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For those in search of further reading, here’s the rundown on every race I wrote about over the holidays:

• Scheldecross, Dec 18
• Kalmthout – Juniors/U23, Women, Men, & Update on AmericansDec 20
• Zolder – Juniors/U23, Women, Men, Dec 26
• Diegem, Dec 27
• Loenhout, Dec 29
• Bredene, Dec 30
• Baal – Juniors/U23, Men, Jan 1
• Sint-Niklaas, Jan 2
• Tervuren, Jan 3

As for myself, results were mixed. I felt good about my race in Lichtervelde, but didn’t quite get the result I hoped for, while I felt bad about my race in Balegem and got one of my best results ever. Waregem was just a straight-up mess, but I went, so it’s at least worth mentioning.

Lichtervelde Cyclocross

I was excited to go to Lichtervelde. It followed a big (by Belgian standards) snowstorm a few days earlier and it was held in very cold conditions, so I felt like I would be in a position to do pretty well. I would have to dig deep into my last reserves of New England tenacity, but cold and snow, at least on this side of the Atlantic, seem to have become my forte. Plus, we were kicking off a season of ‘cross, and I was feeling inspired from that as well.

As soon as the race got going, I felt like I was in a position to make some good things happen. A couple of guys who I normally can’t touch were well behind me, and a few guys who I normally beat were completely disappeared. On the start line I had noticed that most guys were underdressed for the weather, with temperatures well below zero Celsius, while I was wearing extra layers and had dropped hand warmers in my gloves and toe warmers in my shoes. It definitely seemed to help.

Descending the one whoop-de-doo on the course.

I mostly rode conservatively, trying not to lose ground or make a mistake on the snow, then surging as hard as I could anywhere that there was traction. Other guys were kind of backing off on the easier parts, which meant that I could gain ground every lap just by pushing the pace in the right places. So I rode, trailing one group of three, I was passed by one guy on the second lap who looked like he was ready to ride away. But then he faltered, and, by the race, came back to me. I went around him on the last lap and he never had the opportunity to pass back. That was that.

We saw a couple of hot air balloons in Lichtervelde.

After the race we stuck around and watched a couple of American U23 riders (beloften, the call them over here) go at it in the Elite/U23 race later in the afternoon. Danny Summerhill, who didn’t really have a great trip to Europe overall, rode a good race in Lichtervelde and took the U23 win. There are a few photos on flickr.

Balegem

After a long (fun, but long) Christmas celebration and then another long day at the World Cup in Zolder the next day, I went into Balegem without a lot of expectations. I was tired, and just wanted to make sure I got an effort in my legs. But in the press room in Zolder, a couple of guys asked about my racing and I told them we were going to Balegem the next day. They said it was a hilly course, so I should watch out. Hills are another thing I’ve done well here, so I started to think maybe it could be a good race for me.

That changed when I saw the course: three short but steep and very muddy drops, two equally short and even steeper climbs, some twists and turns in the muddy fields, and then a descent down an icy, cobbled, gravel road that turned into singletrack before heading back to the pavement at the end of the lap. It was fun—kind of—but not the sort of hills where I excel.

So I rode the thing, taking it pretty easy on the downs and running the impossible-to-ride ups. The mud, still semi-frozen after the snow the week before, stuck to everything, and by the third lap was clogging my drivetrain badly. But I kept pedaling, stopping to clean things out a bit twice, then pedaling some more. I felt like it was going terribly, and figured I was headed for maybe my worst race of the season.

But Mindi kept yelling something about the number ten, and so I figured that meant something and kept going for as long as I could until things were so clogged that pedaling was impossible. Then I ran, finally reaching the end of the lap—at this point I didn’t even know which one it was—just as the leaders were coming up behind me. So, lapped and bummed about my bike, I walked off the course and went to clean up. Cleanup options were basically some barrels of mucky, freezing water and not much else, so I did the best I could on my bike, packed the car, and chatted with Pete Webber, US Masters 40+ National Champion, who had just won the race before mine. (Read all about Pete’s adventures in Belgium on Mud & Cowbells.)

