post worlds fall out

Local boy done good!

Stybie did what we all knew he could and destroyed the field with a controlled and skillful race, staying upright more than anyone else, and putting the hammer down when it would count most. For me, he is now the complete cross rider - blazingly fast in crit style races, strong in the grinding mud,, fleet of foot and technically fearless in the ice. Combine that with a relaxed but focussed mental attitude and you have a winner for years to come.

It was good to see Klaas Vantornout go close - after Nys, Albert and Stybar are discounted he is consistently the 'best of the rest'. Not the most flattering of appellations perhaps but indicative of a huge talent nonetheless.

I was hoping for Kevin Pauwels to be in the mix but it wasn't to be. Instead, Heule, Bina and Zlamalik took the fight to the massed Belgians with Mourey coming from a long way back toward the end.

To Richard (who commented with his predictions) - your thoughts may have been Orval fuelled but give yourself a pat on the back! They were pretty prescient, all things considered. Stybar did come good and I was very happy to share his victory with a thousand other Czechs (remotely of course), Bina was up there for much of the race getting his deserved 4th and the Czechs and Poles particluarly, were awesome in the other races.

So, is Belgium no longer the force it was once in world cross? Or will it be business as usual at Zonhoven, Voselaar and Oostmalle, the traditional season finale? Well the Worlds is always a bit special, a bit different. I suspect that a few individuals will continue to break up the Belgian dominance at the top, but overall it will be Flemish speakers to the fore once more. And we await the full development of Tom Meusen's talent too......

What happened to Albert? Not much to glean from the press, but an abandonment after 6laps implies either injury or illness, or perhaps something more sinister - a bad attitude. There were many riders there, with no hope of the podium who rode their hearts out, in the colours of their particlular country, just because it was the Worlds. Sure the course was difficult in the extreme, perhaps favouring a so called 'specialist' like Nys or Stybar. But, there was a job to be done for all. It seems unlikely from past exposure in the media, that Stybar possesses such mental fragility, or temperamental vicissitudes. The jury for Albert (for me at least) is out on that one..........

My nice man in the Lowlands, Ed Raket, posted this on the new Diablo ice tires through alt.binaries - check out the willfull skidding and braking whilst turning! Nys looks like a kid with a new toy. Glad he, and anyone else couldn't use them though - the race would have become a crit like Treviso.....

denouement

Ooops, a couple of weeks turned into several. Writers block, losing my mojo? Or just not being in the mood....... Apologies, anyway.

The cross season for me has been a productive and engrossing one - more of which later. For now, it is only appropriate to indulge in that yearly pursuit of 'predict the Wereldkampion'.

As a (relatively) well informed watcher of the Euro scene via a constant stream of self generated DVDs, I've enjoyed this season more than previous ones. Racing has been on the whole tighter, less predicatable and not dominated by the patron Nys, more shared between some evenly matched protaganists. Nys at the top of his game is unbeatable. But his conditie hasn't been top all the time. Either deliberate, or age induced, others have been allowed in on a regular basis, so much so that he relinquished his World Cup crown to Stybar on Sunday at Hoogerheide and has not had the same crushing tally of victories as previously.

Albert was always going to thrust his prodigious talent to the fore after the Worlds triumph last January, and for a time, in the early season, I was in danger of losing interest as he looked likely to be running away with the season as a whole, courtesy of numerous definitive victories. However, the others, notably Nys and Stybar wised up or shaped up and he has not been able to ride away with impunity so often. Sure, his attacks are usually devastating, but not always conclusive of late. I have been amazed by his lack of mental strength at times - more than once a bit of bad luck or minor mechanical has had him losing the plot, most famously launching a bike at his pit crew in the middle of a tantrum. Compare that with Nys who has had some crucial crashes or mechanicals and made the best of the situation with great determination and fortitude.


Superb photos including this one can be found at www.cyclephotos.co.uk

Stybar for me, has been the most exciting rider. Sure he has not dominated in the way Albert has at times, nor Nys with his treademark late surge, but he has raced in a savvy and consistent way, picking up good placings and going for the wins when his confidence and condition came together. I love his style, all effort and commitment from gun to tape. The Belgians like him too, particularly now he speaks pretty good Flemish.......

