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.

moving up

Middelkerke Belgium

Wellens wins!

1. Bart Wellens
2. Johanthan Page
3. Enrico Franzoi

12. Ryan Trebon
14. Sven Vanthourenhout!
24. Erik Tonkin

holy shit! Page rockin! i guess that shoulder injury and the rest was a good thing. treefarm up there too....just outside of the top ten. looks like guys are finding their legs. totally kick ass.

Azencross Loenhout

GVA trofee # 5 Loenhout Belgium

Niels Albert Wins!

tuesdays world cup - 16,000 spectators. in the middle of the week. lovin cross in belgium.

today's GVA -

1. Niels Albert

2. Sven Nys
3. Erwin Vervecken
4. Petr Dlask
5. Zdenek Stybar
6. Richard Groenendaal
7. Bart Wellens
8. Sven Vanthourenhout!
9. Gerben De Knegt
10. Davy Commeyne

20. Ryan Trebon
28. Jeremy Powers
34. Barry Wicks
43. Erik Tonkin
45. Troy Wells

DNF Jonathan Page

sylvester cyclo-cross

Torhout-Wijnendale Belgium

Vanthourenhout Wins!

1. Sven Vanthourenhout!
2. Gerben De Knegt
3. Davy Commeyne

UCI World Cup # 9

Vervecken Wins!

Hofstade Belgium World Cup # 9

what a great win for the world champ. i guess expereince has its advantages. see race report.

1. Erwin Vervecken
2. Petr Dlask
3. Thijs Al
4. Bart Aernouts
5. Sven Nys
6. Klaas Vantournout
7. Bart Wellens
8. Gerben De Knegt
9. Richard Groenendaal
10. Sven Vanthrouenhout!

18. Johanthan Page
25. Ryan Trebon
43. Troy Wells
44. Erik Tonkin

DNF Barry Wicks
DNF Jermey Powers

a kick ass day on the world cup. Fidea too strong for Rabo.

U.S. female Christine Vardaros 25th! awesome race!

still crossing

Wachtebeke Belgium Nys Wins

Vanthourenhout and Groenendaal equal each other on the steps. could be one of their last races together.

1 lap later Nys leads them both. the rabo trio sweeps the podium. no fidea today.

christmas podium for rabo.

would you look at that, nys wins again. vanthourenthout 2nd!

1. Sven Nys
2. Sven Vanthrouenhout!
3. Richard Groenendaal

9. Johnathan Page
25. Molley Cameron
27. Barry Wicks
29. Bjorn Selander
30. Morgan Schmitt
33. Jamey Driscoll
34. Daniel Neyens


nice grouping with the americans!

US nationals day 3 final wrap up

Overijse Belgium on Sunday a familiar sight

1. Sven Nys
2. Sven Vanthourenhout!
3. Niels Albert
4. Erwin Vervecken


i'm super happy for vanthrouenhout. i believe he only has a couple more races as a rabo rider. then on to the new team, sun web/pro job. good luck sven.

speaking of belgiun's nationally recognized christine vadaros flew in from belgium to compete at nationals hoping to place well and earn a spot on the US worlds team. she has been racing in europe and kicking some ass. great race christine.

on sunday i was thinking that i wouldn't be as excited for the giant strawberry mens elite race but when they starting staging again i knew right away that it would be just as good. ben jacques-maynes road awesome both days. on day 2 i saw him in the chase group with mccormack and baker. i was watching from a really good spot near the pits. when the trio came through they were looking good but when they made the sharp turn onto the gravel straight jacques-maynes washed out his front wheel and took a nice digger. the pair rode away. its not like they were going to wait. ben was in no mans land for the rest of the race. he shook it off and stayed in the race to finish 4th. pretty impressive.

tim johnson at the start. he was looking fresh and ready to battle after a flat the day before. i beleive if any of the elite men could have stayed with trebon it would have been johnson. tables turned as trebon flatted on day 2 and johnson rode away to vitory. he deserved it. great guy.

young stud troy wells had a great day too. hes not having any trouble following in the success of his older brother todd. hes a former collegete national champ. this year he placed 3rd. its cool to watch the best of the younger classes because guys like troy and jessee anthony will be the podium finishers in the future. watch out jamey driscoll!

this was the podium on sunday for the california giant strawberry cup mens elite race. johnson, mccormack, baker, jacques-maynes, and trebon. oh did i mention that tilford raced again sunday. damn the guy races all 3 days. wins the masters the first day, 11th in the mens elite the 2nd day and 9th on sunday. damn tilly! awesome.

after thinking about it and then watching all those races i totally should have raced again. i'm not sure what my reasoning was for that. all the other races i've done with back to back i've felt super strong the second day. next year forsure i'll be making a full weekend of it down in kansas city. looks like i was caught in the glut pretty good there.

always something to make you laugh at a big cross race.

so cross is officially done for us amercians. well for most of us. i heard trebon and vardaros as well as a few others flew back to europe today to rest and prepar for the next month of racing. some big races coming up. this weekend is the world cup in Hofstade Belgium. on deck is Middelkerke and of course to finish off the month the famous Superprestige in Diegem.