Only when I went to turn in my number did I discover that, while I thought I was in a bad state, everybody else in the race was even worse. I had managed to pull a tenth place finish in the Masters 30+ field, my best ever result in Belgium. About half the field seemed to have abandoned after one look at back board the EMTs had resting at the bottom of the dangerous descents (which really weren’t as scary as they looked), and others had gone out with bike problems worse than mine. So, by virtue of persistence more than skill, I grabbed a top ten.

Waregem

I’ll spare you the details of the Waregem disaster, except to say that we only got to the race about 60 minutes before it started, I didn’t have a valid 2010 license (this was the first race of the year for me), and it snowed the night before. So the course was a mix of semi-frozen, hub-deep mud, ice, and snow, along with a few snow-covered roads for good measure. I had all of 10 minutes to warm up, and, within 2 minutes of the start of the race, my drivetrain seized up so I couldn’t pedal at all.

I tried to DNF, simply walking off the course at the beginning of the third lap, but somehow they were kind enough to place me—dead last, of course—so at least I can claim to have raced in some sense.

But there’s good news. This weekend I managed to finally get my new bike, a Leopard, which should carry me through the last two months of this season. With a new bike (and, finally, a pit bike) I should be in much better shape for the final few races, and especially for Masters Worlds in Mol in a few weeks. I’ve also got a new drivetrain for the old bike, so hopefully I’ve seen the last of the complete jam-ups for a while.

Next weekend, with the Belgian Championships I sit out from racing myself and just write—a welcome opportunity to get in some time on the new bike with little pressure. Then there’s one more Vlaamse Cyclocross Cup race for me, a few days in Davos, and Masters Worlds. Then the real World Championships in Tabor in the Czech Republic after that. Plus I’m working on some other exciting stuff for next season. I can’t say what it is yet, but it’s going to be really awesome if it works out. So stay tuned for a full report on the new bike, lots of racing action, and news on the 2010-11 season as well!

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And again, it was chilly, if not quite as cold as last year’s race. I had a solid start until we made the left turn at the end of the road, where things came to a standstill while we filed through the hedge. Immediately another rider crashed into me from behind, but instead of taking me down, he caught the right side of my handlebars, propelling me forward and around about 10 people who were waiting to go through the hedge. So my solid start became a great one.

We stayed single file, all together, as we made our way around the singletrack and into the fields, where the race heated up. As we came on to the road after I found myself just trailing one of my main rivals this season, Bart Demets, who was leading a group of four that was forming a few seconds ahead of me. Unfortunately, despite giving everything I could to close the gap on the road—which is where I often can gain time—I missed them and ended up on my own, trying to fend off an attack from Bert De Groote, who I’ve battled with a few times this year.

Bert was able to close the gap to me on the sections in the fields, handling himself just a bit better coming through the turns. But I was able to put a lot of distance on him on the straight sections that led into the road. I was faster over the series of drainage ditches, mostly because I found that you could run them at full speed, but had to ride them really carefully. Running has always been a strength, so I did what I could to use the runs to my advantage, hitting them fast and hard and then taking the intensity up a notch as we came on to the road.

Shoulder-to-shoulder.

As we came into the end of the last lap it looked like I might have a real sprint for the finish, but after I ran the final ditch, hopped on my bike and hit the road I looked back to see I was alone. Bert had given me a good race, forcing me to stay at full gas when I might have otherwise let up a bit, but apparently didn’t come through the last two ditch crossings quite as fast as I did. So I rolled across the line pretty relaxed.

I wasn’t thrilled with the results, but they were solid. I beat a couple of guys who have given me good races all season—Bert and Carlo Allaert—and was just behind Bart Demets, who has really pushed me this year. Coming into the holiday racing season I’m feeling pretty good about myself, my training, and my prospects. Next week we head to Lichtervelde, then Kalmthout on Sunday, where I’ll do some reporting on the World Cup race for Cyclocross Magazine. It’s going to be a little exciting, since with US Nationals over, a big bunch of top US men and women are headed over here. Stay tuned for more.

Speaking of Nationals, I have to take one second to say a huge congratulations to my friend Jonathan Page, who finished 3rd at US Nationals. I’m sure he would have liked to win, but he rode a gutsy race (in what must have felt like the middle of the night to someone displaced by nine timezones) to get onto the podium. Congrats, Jonathan!

