Sven Nys on TV last night

Last night, as i was zapping I came across the local news. They were interviewing Sven Nys. Even with his logo'd digs traded in for a blue cardigan with white T poking out, he's very easy to recognize.

They talked about his recent win at Gavere, asking him if it was a fluke where he replied that winning it five times in a row disqualifies it as an accident.

Of all the topics discussed, there was one that shouldn't have surprised me, but did. The interviewer asked Sven if he was nervous about not winning since November 1st.

This question proves just how quickly the Belgian fans are to judge. Before Sven got his answer out, I said to Jonas - "But he just won a race last weekend at Vlaamse Houtlandcross in Eernegem." I expected Sven to respond with that but instead he told the interviewer that there is only one weekend between Novermber 1st and now. That is hardly enough time to cause concern.

In hindsight, i now realize that Sven would have looked silly to have mentioned that win last week since it was not one of the blockbuster events like a Superprestige, GVA or World Cup. And i suspect they would have called him on this.

It was only a couple of weeks ago that the press, media and fans were writing Bart Wellens off only for him to come back with a heroic Pijnacker World Cup followed by a strong 2nd place in Gavere Superprestige. Maybe next time they will all listen to him when he says not to count him out yet.

Another pleasant surprise of last weekend was Erwin Vervecken - another cyclist who has not been treated kindly by onlookers. Watching him cross the line for 4th at Gavere was wonderful.

I wrote a personal update on my race that is now posted on CXmagazine.com . It will give you a better picture of how I scored my top 10 finish at Gavere Superprestige. Yippee!

(Photo taken by Krist Vanmelle)

Thanks!

Update on Niels Albert's Crash at Gavere Superprestige

Belgian TV teletext news coverage of Niels Albert's Torn Spleen

(photo of Albert at bottom left of article. Nice photo of Sven Nys, i must add!)

Immediately after Niels Albert crashed while warming up for Gavere Superprestige, a doctor at the race site did an initial exam and said that he will be ready to start the race.But then they called the team doctor and when he heard that Niels had a hard spot under his ribs, he said for him not to race and to bring him to hospital for a checkup.In the university hospital of Gent they saw that he tore his spleen.

He was to spend the next 24 hours in intensive care where they keep an eye on the bleeding to see if it stops. Albert was good this morning but then the pain became worse and by 4:30pm today he felt bad. There is still fluid and that gives pressure in his diaphragm and a lot of pain in his chest and his back. The spleen still has to recover which takes a few days. His stay in the Intensive Care Unit will be extended a little more. His state of mind is not too bad according to the manager. Of course this is a devastation to his season plans but he is already making new goals. Today he said he will aim for the championships.

After his stay in ICU, he will be five more days in hospital closer to his home for observation.Then he is off his bike for at least one week. After those two weeks, he will need another two weeks to get his fitness level back up.

Palmans Cras Team Manager Christoph Roodhooft said, "All this is a serious glitch in his racing plans. He can give up all the rankings GVA, Superprestige, and World Cup. I think Niels doesn t realize so far that everything is lost for this season but at this moment we focus on the next 24 hours and we hope that nothing untoward happens. We want to avoid, in every case, a surgery. Best case it will take four weeks before he can ride another race. we will have to change our plans and aim for the championships."

Just in case you wanted to know...

Toilet water is not for drinking, according to the sign above the German toilet which reads, "not drinkwater" (translated literally.)

And not all flowers are easily digested.


On another note, Niels Albert was quoted today as saying that road racing is easy. They dont have to deal with mud or dirt. With nicely pumped up tired and good condition, anyone can make it to paris in the tour de france. But you cant win it without good products.

I'd say those are fighting words. haha.

He went on to say that most of the cyclocross peloton is clean. That you dont need drugs to ride only one hour at your maximum.


As for me, the flu is finally gone. Only a couple of remnants remain - slight cough and stuffy/runny nose.

This weekend is Gavere Superprestige and i have never been more excited to race this season than i am for this event. I don't really have an explanation for it, other than I am simply feeling ready to suffer to the fullest of my ability. I look forward to the burn in my lungs and the throbbing of my legs. My goal Sunday is to ride so hard that I pass out just after I cross the finish line.

Jonas just set up my stationary trainer with a super duper mackdaddy trainer gizmo that measures watts, cadence, heart rate, speed and a bunch of other stuff. It has definitely added a bit of entertainment to my indoor riding. I havent figured out yet how to work the "average" and "max" buttons yet which is proving to be a real challenge, especially when i try to record numbers in the middle of hard efforts.

Quick update on Germany and Pijnacker

Sorry for disappearing for the last days. I have been working hard to battle a flu. Bad timing considering i was in the middle of a mini-overload training period to get the fitness back up to a decent level. That will have to wait for the moment. On a side note, my guess is that the flu is awarded to dumbasses who drive 32 hours in 9 days while racing and training hard.

But luckily (or rather unluckily in some cases) the worst of the flu fell on weekdays, leaving me with deluded ambitions of racing well on the weekends.

Two weeks ago, i raced in Germany - Magstadt and Lorsch.
The first race was a rather unpleasant experience. It would have felt worse if i were fully awake for it. To get to the race on time, we had to leave at 4am for the 6-hour trek. I spent most of the drive in and out of consciousness, possibly not the best way to start a race. When i keep this in mind, i am thankful for my 8th place finish!