US nationals day 2

Nys wins in Essen Belgium

bart wellens 2nd.


back in the states is was the most beautiful day with no clouds for the big race.


the U 23 race was so exciting i didn't think it could get much more intense than this. last year i watched jesse anthony race his heart out and this year he did it again. below he leads fellow racer jamie driscoll up the run up. behind was a very dangerous trio containing Bejorn Selander. he managed 3rd behind the charging morgan schmidt at the line. that U 23 race was the most exciting bit of drama i had seen in a long time. the intesnisty of anthony coming accross the line was chilling.


but after that i was in for the biggest treat of the weekend. standing next to the best cyclo-crossers in the country. this was the front line. holy shit was it tense in the seconds leading to the start. if you click this photo standing next to schouten, wells, johnson, powers, white, wicks, trebon and mccormack. holy shit! page was second row with some other big favorites, horner token etc. i grabbed as many photos as i could before they launched. i mean launch!

just minutes before the staging the representing blue wave studs old scar face himself and weinert were among the best in the country waiting to stage. i didn't catch their final results. great racing though.

ron kept telling me he wanted a really cool cow bell for these big races. i think this was the coolest cow bell i found on the day. this was one of the many weird ass images i had all day. i think you need a license to carry a bell of this caliber. hilarious.

so i'm waiting for the U23 race to be over and standing right behind me is US legend steve "tilly" tilford waiting to hit the course for the 2nd time in 2 days. he rode like a stud today and was in a great group. wow this guys just kills people at the ripe young age of 47 years young.

elite women tomorrow and collegete men. should be awesome.

US nationals day 1

Roger Williams Park Providence RI US Cyclo-cross National Championships

and the racing begins. this is one of the coolest parks for a a cyclo-cross race.

the course was identical to last year expcept for the conditions. the same run up, the same barrier section the same everything. being a spectator last year and not a racer, i was wondering what it might have been like to race. today i had my chance in what can be argued as perfect conditions for cross. i mean totally frick'n awesome. masters 40-44 dale knapp and a trio wrecking the field.

the coolest thing about going to a national event of any kind is you know that its a place where whatever it is people from all over the country and even the world converge to do what they do best. last year i bumped into an old friend of mine i worked with when i lived in wiscosin. today we saw each other again and it was just great. he raced just before me and then it was my turn. great to see you money! always a pleasure. tomorrow we will have the end of season beers while we watch the greatest cycling discipline in the world.

so we got in to Rode Island around 9ish last night. i was surprised how nice the drive was. some small traffic sections but for the most part easy. i woud reccommend visiting here to anyone. i slept really well in the king bed i was lucky to have so i was very rested. we had breakfast at the really nice restaurant in the hotel then headed over to the course. i was excited for the pre ride when i saw the masters racing when re arrived. i knew the course was going to be really great. at 12:30 the course was open for pre ride. while steve tilford accepted his masters award again for like the 12th time i was out picking lines and seeing what this was all about. oh my god. the course was tacky and fast. i told several people it was like riding on a peice of sticky tape. a few small greasy sections but really nice. there were 4 sections where i had to get off the bike. barriers, run up with wooden steps, cement steps and another steep dirt run up with a few wooden steps. totally frick'n awesome! i did 3 warm up laps. i changed back into civies and waited for the 2 masters races to conclude. during which 2 blue wavers made their presence known. it looked as though mr jeff weinert got a great start and i think was riding in 7th for a bit. he ended 11th. very great race jeff. meanwhile old scarface himself was sitting totally pretty when we saw him pull off quickly with a chain issue. it looked like he got it fixed but becuase this is nationals guys were flying by like fighter jets and he lost some valuable spots. either way he finished a great race in 35th out of 135 guys!!!! so because i registered like 2 days after it opened i was placed in the luxery of the back row at the start. i scanned the group and noticed just up towards my right was molly cameron. ok this is good because i know molly can throw down and he was just using this race as a warm up for tomorrow. since we had to plow through such a huge field i tried to fix myself with him during the start up the pavement as long as i could through the first lap. i knew i had a lot of work to do and a lot of people to pick off if i wanted any kind of a placing. so off we go and right away i'm locked on to molly. i though i was near the middle but i was farther back than i thought. i was comfortable and riding the race just doing my thing experiencing all these people and all these racers really enjoying myself. i was passing people but at the rate i was knocking them down it would take at least 90 min to get to the front. i just rode hard and tried to be a good bike handler. i never went down. as the race wore on i started to really pick some fast lines. some really hard sections i found i had the advantage with a lot of others and made up time and ended up dropping people who were with me. the run ups got really hard towards the end and my tank was running low. i think i may have lost a bit since our last race. not a big deal though. i was loving it. so many people cheering and yelling at all sections of the course. so with 3 laps left i'm with one other guy and we just rode in together. when we got done i had no idea where i was in the field or where i was in the country. i was worked. i pedaled back to the car and recovered. i felt pretty good after i got some food and water. the 30-35 class was the last of the day. just tonight looking at the official post on cyclingnews i got the goods on the rest of the days races and of course my race. we had 70 racers and i finished 41st. i wish i could have been a little farther up at the start. at the big races its super important. i guess the small town michigan racers with 12 guys is a bit easier. 55+ degrees! it was the best cyclo-cross course i've ever riden. flying ryan leech won and molly got 4th. i'm glad i didn't get lapped. so we've got 2 more days to watch some great racing. its cool to see the rihnos and cane creekers out from the home town. the big boys will be dancing tomorrow. can't wait. i saw tristan breifly in the elevator. i'm hoping to see how hes feeling tomorrow before the race. i'm ready to pass out.