Photos from Varsenare, and the Vlaamse Druivencross, which we hit on Sunday afternoon should be up on Flickr soon, so check back later for more.

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Zwijndrecht

I capped the month of October with a horrible race in Zwindrecht, up near Antwerp. Last year we went to Bredene, on the coast, for the last race of October. But it was a long drive and I was determined, at least in the early part of the season, to try a few other series besides the Flemish Cup, so we drove north instead of west this time. It was a pretty miserable day, chilly with drizzle and some heavier rain, and the course was very slick, especially on a long section of singletrack that wound through a small forest between the fields. Today was definitely a day when I wanted to run some Fangos, with their knobbier, more aggressive tread for handling in poor conditions, but I only had Grifos glued up at the time. Honestly, though I’m not sure if they would have helped, since the real problem was not my tires but my dead legs. Zwijndrecht was nice, and I’d go back sometime, but I’m hopeful that I won’t repeat my abysmal performance there anytime soon.

Zwijndrecht Photos on Flickr

Zegelsem

I sat out the first weekend in November and took a little bit of much-needed rest and recovery after a hard month-long training cycle. It apparently paid off in my first race back in Zegelsem.

Back on the bike after running the stairs.

Zegelsem was one of my favorite races last year. In addition to being the only race I did all season that featured any serious climbs, it was also my first taste of real Belgian mud, and was set deep in a pretty, valley surrounded by little farms. And this years race did not disappoint. Although this time around they cut the one really big climb, a feature that really helped me out last time around, there was much more mud, since it rained all morning before our race.

I spent my time there doing battle with a couple of Flemish riders, Bart Demets and Carlo Allaert, who have emerged as my main rivals this year. Last year I couldn’t touch these guys except in one really good race at the end of the season, so I’ve been happy to find myself mixing it up with them–and often winning out over them, which I did in Zegelsem.

This race was the first time that mud riding really clicked for me in a while, helped mostly by the realization that I shouldn’t be afraid of using my feet. Which is to say, I managed to whip it through a number of sloppy turns that would have slowed me down in the past by putting a foot down briefly, and managed to catch several people by running through the worst of the mud while they slogged through on their bikes, barely moving and often falling. I just shouldered it and ran like hell in the worst parts, and it worked, I pulled down my first top-fifteen finish (13th in the Masters 30+ category) since coming over to Belgium.

Zegelsem also was the first chance to really test the mud-handling abilities of my Revolution Wheelworks Rev-50X wheels. I have to say I was extremely happy with them. They’re amazingly light, so they handle the hills beautifully, and the deep carbon rims track beautifully through deep, sticky mud and do not jam up the same way previous rims have for me, even in the nasty grass-mud slurry that comprises many courses here in Belgium. The guys there at Revolution are great, with awesome customer service and a fantastic product, and I’m definitely a fan.

Zegelsem Photos on Flickr

Zaffelare

Zegelsem kicked off an intense week of racing, with Zegelsem itself on Saturday, Zaffelare as a special Armistice Day Wednesday race, and Zelzate the following Saturday. I skipped Zaffelare last season and now regret it, because it was one of my favorite races yet this year.

Blasting through the pits in Zaffelare.

If Zegelsem was the hilliest and muddiest race yet this season, Zaffelare was its exact opposite. Set on a dead-flat floodplain somewhat north of Gent (Ghent, for you Francophiles), the course featured a series of long hard straightaways around the fields and a section on very fast gravel paths that wound around a fishpond in a nearby woods. And from the gun the race, which started on a long, straight stretch of pavement, was extremely fast.

