Sanne Cant races the Val di Sole World Cup 2021

    VAL DI SOLE - A DAY IN THE SNOW

    UCI WORLD CUP CYCLO-CROSS, VAL DI SOLE, ITA, 2021

    The depths of winter are not normally a cyclist’s friend, especially in the mountains, by November temperatures plummet and the snows have arrived making both roads and trails treacherous.

     

    And yet it is mid-December and high in the Italian alps, brightly coloured race tape lines the pearlescent pistes of the Val di Sole ski resort for a cyclocross race like no other.

     

    There couldn’t be more contrast between the normal conditions of CX, where riders are often unrecognizable under the layers of mud and sand, here in the snow they appear vivid and improbably clean, though they face some of the same challenges of their regular races, drivetrains, frames and pedals clogging with ice instead of mud, and sections of the course impossible to ride.

     

    Images: @ulyssedaessle
    Kiona Crabbé racing at Val di Sole CX World Cup
    A Cyclocross fan with World Champion stripe bobble hat
    Kiona Crabbé battles Gala Realini
    Some of the riders seem to naturally adapt to the unusual surface, handling their bikes without incident, others make drastic unannounced swerves on seemingly straightforward sections, defaulting to the deep channels cut into the snow.
    Sanne Cant rides over a snow covered bridge in Val di Sole
    Sanne Cant tackles the hurdles at Val di Sole 2021
    The subzero temperature creates plumes of steam from lungs and bodies at maximum effort, vapour trails that disappear in seconds.
    Iced up drivetrains at Val di Sole World Cup
    Deep tracks in the snow at Val di Sole
    The Val di Sole World Cup course 2021 CX
    Low cloud has engulfed the course for much of the day when suddenly a gap opens and the full spectacle of the surrounding mountains loom large above the riders, a surreal sight for spectators but within the race the focus never falters.
    Crashes galore at Val di Sole CX World Cup
    A technical turn on the Val di Sole World Cup course
    Cant takes the lead over a rival at Val di Sole
    Sanne Cant in MET Trenta Helmet
    Diether Sweeck at the Val di Sole World Cup 2021
    There are winners and inevitably losers, but at the very least, all of them took away an unforgettable memory of their day in the snow.
    Kiona Crabbé previewing the Val di Sole course
    Sanne Cant in the snow CX

    CHIUSURA ESTIVA

    Grazie per la visita,

    lo Staff MET si è preso una meritata pausa e le spedizioni riprenderanno a partire dal 20 Agosto.
    Buone pedalate!