east bound

east bound to providence RI

probably the coolest experience i attended last year. scar face himself after doing the deed for his men. this year will be even better since i'm racing. can't wait.

francis mourey ripping it up this year against the best in the world. he even got a win earlier in the year. he is quoted saying he wants to win the worlds. thats a tall order with the talent on hand during that event. big goals and big dreams. we'll see on jan 28th.

this kinda looks like providence last year! some good racing this weekend all over the world. Essen Belgium on saturday. Overijse Belgium on Sunday. then later in the month we have 2 huge races. world cup in Hofstade Belgium on the 26th then cap off the month with a superprestige race in Diegem Belgium on the 31st. totally kick ass.

i think nys has his sites on winning as many races as he can before the worlds.

predictions for nationals? talking with mr cross crazy himself this afternoon i came up with....

1. treefarm (its his year)

2. johnson (he won the USGP)

3. wells, wicks, page, schouten, mccormack, white (could be any of these guys!!!)

superprestige # 5

Superprestige # 5 Bollekescross, Hamme Zogge, Belgium

Nys wins!

Nys roars back after his 2nd place finish in Italy. Wellens in 2nd today. what a frick'n battle. Vervecken 3rd. from the report it sounded like both Nys and Wellens got sick in italy. it obviously didn't make a bit of difference. they are both still on the podium.

1. Sven Nys
2. Bart Wellens
3. Erwin Vervecken
5. Sven Vanthrouenhout!
6. Gerben De Knegt
10. Ryan Trebon!

Vervecken rocks. up there again. world champ looks good.

today was a beautiful day. i just had to ride. yesterday i felt ill and didn't do a damn thing except run around getting things done. i didn't sleep good and when i woke up i knew i needed to ride. i totally nixed the ohio race. scare face and the black ace went down. after looking at how far it was i decided that since i would be traveling out east this coming week it would be best to stay home and get some local riding in as well as some much needed work. i think i spent at least 3 hrs in the saddle today. i just rode easy and did some nice easy spinning with the sun on my back. who knows how long before i'll see that again. on my way home i stopped at the local park and burned a few laps on my cross course. it was awesome. snowy and muddy. i had to make sure i still knew how to ride cross for this coming weekend. yep i do. i can't believe that confrimed rider list for nationals. totally stacked. its fun to look at all the names that will be attending. trebon will be flying back from his recent european adventures. i think this is his year. its going to be just awesome watching these guys throw down.

Nys a bit happier today after his 2nd place on friday. now that is some belgiun beer!

Milan Italy

Wellens Wins in Milan!

Wellens wins in the elements. that is an awesome win for the former world champ.