At first it was just-hang-on-for-dear-life fast, but after a couple of laps it slowed to only lung-searing-leg-burning-anaerobically fast. After a pretty chaotic first lap, a little chase group formed around me, maybe six guys, and we worked together for about another lap before the stress of the hard pace started to break things up. A couple of guys in our group fell off the pace, one broke free in front of us, leaving me and Bart Demets to battle it out. And battle we did: Bart punched coming into the twisting woods trail, looking to shake me loose in the more technical section, but I held fast and attacked when we hit the road at the end of the woods, gapping him until he passed me at the barriers. It went on like this for about six laps, he’d surge, I’d cover and then counterattack. Finally, just before the road into the finish he made a little move and I got hung up in a deep rut, just for a second. But a second was all it took for him to get a gap I couldn’t close. I gave it everything I could, but it wasn’t enough. I ended up 14th in the Masters, just behind him, but ahead of my other rival, Carlo.

Zaffelare Photos on Flickr

Zelzate

Zelzate was another race I did last year, accompanied by Mindi’s parents. It’s an interesting race, set on the grounds of a sprawling hospital up on the banks of a busy industrial canal that stretches down from the Schelde into Gent. This year the weather was beautiful if extremely windy, and we found ourselves parked on the road just in front of Chris McKenney, another American who lives in the Netherlands and works for SRAM. We chatted with him for a while before he headed over to do the Masters 40+ race, and I warmed up for my race, trying hard not to get blown over on my deep rims.

The race in Zelzate is pretty straightforward, with some long straight stuff in fields, a bit of road, a set of stairs and a set of barriers, and some twisty sections in the woods. What makes it stand out is (a) a massive, steep dirt pile at one end of the course that you have to get over twice per lap and (b) its location, apparently next to a shooting range, so the sound of gunfire echoes through the course the whole time you’re racing.

In the woods in Zelzate.

I had a terrible start, caught behind (but avoiding) a massive pile-up just off the start line, so I was chasing right from the first seconds of the race. In a way, this was good, since it forced me to really ride hard and go after each person I caught as I tried to reconnect with the racers I normally do battle with. It took a little while to find my legs in the soft, dusty soil in the woods, but soon enough I was cruising and had connected with Bart and Carlo again. Unfortunately, Carlo had a mechanical coming into the last turn and, since his finish affects his overall Flemish Cup standing (as an American I’m not eligible for Flemish Cup points), I sat up and let him recover so he and Bart could slug it out together. Normally I’m not going to back down in a race if I see an opportunity, but Carlo is a nice guy and I felt bad that his overall season might be derailed by something so trivial. So I finished behind the two, but am pretty convinced that I could have outkicked both if not for my incredibly magnanimous gesture.

After the race, Mindi and I had a chance to interview Roland Hurtecant, one of the oldest ‘crossers active in Belgium. Roland has lived a truly storied life and was a lot of fun to talk to. It’s quite something to get advice on racing from a guy who’s been doing it for nearly fifty years. Look for the full story on my visit with Roland coming soon in Cyclocross Magazine.

Zelzate Photos on Flickr

Laarne

I wasn’t sure about whether to race at Laarne or not. The week leading up to it I was mostly sidelined by an ankle injury and I was a little sick as well. But as the day approached it was clear there would be great weather and our friend Christine Vardaros was going to be racing, so I decided to at least give it a try and see if I could ride.

I’m glad I did, because the day was one of the nicest we’ve had in a while and the course, a maze of back-and-forth sections in a couple of cornfields, now harvested and filled with just stubble of this year’s crop, was a lot of fun. I felt pretty good right from the start and despite being last wheel for about 20 seconds, I quickly moved up. The course was hardly hilly, but had enough rise in sections that I could step on the gas a little and gain some ground on the competition.

Leading a group in Laarne

I slowly picked my way through the competition, trying my best to go easy on my still slightly painful ankle, especially coming through the barriers on the bottom of the course. I wasn’t completely happy with my results in the end, but considering how things looked coming into the race, my 15th place finish in the Masters, ahead of Bart but behind Carlo, was pretty good.

After my race we cheered for Christine, who rode well, pulling down a second place finish behind her teammate Veerle Ingels. We had a chance to chat with Christine and her husband Jonas for a while afterwards. All in all, a great race and a lot of fun. (And maybe the last time we see warm and dry conditions for the rest of the season.)

Laarne Photos on Flickr

Lotenhulle

I skipped the race the next weekend in Drongen-Baarle so I could recover from a long day of reporting in Koksijde. So my next race was last Saturday in Lotenhulle.