Bart Wellens has been largely absent and hugely missed by me - some recent promising results still won't be enough to salvage a ruined season. Next year, Bart!


And to the Worlds? Here's my prediction:

Nys wins, only just, ahead of Stybar and de Knecht – dramatic last lap, Nys with one of his awesome do or die efforts gets in just ahead of a charging Stybar who has been aggressive all race.

De Knecht has been consistent all season and it pays off with a podium place. Well deserved.

Albert? Gets a bad start (again), chases up to leading group, bobbles or has minor mechanical, throws a tantrum and finishes off the podium.

There you have it.

And so to domestic matters........

A select dose of racing this season yielded some gratifying results in a couple of races and the following information, to be filed away for future seasons:

Green Michelin Mud on FMB casings rock - better grip, better handling in atrocious conditions than even a Rhino (which I still love). When, oh when, will someone bring back the Michelin tread of old. Simply the best mud tread ever.

Play with your pressure and learn to go as low as you dare. Though I dont know the true accuracy of my track pump, it was reading 20psi for the ice and 23/24psi for grassy and muddy conditions. I weigh 12 1/2 stone, but if I can go this low then you little 9 1/2 stoners definitely can. Try it. It's the future.

Cross is about skillsets - running, cornering, hurdles/obstacles and knowing when to do what and in what order. If you get my drift. Practice, practice, practice.

Run - short runs, hill runs, steady runs. Do what you fancy most, but above all do it. It works, and well.

Deep section carbon wheels are for pros or museums - braking, handling, reliability are all compromised over even an average alloy rim, let alone a good pair of alloys, particularly on the kind of rough and muddy courses we get in the NW. Maybe it is the fact that I have cheap carbon rims (not the high end wheels the pros have), but my Bontrager X Lites consistently felt better in deep mud despite what they say about carbons cutting through it. I love the bling of carbons as much as the next crossista, but my mud tires are going to be mounted on alloys next year with a sole pair of carbons for fast and dry courses. When we get them, which is like, never. Oh, and for ice which we may get more of now.......

Form your own team - I/we did it and it has been a blast from start to finish. On second thoughts, join us! We haven't graced the podium, nor won any team prizes but we've raced each other hard and done our best. We are road legal, licenced up and looking for a cross and cobble experience near you. Of course it helps if you have a talented designer type on board to design everything from team strip to stickers to beer mats to underwear. Well, not yet underwear but it is only a matter of time...



Happy Worlds watching but remember, the Classics are but a month round the corner.

break time

I anticipate a short break in transmission over the next couple of weeks. The Mad Season approaches.

Many thanks to those of you regularly popping in to this little corner of cross geekdom. Don't go away - it's good to have you on board. The cross season is hotting up domestically and internationally so go out and do your own veldridjt and check back in once in a while (or in the New Year) to see if I can think of anything constructive to write about my own cross experiences. And those of the wider cross world too. After that, we can all get excited about the Classics starting.....

Cheers!

a rant

I'm told by those around me that I am a pretty tolerant sort of fellow, and certainly in my line of work, running projects for homeless teenagers, there is a need for a relaxed attitude. However, I'm getting sick and tired of hearing wingeing and moaning about there being too much thick mud and the need for running during a cross race.

What is it with these people?!

Let me point out some facts:

I live and therefore mostly race cross in a region of England that has the highest rainfall of any in the country.

Cross is a winter sport. It is held as an alternative to road racing and time trialling, and now mountainbiking.

Cross has always been about natural obstacles - solid or otherwise.

Cross is held in parkland, woodland and on other soil (or sand) based mediums.

Saturday's NW League race, the Wheelbase Cross in Haslingden was unsurprising really. With a late November date after a month of torrential rain, including severe flooding events just to the north in Cumbria, in a Victorian municipal park comprising 75% grass and 25% woodland, it doesn't take a degree in hydrology, ecology, bio-diversity or any other science, to work out there is going to be a fair amount of mud generated by 140 or so riders round the course.

