amount of grip and a fast rolling tire for the road and flat sections” – declared Zoe Backstedt at the end of race.

The Junior men experienced similar conditions. Stransky and Masciarelli battled to the finish and in the end the Czech rider took the win creating additional excitement for the locals. He was running Grifo at 1.3 bar in the front and 1.5 bar in the rear.

The U-23 races took place mid-day. As the temperature rose the terrain had transitioned from frosty to muddy. This lead athletes to switch from the Grifo to the Baby Limus to improve grip on the small hills and add a little speed boost on the straighter sections. The UK team took a “doublè” with Thomas Mein & Ben Turner in the men's race and the Hungarian, Blanka Vas, confirmed last year's amazing season with 4th place in the Woman's U-23 race. She battled till the end with the experienced Dutch riders for that podium spot. In the end, she took the U-23 women jersey; Anna Kay completed the podium with a 3^rd place.