Drop Bars, thin nobly tyres and lots of rain... not your usual chosen method of riding a bike off road, but the 3 Peaks Cyclocross race is a truly unique race that really sorts the men from the boys. Nick Craig here, on his way to 3rd place at the 2012 race.
Calling a picture like this gay is just immature. You know nothing of the toughness you must have to finish 3rd in a grueling race such as 3 peaks. Trust me if that man didn't have to be off his bike he wouldn't be. This picture really shows his struggle and determination. great POD and a unique one. Grow up guys and learn something
@ sup3rc0w - Most of the 'serious' DH bikers would regularly ride road, XC or CX and a 'mature' PinkBike user would never use word 'gay' commenting on such a great picture. This shot is better that thousands of 'no emotion' berm-diggers in full face helmets. Thumbs up for the photographer and Craig.
Gay is not exactly constructive criticism. But, you have to accept that not everyone has to like everything you do. People are allowed to dislike things as much as people are allowed to like them (for example I'll never understand why anyone likes road cycling, even though some of my friends love it). It's definitely a great photo, pretty intense, but it doesn't interest me and I think I'm entirely entitled to that view.
@kovaldesign - you hypocrite. "no emotion' berm-diggers in full face helmets"? So theres no emotion in riding berms or riding trails? A "mature" pinkbike user would never say that either.
I love how with this type of picture everyone starts telling everyone else that they aren't allowed to dislike it, when really there's been no more criticism than usual for the pod. It is an intense shot though, looks like a tough time!
Yes it was an immature and flippant comment, BUT - know your audience/demographic. No it's not PinkDH and the like, but it's hardly the lycra playground is it?
They have their own "specialist" sites - don't care how gruelling it is... I'm sure ramming a bloke from behind is pretty rough.
Why do people think xc is gay?, Every DH racer has to do this is part of training it is not gay it is actually enjoyable and relaxing it one of the thing i look forward to doing through the off season is doing xc
@chesselord - I think he is talking about seeing the emotion just written across their face. You can't see someone's face when they are wearing a full face, except through their goggles.. Because we all know that there is plenty of emotion when railin through some berms.
The concept of XC is no different than trials riding people, they are both not the usual freeride and dirtjumping PODs you see, but they are great photos, thats why it's called PHOTO OF THE DAY.
rich and compelling
i see this fella n say, 'yeah, no argument thats a man riding off-road in the woods... a mountain biker'
his 50yr old roadie mates say he and and anyone else in that race are 'crazy mountain bikers'
i like it
Today's POD and this photo (link below) have a great dramatic feel to it...But just like today's POD and this photo, the content is incredibly boring to me. Long live "PinkDH!"
Dh & 4x bikes are fast in the right places, As are race bmx bikes.. Oh, wait and so are road bikes. Ride what you want to and at least understand and respect other forms of riding enough so that you dont end up making us all look like the knuckleheads in other sports/lifestyles you dont like. Pretty simple stuff
A "B" class CX racer will make you all his bitch... fast CX guys have the fitness of a roadie, and the handling of a downhiller. They're no joke... If you think it's gay, go try it.
sometimes when i read these "xc/road/cyclocross is gay" comments i lose all hope that there is any intelligence whatsoever on pb...but then there are those who understand how difficult this is. You guys restore my hope in Pinkbike. Also if you think this is coming from some biased roadie just look at my name
Awesome picture... True hardman racing right there.
For the kids calling it gay... Riding a fully rigid 16lb CX bike over rough terrain is everybit as hardcore as riding 8" travel DH bikes through the park while patying yourself on the back for being rad. Grow up...
Im kidding, its funny to see all the comments you get just by calling a picture gay. I mean who has time to write a book about how the pictures not gay. Go out and ride
ok not going to be everyone cup of tea, its not always got to be about "big air" and "railing berms" with your baggies on, we are judging the "photo" right??,
love the way every drop of water has been picked out and you can clearly see how much this ride means to Nick by the determination in his face....
3rd in the 3 peaks cyclocross race is something to be proud of...
We can judge it on whatever we like to be honest, there's no criteria. And subject matter is a big part of what makes a photo (obviously). I agree though it's a great shot, but I can see why it would disinterest a lot of people, it's subject is quite niche.
I agree, it's a cool pic but I love how with this type of picture everyone starts telling everyone else that they aren't allowed to dislike it. Everyone seems to pre-emptively defend it, when really there's been no more criticism than usual on any other pod.
Well not everyone is into the whole lycra thing, and the majority of the users here are into DH/FR/AM/DJ. They're not telling, more like neg prop bombing and demonizing anyone that dislikes it. but I really don't understand the knee-jerk reactions by both sides, it's okay to switch it up a little.