1. Bart Wellens
2. Sven Nys
3. Sven Vanthourenhout!
4. Francis Mourey

7. Gerben De Knegt
13. Erwin Vervecken

Hooglede-Gits

UCI World Cup Milan Italy Friday

as much as i favor Sven Vanthourenhout, Erwin Vervecken is a quiet favorite for me. he is always at the front. always. he is known as the best runner and loves the fast courses. seeing him win the worlds last year was just awesome. Wellens was there for the final fight but Vervecken proved the best on the day even at 34 years young. he can put it down!

its cool to see the 2 super power teams, Fidea and Rabo battle every race. some races Fidea sweeps the podium some days its rabo. the team is stacked. Vervecken, Wellens, Dlask, Stybar are just a few of the horses. Rabo fires back with Nys, Vanthourenhout, Groenendaal, De Knegt. its just awesome.

either way Vervecken is out there to make'em hurt.

Nys - a tricky rider always ready to throw down and out smart everyone. maybe he'll chalk up another world cup friday? the master of the elements.

but Vervecken, ready to battle with the best. a long successful career. its going to be a great world championship this year in Hooglede-Gits Belgium. Vervecken will be looking to defend and the rest will be fighting for the podium. 2 years ago it was a snowy festival. last year it was fast and sunny. mud this year? what will nationals bring? Ryan Trebon is coming back to the states. i'm very happy that he is attending. this is his year. i'll be traveling east bound 1 week from today. very exciting.

last round

last lap for michigan crossers

one more shot to tune up the legs before the big race out east. this weekend in the dayton area is the ohio cross states.

a room full of tool boxes. i can't even think of anything else to say about that shot.

it was just damn cold sunday. i had like 4 layers on under my skin suit.

this must have been early on in the race, i still have my glasses on. i got so fogged up by the middle of the race i just had to get rid of them.

old scare face himself had stellar late season form. damn that bloomer race was fun. too bad i didn't finish. temps were mild and perfect for cross racing. i got all jacked up again today about cross and it wasn't even a nice day. i start talking to people and reliving old races, photos were getting posted and damn, i just want to race my freak'n bike. i'm glad i've got 2 more. i just feel like racing still. maybe i've trained my body to like late season peaking rather than 95 degree heat in late july. not that i dislike the heat of summer, i think its more that during the very middle of summer i tend to take that needed break that sets in after the hard spring. the upswing is nice in late august because i can get excited about cross again. everyone comes out flying in the spring. its funny. freak'n march 1 and people are dropping riders on training rides. gotta love it. too much excitment for the season. we just need to ease up a bit and save some juice for may and june. i'm beginning to wonder how long my excitment for cross is going to last. i mean after nationals the only thing left to follow will be the worlds. i'm sure i'll take a good long rest and hibernate for a portion of the winter and find motivation to spin on the road bike by late feb. but until then, bring on the cross. i want more.

state champs

Nys wins Igorre Spain

the worlds best traveled to Spain for UCI World Cup # 7. from the report it looked to be a great race today. Wellens had a good day and finshed 2nd with Klaas Vantornout rounding out the top 3. Gerben De Knegt was 7th. a great finish for the dutchman. Vanthourenhout was just inside the top 10 for 9th. on the first lap a large crash held back some other big favorites including world champion Vervecken who finished 11th.

this january is going to be interesting at the worlds. a lot can happen in a big race like that and there are so many great racers that could take advantage of a mistake. example, last year Nys crashes on the last lap and Vervecken wins. not to take anything away from the big V but with Nys known for his amazing consistancy he was the favorite on the day. nice hat sven.

i don't think temps in Spain were anything like lower Michigan today. we awoke to chilly air around the 20 degree mark. i knew i had to pack right today. i had to stop by and pick up Ken and then of course we had to get coffee for the drive. the temp was climbing but not very fast and was hovering around the lower 20's the entire drive. the scone and coffee was good as we drove through snow squalls.

we sipped coffees and warmed our bodies before we ventured out in the fridged tempetures. ken's race was at 12:30 and i went off at 1:30. we pulled in around 10:50ish to a full parking lot. wow was there going to be a good turnout today? even with super cold temps it looked as though people were out spectating on the cold sunday.

i think ken's race was good. and i think the killer B's were good. i'm sure the women were good. i didn't watch any of them. i was hiding in the confines of the warm auto. sooner or later i had to start getting dressed. it took me 25 min to get all my shit together, organized in the front seat and on. damn it was cold out there. i had the heat ripping and the seat warmers were kicking on 5. finally i got everything on and i ventured out to find a spot to warm up. wiz was in the same boat as me and was headed for the side of the buidling that had little wind. i had 4 layers on while i was spinning. the instant foot warmers were amazing. 10 min into the warm up i'm getting a little too warm. i didn't want to be on the line with wet base layers. i slowed it way down and just killed time and monitored the body temp so i didn't overload. so i needed to see what this course was about. the masters were finished. warm up lap time.

