Last year I had one of my best races of the season—in fact, one of the best of my career—in Varsenare. The course, flat with a series of technical turns between long, straight sections, barriers, and a long finishing stretch on the road, was a good match for my strengths. It was really cold, and I’ve often been strong in the cold, especially compared to the Belgians, who don’t have the benefit of 10 New England winters under their belts. And I was at the end of my season, and was peaking. So I rode a great race, beating a bunch of people who had been beating me all season.

Holding off a small group early in the race

So I came to Varsenare this year hoping for another great race. But now I’m more experienced, fitter, and have been beating strong racers all season. Unlike other races this season, where the courses were completely redesigned, Varsenare was relatively unchanged. It starts with an interminably long drag race down the road where the race will eventually finish, then dives left, hops a curb, and goes through a barely-one-rider-wide gap in a hedge, then right into a twisty up-and-down section of singletrack. From there it heads out around a football pitch with some tight, hard corners, and into the open fields where you battle wind, a series of 180-degree turns, and four passed through a deep and muddy drainage ditch.

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.