@ Stucon. I think you hit the nail on the head when you said, "judging the photo." It's all about what's going on in the picture and this shot had a lot of emotion and character. I work at a bike shop now but before that I was a die hard DH and free ride guy. As time went on at the shop I had to learn about ALL the bikes and their capabilities. There are a few guys that work there as well that race CAT 1 and 2's who have brought light to the road genre of cycling for me. There is nothing wrong with any picture of any guy on any bike. We are all here because of the passion that cycling offers to us. It's like Matt Hunter said in the film, Strenght in Numbers. "If you enjoy mountain biking, you can see the fun in every single one of the different ways of doing it." What an awesome picture.
Im glad this is POD.And if you're not happy about this POD either realise this is pink BIKE or just grow up and respect other forms of cycling -what we all love doing.
A little over-aggressively defensive there aren't we? Don't out-hate the haters. Personally I reserve the right to like or dislike whatever I like. Photography is art, it's not a rule that I have to like it all. I have no beef with cyclocross or this photo, but I can still dislike it if I want.
Not really, you cant look at a road related photo on here without expecting to see the usual immature comments. I wasnt talking about the photographic aspect of the photo as an art form, i was talking about the content regardless of the way it is depicted. I just think people need to stop disliking road related images purely based on the fact they are photos of a form of cycling they do not take part in.
The best way to stop that behaviour is to ignore it, there's no sense in jumping in with the hate on the basis of getting in there first and telling people what not to do. Lead by example and comment positively.
Its a really cool image, but I don't care if someone else doesn't like it. I don't feel the need to be sanctimonious.
I was referring to the 'follow the crowd' type comments which are EXPECTED on photos like this. I dont care if people dont like it if they can justify why other than because 'roadies are gay' or something :p Just saying a bit more respect of different forms of cycling would be nice, this is a cycling website after all.
Fair enough, I agree. But people don't need to justify to you (or me or anyone else) why they like or dislike my photos, or anyone else's. Art is entirely subjective at every level. You can change peoples behaviour and attitudes with positive reinforcement (i.e. leading by example), very rarely with negativity.
Never said they have to justify to me... All i meant was that they should be able to. I think you're all reading way to deeply into what i said.. All I meant was that it was good to see a new riding style getting some credit on here, its just a shame that some people still have an immature attitude towards it.
We're not reading deeply into your point, we're just challenging it. If you want people to be positive, then you must be positive too rather than chastising those who aren't (before they've even said anything judging by the time of your comment!). It's not necessarily immature to not like something for the sake of it, I mean I would say the Twilight films are "completely gay garbage" but does that make me immature? I doubt it since I'm not the only one in my 20s who would say that. People on a website could say DH is "gay" but that wouldn't bother me. Anyway my take is: cyclo-x is actually badass, but there's nothing cool about lycra in any situation, it's what he's doing that makes up for it. I don't care if people like it or not!
Yes. That does make you immature. Saying something is "gay" is pathetic and homophobic. As for lycra, it does make a difference when you ride road or cross, if it didn't then it wouldnt be used. I think people who take part in road, track, cross etc would rather enhance their performance rather than look "cool".
It has nothing to do with homosexuality, that word in this context doesn't mean homosexual. In fact if you look at the evolution of semantics you'll see how most words gradually change meaning depending on context. And nobody looks good in lyrca (except me of course I look damn hot). Of course it makes sense, and people don't wear it to look "cool", but none of that is really relevant. So get off your high horse.
I don't think anybody would actually interpret the word "gay" literally in this context, and you implying that seems pretty naive and immature to me personally. It's like saying "aw man there's no beer left, that's gay". Noone thinks that having no beer left means that the situation or people involved are actually homosexual.
So you two are both 25/30 and you still say "aw man there's no beer left, that's gay" Must be an intellectual guy! Grow up. The use of that word in that context is infantile.
Awesome pic of a great athlete. This is the epitome of what photography is; great composition and does an incredible job of freezing in time or capturing the moment. Whether or not one likes or is a participant of this genre of cycling is irrelevant to the quality of the photo. Slow Weiser's clap to both the photographer and Mr. Craig.
Nick Craig, UK MTB Legend since day one. I've raced XC, Cycle Speedway, Enduro, Road, BMX, DH but would I ever race CX? No. Why, because it's insanse fitness and skill levels, respect to every CX racer!
What is gay is the UCI and all their retarded sport hindering rules.
Road and Cross bikes would be sooo much nicer if it wasn't for a few absurd rules set in place by the UCI.