At this point I need to declare a certain interest in the proceedings, as on the day I was helping out friend and Peaks devotee, Dave Haygarth who was organising the race with the Wheelbase shop and team. I have seen just how much work and effort goes into organising these races. The one thing an organiser cannot do is organise the weather! Dave was pre-riding the course for weeks beforehand with me and several others, and made some last minute changes in an attempt to minimise problems when the course became completely waterlogged the Wednesday before. There was no way on earth that it was ever going to be anything but super muddy, unless people fancied a slippy crit race around the park using the tarmac paths only.

Pic: Jo Hanglebads

I would also like to offer some contructive criticism to those complaining about the level of mud clogging their bikes - pick them up! Seriously, the number of people I saw riding through really thick patches, pushing through really thick patches and generally doing their best to make the problem worse was amazing. Look after your bike during the race and it will look after you. Or do, as some of my team mates did and take a tool/scraper to unclog your cassette and frame as you go round. I enjoyed the conditions and made the best of them to finish 4th Vet (amongst National standard opposition) and 12th overall in a field that started with 120 riders. Things are coming together nicely for a foray into National Trophy racing at Bradford.

Anyway, I am getting away from my rant - whilst European racing tends to be faster and more flowing, they are not immune from weather induced bogfests as the following illustrate (thanks to Dave Haygarth for the 1st clip):





Either way, cross is and should remain a sport of varying challenges - terrain and weather induced. Running is part of cross - embrace it. You don't have to go out and run marathons on the road, just include some short, sharp runs in your training to help out for when there is no other option but to take to your feet. Your summer cycling will thank you too, due to the cross-training effect running brings. If you don't like running at any point, then stick to summer cross and the early season races. Or take up time trialling.... Just quit moaning please.

Rant over. Till the next muddy cross.

where are things up to in the heartland?

WARNING: Contains race spoilers for those that haven't caught up on the DVD action yet!

Post wise, things have been pretty quiet on the Euro cross front. However, my race watching has continued apace with the downloads from Newsbin coming thick and fast.

In terms of English riders in the women's field, things are looking good over in that little house in Tielt-Winge, Belgium, residence to the Wyman's (as well as Gabby Day and Ian Field). They all seem to be pushing each other hard in training and Helen has come up with some cracking results in the really tough races like Koppenberg (2nd) and Namur (3rd). Only a matter of time now before a really big win in a WC or SP race, Helen...........there have been some wins already in other races including this weekend in Germany following a training break in Portugal. Chapeau!

In the Elite men field, the early season left me somewhat deflated as it seemed that Prince Albert was holding court and no-one dared challenge his title. However King Nys has returned to battle for the crown and there is a new pretender to the throne (enough Royal metaphors there I think!).

Certainly it looked like Niels Albert was going to run away with the season after back to back wins, emphatic in their nature. With Bart Wellens going man down with illness as well, the list of possible riders who could challenge Albert seemed thin on the ground - Nys was out of form, Stybar not quite there and Klaas Vantornout and Kevin Pauwels going well, but not well enough.


Albert's trademark tactic of a blistering attack very early on and a subsequent solo ride to victory has been countered by the others, and he has had some problems too at the start in other races. Either way, he looks more vulnerable now and especially on the technical courses requiring either descending or ascending skills or both. He was simply outclassed at Jaarmarkt and Gavere by Nys who remains the best of the peloton at retaining forward motion when the ground gets tricky. Though Albert did win Gavere, Nys looked much the better rider before his puncture.


Stybar took his time to get up to the speed of Albert and at times, Nys too, but after several recent 3 man showdowns in the final stages of the race, it was only a matter of time before he found the line first and this weekend he did so in emphatic style wining the double header of GVA and Superprestige races. Albert was once again found wanting in technical sections over the weekend, and a certain desparation has come into his riding - he is no longer able to break away at will and ride away. It would seem that he is running out of tools in his toolkit at the moment?

