On your marks, get set….go!
UCI Road World Championships 2022
This year, Wollongong, New South Wales, will welcome over 1,000 of the world’s best international cyclists to their roads to compete in eight days of thrilling elite racing. The event is one of the top five sporting events in the world and has the spectators to match; more than 300 million people around the world will tune in to see who comes out on top.
Apart from the main sporting events, the city will host cultural events to bring the community together and showcase Wollongong as a wonderful place to visit, as well as championing “Cycling for all”. This initiative aims to encourage spectators to take up cycling themselves as a healthy and sustainable mode of transport and entertaining hobby.
The races themselves have already kicked off with the time trials, in a predictable but nonetheless entertaining fashion. The women’s favourite, Ellen van Dijk, defended her time trial crown, scraping the win by just 12 seconds. Despite being the favourite and having much experience under her belt, it almost all slipped away from her as Grace Brown’s home advantage and impeccable skill set her up for a neat second place, finishing just seconds behind van Dijk. Up until the very end, Brown’s time was unmatched, and it required a blistering pace to beat it.
Now let’s swerve over to the men’s time trials, where the Norwegian cyclist Tobias Foss took the unexpected gold medal by sustaining an impressive 51 kph (31.7 mph) over the gruelling 32.4-kilometer course. On the other hand, British Ethan Hayter had a mechanical disaster that left him in 4th position, after his bike chain broke on the first lap of the circuit. After hitting the fastest time through the first checkpoint, Hayter could have gone on to win the rainbow jersey and a gold medal, but those dreams came crashing down due to his poor bike setup.
Looking forward to the races in the upcoming week, we know for sure that the Dutch women will most certainly be the ones to watch. The 39-year-old Annemiek van Vleuten has had an impressively dominant season, winning not only the Giro d'Italia Donne, but the Tour de France Femmes and Ceratizit Challenge by La Vuelta. She may not be the most likely to win from a sprint, but with experience on her side, if she can get away from the peleton, she may be in with a chance.
Whoever ends up taking their place on the podium, there’s no doubt that we’re in for an amazing week of racing!
ESL Pro League Season 16
Calling all you CS:GO fans out there! Buckle up for a world of excitement as the race to reach the play-offs of ESL Pro League Season 16 draws to a thrilling conclusion as witness how the fourth and final group, Group D, pans out. With plenty of crunch clashes on the agenda, you can bet your bottom dollar that there are going to be plenty of thrills, twists and turn heading our way over the next few days.
Out of the six teams competing in this group, we’d say that at the time of writing, Cloud9 look like the favourites to finish top dogs. Although they didn’t exactly set the world on fire at Intel Extreme Masters XVII – Cologne back in July, their stock has been rising in the CS:GO world this year after the acquisition of the former Gambit roster.
What’s more, they also showed what they were made at Intel Extreme Masters XVII – Dallas back in June, where they managed to bring home the bacon after beating ENCE 3-0 in the Grand Final, while also overcoming big hitters such as FaZe Clan on their route to the final.
Incidentally, only FURIA managed to beat Cloud9 on their road to glory in Dallas and, you’ve guessed it, they’ve also been drawn in Group D. The Brazilians made it to the semis at this tournament last year, where they were beaten by eventual winners FaZe Clan, and will no doubt be eager to lay down a marker in the group stage.
Speaking of last year’s tournament, MoviStar Riders and Team Liquid both made it to the quarterfinals and will no doubt fancy their chances of making it to the knockout stages again. However, out of the two of them, Team Liquid are looking stronger heading into this next round of matches as MoviStar Riders recent form has been quite disappointing.
As for the remaining two teams, both Evil Geniuses and Eternal Fire appear to have their work well and truly cut out for them in their quest to reach the playoffs. However, Eternal Fire have, despite multiple roster changes, been putting together quite a few wins as of late and could prove to be dark horses here.
No matter what happens, we’re in for an absolute treat here.