Like weight limits! Finally the UCI us allowing disc's in cross, but the technology wont take off till its allowed in road.
Awesome photo by the way, cross racing is gnarly! In lots of ways it makes DH seem easy.
The one good thing about weight limits is that it helps balance the field when you start talking about pro riders versus amateurs. My friend's (used to be my cross coach in high school) road bike weighs literally 12 lbs. Unless you are a pro rider its VERY hard to get your bike even close to that. And disk brakes on road bikes doesn't make sense for the added drag and weight over nice rim brakes. But that isn't to say that the prototype RED hydraulic disks for the 2013 prototype Felt cross bike aren't the coolest things I have ever seen on skinny tires.
yes and no. When it comes down to getting a bike low on weight, its fairly inexpensive and easy. It's making a bike light stiff and reliable thats expensive. After all, sram red is the cheapest high end grouppo and is also the lightest. Is it fair that a 130lb 5'5 rider has to ride a bike that's the same weight as a rider who is 6'6 and 220lbs? The smaller guy's bike is gonna be too stiff, too strong and have a weight penalty. after all its mostly power to weight ratio that matters. Where as the rider who is 6'6 will have an advantage on the power to weight ratio side of things.
for all you saying "gay" and "not tough" etc. CX is ridiculously hard, just cause the guy has both wheels on the ground, doesnt make him not badass. He is running through water holding his bike while racing others. It is not easy.
in my younger days i did all types of riding.BMX and MTB was my mains. i am now primarily dh and xc mtb. But i did cyclocross racing in Langley, BC a few seasons, and there is nothing tougher than riding up and down a circuit of mud and crud in the dead of winter. bar none, one of hte toughest types of cycling a person will ever do. i think it is a fantastic pod.
Its Nick Craig! The bikes you ride today will have had some imput from this man! He's a UK MTB legend and by the looks of it still smashing it! Without this man, no Peaty, Gee... POD!
Its a great picture regardless of whatever bike he is on and totally pod worthy considering others ive seen recently, Same old.. Same old.. Same old.. Diversity is necessary.
all you haters have obviously never riden a CX bike. bought one several years ago and at the time my boys made serious fun of me for getting it and once they tried it they were hooked .
Hahaha "pinkwalk.com", that is awesome....makes me envision a site full of those Olympic speed-walking dudes who look like they're having a seizure trying not to go into a full on jog. I can just imagine all the "your shoes suck" comments.......
like dmacrostie said that is cx not xc and one of the features of cyclocross is that you get off and run with your bike over obstacles(stairs/fences/steep inclines/this case water) and i say given the chance he would destroy you going downhill with about half the travel you would have.
I respect cyclocross riders, I couldn't imagine trying to ride my road bike in the mud; but I wouldn't want to I guess. That is the part I don't understand. I like my road bike for the road and my mountain bike for off road. But to each his own...
128 Comments
This shot is better that thousands of 'no emotion' berm-diggers in full face helmets.
Thumbs up for the photographer and Craig.
No it's not PinkDH and the like, but it's hardly the lycra playground is it?
They have their own "specialist" sites - don't care how gruelling it is... I'm sure ramming a bloke from behind is pretty rough.
americanmccarver.com/assets_c/2012/07/US-loves-hot-dogs-but-whats-in-them-thumb-500xauto-114.jpg
For the kids calling it gay... Riding a fully rigid 16lb CX bike over rough terrain is everybit as hardcore as riding 8" travel DH bikes through the park while patying yourself on the back for being rad. Grow up...
ok not going to be everyone cup of tea, its not always got to be about "big air" and "railing berms" with your baggies on, we are judging the "photo" right??,
love the way every drop of water has been picked out and you can clearly see how much this ride means to Nick by the determination in his face....
3rd in the 3 peaks cyclocross race is something to be proud of...
Sir I Salute You.
They're not telling, more like neg prop bombing and demonizing anyone that dislikes it.
but I really don't understand the knee-jerk reactions by both sides, it's okay to switch it up a little.
Anyway my take is: cyclo-x is actually badass, but there's nothing cool about lycra in any situation, it's what he's doing that makes up for it. I don't care if people like it or not!
love the emotins too
pod worthy, haters gonna hate
The curious thing is that the man who made this photo (SamNeedham) is the same who made this video posted today:
www.pinkbike.com/news/Video-From-Fell-to-Forest.html
Nice POD, liking the change up
Such a great picture, you are never too old.
love the light & contrast!!
www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10151211635899323&set=a.10151209802104323.469868.284267269322&type=3&theater
www.youtube.com/watch?v=T4uom6JdpIQ
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