Into the Oven
The first batch is done, a few more to go.
Camp VI has begun in earnest with our first race in Uitbergen–a small “national” ‘cross–in that most Belgian of Belgian milieux, a cow pasture. Ride down a bit of asphalt; turn “into the field” literally; ride around some bumpy green grass strewn with cow dung; make a few turns to complete a sporadic rectangle; finish back up with some pavement. No garnish of hurdles, vertical, or running. Bake at 375 for 45-60 minutes (13 laps for the juniors, something like 18 for the elites/u-23’s) or until crispy. Let cool on the rack. Stick a fork in it.
A food staple of a circuit. Something tells you this is the way to nourish cyclocross talent. Ride around in a field for an hour. See who can go the fastest. The Flemish have a synonym for such efforts. They call it “free tempo”.
Our guys raced well. I was pleased with some of our rides and noted some areas for improvement.
Juniors (26 starters)
4. Chris Wallace
6. Eric Emsky
8. Cody Kaiser
9. Joe Dombrowski
12. Manny Goguen
Elite/U-23 (32 starters)
7. Danny Summerhill
17. Nick Weighall
19. Jeremy Ferguson
25. Andrew Llewellyn
The camp is off to a rousing start. Everyone is here now with most of the missing bikes to arrive tomorrow. And four days to prepare for the first big one, the WC in Zolder. The details to moving this small army around and keeping everything even-keel make my head spin. But the solace comes in the smiles on their faces and the banter around the dinner table. These kids are racing their bikes in Europe. Good stories. Good copy. Good film.
I’m sure I’ve pitted at least 100 Euro ‘crosses. Still, I see something new every race. Today, two separate pits. But the second one–curiously, oddly–only maybe 30 seconds from the first and that much farther from the vans for the mechanics to chuff bikes to. Plodding along on a practice lap, I finally solve the conundrum. Equidistant between the two bright yellow beginning and end pit flags, a huge porcelain water trough. Giant white bath tub amidst vast pasture of lush-for-winter green cow grass. I can hear the thinking of the organizers now: “Hey, a water source! Let’s put another pit here”.
Livestock. Crossstock. Same difference.
Will try to write again tomorrow,
GP