pretty cool. a few greasy sections but everything else was as good as it could be for the waterford raceway. one of my favorite things that i miss about cross when its over is hearing robert say (at every race) "30 sec and the fun begins, on the whistle guys." when that is said its time to enter race mode. i had another great start. i was right in there. the air was biting at my skin but in about another 2 min it would totally go un noticed. it was throttle on around the paved section into the first portion of grass. the usual groups had formed. today we had tucker, card, weinert, wiz, foshag, jer, saari, myself, todd frerichs and some west michigan rider. (forgot his name). i hope i didn't miss anyone. cane creekers began to pull away like normal. wiz was in there. i was with todd, saari and the west coast guy. for some reason i feel like there was someone else in there. oh well. anyways we are rocking along and i'm hurting from the cold going in my lungs. we josseled back and forth for a bit. cane creekers lengthening the gap. if i remember correctly this is what i can recelect happening. we catch tucker. yea thats right, its kind of coming back to me. saari accelerates. todd is riding awesome. very savvy rider. we shed the west coast guy and tucker. now we are alone. foshag and weinert become detached from the blue train. card drops the hammer. wiz chases. jer is trying to jump the gap. todd and i look up and see yellow purple with two blue jerseys. i forgot we passed tucker so i thought it was foshag and tucker with saari. we were making awesome time on them. todd informs me its not tucker up there its weinert and foshag! oh shit! just before the long pavement section at the start todd says he is going to pull really hard in hopes we can make the juncture. he burries it and i suck wheel like a whore. just before the grass at the top i come around and take my turn. obviously i'm feeling just a bit better through this section since i didn't go red just then. i tried to keep the pace decent but give todd a chance to recover. going down into the muddy section with the off camber i can see those guys. we gott'em! well not just yet. todd is hurting and can't stay on. i think he blew a fuel line on that straight away. damn! so i'm with foshag and weinert. yea i'm hurting, foshag was doing a little better but jeffs vitals were maxing out. i knew what was happening but i felt bad for jeff. he let us go and foshag and i continued on. we had a nice gap on the guys behind and as we rode further we knew we wern't getting 4th. rob made me feel really comfortable on his wheel so i wouldn't blow. i was just so happy to be there and to have ridden with jeff a bit. it really gave me confidence. i was feeling better and stayed right with rob. so racing is racing and it doesn't matter if your with a good friend or not, its coming down to the business end and i have to sprint with my friend. i know my chances are not good and ron was yelling at me to make a move before the end. this is for the podium spot that i've been just outside of the entire season. rob wasn't about to give me any slack either. its racing and i love this shit! he ripped it so fast out of the last corner i was left laughing at the gap. thanks for the great race rob. if it wasn't for todd pulling on the pavement i would have never been with rob. that was an awesome race. i finished 6th again. but for me being with foshag and jeff was my state championship. i'm very happy. card deserves the title the most. he rode the best year of cross i've ever seen. congrats to him. its a little sad that today was it. happy birthday robert linden and a huge thanks for the hard work you do each year. you don't get enough credit. we are very lucky to have these races. i wish i could do more.

i've added one last race into the schedule before nationals. ohio states. it will be perfect. Italy world cup race # 8 next weekend!

thoughts of warmth

UCI World Cup Igorre Spain tomorrow

go Vanthourenhout!

well it didn't snow. i woke up and was not surprised. for the last 2 days all they talked about was how bad the weather was supposed to be. today was beautiful! a bit cold but no snow, dry and sunny. i'll frick'n take it.

i don't think conditions will be bad for tomorrows race. which means we won't be seeing sites like this. at least i hope so. i just got back from a 2 hour ride. i did 6 laps at my local park. i rode the trainer for about 45 min yesterday. i feel pretty good. i tweaked my bike and made sure my new tire was glued and ready to go. i hate that drive to waterford but since i haven't raced here since 2003 i think it will be fun. i'm a little sad that tomorrow is the last cross race for michigan but knowing that nationals is closer than i think i've been able to stay motivated. i'm also thinking of racing the ohio state championships. that was not originally on my schedule but it seems like the perfect thing just before nats. anyone want to go? DC is in. wiz, o'day?

archive blogging

Colorado's Quandary Peak just outside of Breckenridge.

i didn't know it until i looked at the link, but Quandary is ranked Colorado's 14th best fourteeners in the state out of 50. this was my first fourteener and i just about puked each mile we climbed. serious altitude sickness and my hands were puffy like the michelin man. very difficult. but very fun. my best bros chris and tom.

i had to archive blog today, i'm having some blogger trouble.