Stybar has developed a much more mature style - hanging back much of the time, sometimes giving the impression he is struggling and at times letting Albert (and others) burn too many matches with attacks that are brought back. He is less impetuous, less emotional and at the moment looking the better rider for me. I think he has been observing Nys, who although strong on blistering attacks is no one trick pony, and Stybar I feel has been learning from the old pro. I was pleased, nay excited, to see his wins this weekend as they signal a confirmation for me that this could be turning into the most exciting season for years - Albert, Nys and Stybar are confirmed winners but Bart returns very soon and Kevin Pauwels I feel, could be due for a win when conditions turn rough and the going super technical. Pauwels is super quiet and reserved but super dogged in a racing situation. He picked up a big win last season, and I look forward to more from him.


We are heading into the 'classic race' period with Koksijde, Overijse and Essen and the Christmas race fest to come including the trilogy of Diegem, Loenhout and Baal. Missing in action though to my great disappointment is the monster sand and mud fest that is Hofstade, scene of some epic racing and epic weather. We could be in for a treat if all three raise their game for this campaign and set us up for a superb Worlds in the fozen wastes of Tabor.

gettin' cross

I love this image from Duncan Here Come the Belgians- it's been inspiring me over the past month to do exactly that. To get out and cross, sometimes alone but mostly in company. And it has paid off. Pushing myself in the company of better riders (thanks Dave H), running through technique with others - it's all helped hone those cross skills still further.

I had the good fortune to be coached many years ago by Ian Small, a legend on the NW cross scene. Ian has been involved with cross for longer than he probably cares to remember, and still competes every weekend in the Veteran Over 70 catagory. When I got into cross, Ian was in the minute (ie 4 members) club I joined, Zodiac. He was also coaching the National Cyclocross Development Squad and kindly ran evening cross sessions in Manchester. Those group sessions were hard - warm up, stretching, runs, technique and mini races. All floodlit and often in the worst of weathers. Those sessions provided the bedrock for good technique - technique which still is hard wired today. I am not the strongest in the mud, not the best downhill, not the canniest racer, but I am as quick as most riders out there at getting on and off, and over barriers or obstacles - those basic cross skills.

One of my recent group sessions included a welcome visit to my neck of the woods by Otley Rich. Though he lives in Yorkshire we can forgive him this indiscretion. Rich is a classy rider - light, very strong and with a smooth style and extensive experience to match. He has a distinct sartorial style too. On every occasion that I can remember last year on the road when we have ridden together, he has rode away from me on the hills, pedalling serenely in a bigger gear. It gets frustrating sometimes but is nonetheless great to watch.


This season in cross races, the roles have been reversed - Rich has been close on my heels but not quite there at the finish to beat me as would be expected on previous form. Training together round my local cross circuit it became apparent to me where I was countering his greater strength and fitness - off the bike, over or around an obstacle, and then back on the bike again. With Belgian Mark, we worked together on barrier technique and on mounting, especially on uphill sections. Like many riders, Rich had a tendency to jump too high, landing slightly heavy on the saddle and losing momentum in the process. Barriers were approached a little too slow and the foot section started a little too early, rather than taking a single stride before and then over the barrier. I enjoyed thinking too about those skills - they were passed onto me and I have taken them for granted over the years. Explaining the little details and the subtle tips to others confirms my own familiarity with the technique. Doing stuff at race pace on a simulated lap or course is also essential. It is one thing to string together a beautiful coast into the barriers, set up for a single stride and mount in a flowing motion when fresh, but when your heart is up in the red zone, your vision blurred and your arms exhausted from previous laps, that smoothness becomes a real struggle. The engrams or patterns of movement that you have hard wired previously become all the more important.

I urge you then, to find a local group, get a few friends together and do some skills work. Design your own course in a local park or wood. You dont need a lot of space, just some imagination and a mindset where you aren't bothered being observed jogging alongside a bike, randomly hopping onto it and picking it up for imaginary barriers that only you can see........

As for Rich, I suspect he will be beating me soon armed with his new toolkit of techniques. But only if he blags his way nearer the front row of the starting grid like I do to ensure a quick get away...........

Team Here Come the Belgians infomercial......

Shameless plug for the Belgians here - I couldn't resist getting busy on xtranormal, a make your own movie site which conveniently has a range of accents to choose from for your characters.

Enjoy. If you can understand those Flemish accents..........