still on

Parkcross Maldegem, Maldegem Belgium

Nys wins!

1. Sven Nys
2. Niels Albert (U23)
3. David Willemsens

6. Erwin Vervecken
7 Sven Vanthourenhout!

nys seeks revenge once again after worlds. i'll bet he continues to do so for the rest of the races too. he performed a similar task last year. i heard that nys is nervous around the worlds. vervecken was cool and collected riding smart and avoiding crashes. and he has proved it works for him by winning his 3rd world title and 2nd in a row.

although nys won today and will probably dominate for the remainder of the season i still cannot get the images of the worlds race out of my head. the image of vervecken winning on the last pavement stretch was pretty dramatic. seeing Page throw down for like 4 laps forcing vervecken and franzoi to chase. the drama of wellens and nys crashing. seeing gerben de knegt crash on lap 2. watching my favorite cyclo-crosser sven vanthourenhout just pedal his ass off through what could be considered the most technical challenges any small time american would see. seeing people i had just watched dominate north american cross, trebon, wicks, tonkin, schouten ride with the best in the world. seeing the women tear up a course that i would only have a thread of a chance to ride as good as them. and the U23. wow. just amazing. but the vision of the the big pros really hit me these past few days. i didn't think it would be that cool. i can now say that i've seen the MTB worlds, the road worlds and now the cyco-cross worlds. after seeing your favorite riders in person and in action like that you have a new appreciation for how they have dedcated their lives to the sport. and seeing the people i've only seen in photos that were in action right in front of me also gave me a couple new favorites. vanthourenhout is still my favorite pro crosser. i really liked vervecken prior to my trip but now he is ranked for sure as one of my favorite to watch and learn about. not just because he has won the worlds again but they way he rode and how he carries himself as a professional. very cool.

i don't even know who this is, but it was the U23 race. this was actually a pretty tame mud section compared to other sections of the course. when the leaders came through it was like they were riding pavement. unreal.

i was a total amature when i arrived the first day. everyone was wearing tall rubber boots. rookie! the mud was so deep all over the course my feet were trashed by the end. i need to get some boots.

and that eve after the big race, i stepped off the train in brugge to find my colorado bro's. we hooked up that night for the best damn beer in the world. it never tasted so good. TONY T you need to start drinking beer!