superprestige # 6

Diegem Belgium Nys wins!

1. Sven Nys
2. Bart Wellens
3. Kevin Pauwels
4. Erwin Vervecken

6. Richard Groenendaal
9. Gerben De Knegt
10. Sven Vanthourenhout!
11. Johanthan Page
20. Jeremy Powers
30. Barry Wicks
35. Erik Tonkin
40. Molly Cameron

with all this cross going on i'm finding the excitement for riding hard to put aside. the weather is terrible and we only have 1 out of 6 days that is nice. finding confidence during this time of year is difficult. i know i need to rest and i'm justifying this time as needed until i start thinking about building fitness again. i rode 2 hrs yesterday. it was just amazing. 50 degrees. gotta love that in the midwest. today is back to the norm. rainy and cold. i wonder what the conditions will be like for the worlds. i think the national championships will be equally important for the big pros. Gerben De Knegt will be looking to hold onto his dutch national jersey and i'm sure nys will want to keep the belguin national kit. italy - franzoi, french - mourey and lefebvre, CZE - dlask and stybar are likely possibly simunek in there, swiss - moos?. and of course the others that i did not mention. in a way i wish the U.S. series lasted just a bit longer like the european series. even the state series should go into december. the weather is fine and i think we have enough people wanting to race to justify.

Nys and Wellens do battle. it looks like wellens has found his late season legs. he has some nice wins lately and could be preparing for a run at the worlds. from the reports it sounds like Nys is suffering an illness and was uncertain on todays start. vannoppen is also reportatly sick with bronchitis. vervecken just recovered from being sick. the bug is going around.

its seems no matter the time of year there is some kind of cycling working to motivate me. i'm still excited about cross, not just because there is a nice chunck left in the racing season or the fact that i'm going to europe to watch the world championships and spend a few days seeing a part of the world i love so much but the way the calander works. in the late part of the summer and early fall i still am grooving in the road season. with tour de leenanau late it keeps my road interest, however with cross just on the other side of it, its hard to not think about hurling yourself over barriers and puking to stay with the leaders for the upcoming season. i do love cross but i think i have a strong love for road too. the season being longer with more time spent in the saddle day dreaming and tuning up form and fitness, road is certainly something i crave. then there is the mountain bike. over the past 5 years it has definitely taken a back seat. i still like to ride it, maybe do the occasional race but i just have more fun racing road and getting ready for cross. during this time of the year i'm slowly starting to think about road again. spring time is my favorite time of year. new life and warmth. i just don't like the cold perma gloom of michigan and the midwest. i really need the warm air and the beauty of the days that come with it. spring is the taste of what i wish i had during our long winters waiting. spring training camps, logging miles and sipping coffee with the group rides. the first races are fun seeing all who have been hibernating all winter. we're all back again. i need to be living in a warmer climate.