The results from the latest World Cup XCO race at Houffalize Belgium threw the cat amongst the pigeons in the ongoing wheel size debate. With the majority of the pro-racing field moving to 29ers a year ago already, and winning on them, it seemed like this was a done deal. Clearly they saw the advantage of the bigger wheels.
But then at the first XCO in Pietermaritzburg last month Nino Schurter won the race on a 650b wheel size, that's the in between size between 26" and 29". After riding both sizes he felt that this was the best suited wheel size for him. At Houffalize on Sunday Julien Absalon 5 time World Cup winner won the race on his 26" bike and Nino was second on 650b. Absalon has never changed to 29" as he feels comfortable on his 26" wheels. This particular course had some very steep climbs which may well have favoured the smaller wheel size. Either way it shows that at the very top end of the sport where every piece of technology counts to win by a second or split second the rider on the day is still the most important component, so clearly "Its not all about the wheel size".
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