On the way there the rain was coming down hard and we found ourselves driving on some typical, sketchy one-lane Belgian roads through fields that were, literally, flooded. Although the forecast called for some clearing, it was obvious that the theme of the day would be mud and lots of it. And the course, when we found it, didn’t disappoint. Parts of the course were under deep water, and the whole thing was cut by a raging torrent flowing through what usually is a drainage ditch. Warming up in the pouring rain, the ground was still reasonably hard under the standing water, but by the time our race started everything was an soupy mess.

This was the muddiest race I’ve ever done, but it turned out to be one of my best. I’ve learned, apparently, to handle my bike in the mud, and I’ve been focusing on force and power lately, so I was able to push through the slop perhaps a hair faster than my usual rivals. Again I had to overcome a bad start, but managed to quickly catch and pass Carlo and then was latched on to Bart’s wheel. We traded attacks for the final few laps, but finally he got the better of me as we came around a short run up a steep embankment with a tight turn at the top. And it looked like he was going to get away, but I hit the road and decided I had to at least try to come around him. So I gave it everything I had and tore down the road. I don’t think he even knew I was coming until too late, and I managed to pull around him just at the line. I was going so fast, in fact, that I had to brake before I crossed the line in order to avoid smashing into the 50 spectators milling about in the finish area just a few meters beyond the finish.

This race was great. I was filthy, but had a blast, even though I probably swallowed a cup of mud and cow manure on the way. It also was my best Belgian race ever, with 12th place overall in the Masters. Coming into the intense weeks of racing over Christmas, I couldn’t be happier with my fitness.

We also saw U23 racer Brandon Mart, over here in Belgium from the US for a couple of months. Brandon was all alone in the muddy mess, so we helped him in the pits keeping his bikes clean. He rode hard, but it was obviously a tough race for him in difficult conditions, which helped me appreciate just how far I’ve come myself in handling the Belgian mud.

A little end-of-the-weekend bonus was that our friend Jonathan Page nailed his race in the Igorre World Cup and pulled down an eighth place finish! Way to go, Jonathan!

No photos this time, it was just entirely too messy to break out the nice new camera!

The Rest of the Fall

In addition to all the racing, Mindi and I had a great time spectating and reporting for Cyclocross Magazine. Highlights included chats with Katie Compton, hot chocolate with Cori, Jonathan, Emma, and Milo in Koksijde, and a few conversations with Nys, Albert, and Stybar, among others. We also had a chance to chat with Cyclingnews’ Brecht Decaluwé (apparently dubbed “De Claw” by Americans who, like me, find his last name to be unpronounceable) after Koksijde; he’s a great guy and great writer. Here’s the full rundown of all of the reporting/spectating fun:

• Koppenbergcross: Photos and Article (which might be by all-time favorite that I’ve written)
• Gavere Superprestige: Photos: Women & Men and Article: Women & Men
• Hamme-Zogge Superprestige: Photos and Article
• Koksijde World Cup: Photos Coming Soon and Article
• Gieten Superprestige: Article
• Igorre World Cup: Article

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I’ve got to say, I enjoyed the course. It was a little flat for my liking, but attractive and fun to ride. Definitely enormously better than last week’s 1-km nightmare. Unfortunately, my legs did not agree. All week in training I felt dead, and they continued to be dead right through the race. I’ve been slower, but not much, than I was in Zingem, but I definitely did not bring my A game. I just turned up the level of training last week, and hopefully the legs will respond soon, but I clearly paid for it this weekend.

Nice Scenery in Zingem

Of course, it also didn’t really help that the guys at the front of my race were like, really, really fast. Like, good enough to hold their own at a Superprestige race fast. So, in the end, I beat a few people, but got pretty much spanked. But, in Belgium, anything else would be a disappointment, right?

Now it’s back to a week of training, trying to get rides in before the sun sets (which is only going to get harder next week when Daylight Savings Time ends here). On Saturday we head for Bredene, on the coast, where I’ll race through a trailer park again, then Sunday is the famous Koppenbergcross. I’ll be there for CX Magazine, so stay tuned for more racing news.

In the meantime, photos are up on Flickr.

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