Afterwards, we drove 1.5 hours directly to our hotel in Lorsch. After two hours of washing the mud out of all my clothes, shoes, helmet, orifices, the rest of the evening was focused completely on recovery. I rested, ate, drank, ate, rested, rode the trainer, stretched, rested, drank and slept.

The next morning was spent doing exactly the same. I was determined to make something of the weekend.

As I waited patiently for my callup to the starting line, I realized that I would have no idea when i am called. They do it by numbers, not names. So if it doesnt sound like english, dutch (not deutsch), french, or spanish I am screwed. And screwed i almost was if it wasnt for a couple of gals next to me who nudged me forward after my number was called. Good thing "one minute" sounds similar to dutch so i knew how much time before the gun. This was especially important considering there was no gun fire. The guy tried two times but couldnt get it to pop.

He finally gave us the nod to go without him and off i went. Down the extended false flat straightaway I went, with the whole field in tow. Yep, i got the whole shot - oops, that too thanks to Ahrens. The lead lasted only a few minutes since i didnt know the course. Every time i tried to pre-ride the course, the course patrol kicked me off. By the second lap I was pushed back to 6th position. But once i knew the course, i picked up the pace and got back to 3rd position. I wish i had a camera to capture the look on Jonas' face when i turned the corner into his sight in 3rd. He was surprised. Heck, i was surprised. By the last lap, I had put about 40 seconds on 4th place and even got within ten seconds to 2nd place.

After the race, one of the girls asked me "What happened to you today?" That was a good feeling since it was only a day ago that many of these same girls kicked my butt and now they are minutes behind. I guess it is true that (most) anything can happen in a day. Even though the race was not a high profile one, it felt good to be on the podium again.

By Sunday night, the flu fully kicked in. The next days until Saturday were spent exclusively on the couch and in the bed. On saturday, we drove up to Pijnacker, Holland to pre-ride the World Cup course. I was feeling slightly better saturday I figured I'd give it a go. At least I'd be fully rested. The course was slightly muddy which was good for me since the flu usually sucks power right out of your legs. The next morning was a completely different situation. It went from slightly muddy to slightly dry.

My callup was right next to Katie Compton. When the gun sounded, she moved forward while I moved back and out of the field. Last place. It was even worse in the muddy, grassy sections where I was only strong enough to push a "nieuwelingen" (newbie or AKA granny) gear, making the gaps bigger and bigger. I only managed to pass a few racers before the finish.

Now i am back on the couch. I will be turning in an update to CXmagazine.com shortly so keep an eye out for it if you want to read hopefully a more entertaining version of my travels. There will also be an interview of Helen Wyman up there shortly.

Thanks for reading!

Post-Tabor Newspaper stuff & sweet treats

It was not a surprise to see a full page spread on Neo-pro Niels Albert's impressive win in last Sunday's World Cup in Tabor, but it take me aback when i read the article below the Albert quoting Wellens as saying that

"they say i'm washed up; they're wrong."

After watching him ride last Sunday, he still has just as much fitness and drive as he has in the past. Once the "hard man" races come, the proof will be in the mud - as they don't really say but pudding just didnt seem the appropriate word.

A couple of days ago, my skinsuit finally arrived. It will be replacing the oversized black 2-piece outfit i'd been sporting in the last races. Included in the skinsuit package from Voler were a few tootsie rolls. That has to be the strangest bonus item i've received with an order. Even though i don't eat tootsies (milk in them), I really appreciated the thought! They did find a happy home in my friend Karen's tummy. She is visiting for three days from California.

Again, my race reports of the Tabor events are posted on cxmagazine.com

This Saturday at 4am i leave for Germany. We first go to Magstadt then to Lorsch. Even though I am still in an overload workout period early in the season, I am slightly more optimistic that this weekend of racing may go better than Tabor. I did some motorpacing today and noticed my sensations coming back. If not, I will get to work on my patience a bit more.

Thanks again for all the positive words - especially when I've had trying periods. It really means a lot.

Where am I?

They say a photo is worth a thousand words, so here are 10,000.

For more photos, check out http://www.cxmagazine.com/

Just an average cx training day in Belgium...

This afternoon Jonas and i headed over to the nearby woods for some cyclo-cross training. We expected that we'd have to do a little bit of searching and guessing where the trails are since we're in full fall season with everything completely covered in a thick layer of leaves.

But to our pleasant surprise, we found a fully groomed string of trails - complete with wood barriers for jumping. It was a cyclo-cross rider's fantasy. After doing a few loops, about ten more cyclo-cross riders showed up. They were the belgian beloften (under-23) and junior team. As we continued to finish our workout with them, I pulled up to a forced dismount only to realize the legendary 3-time ('98, '99, 02) World Champ Mario De Clercq was watching me. It's not too often that a cross rider has such a prestigious cheering section during a training ride in the local woods. Naturally i took extra care to execute my dismount perfectly. If it wasnt hard enough to pull this feat off, try doing it while having thoughts of how you learned how to ride a cross bike properly by repeatedly watching videos of him. Many years ago, when Coach Elmo first taught me how to ride a cross bike, he supplied me with a stack of cross videos so i could see what it looks like in a race. De Clercq was the winner in most of them. I will always remember the stoic bordering on sad look on his face as he stood atop the podium.

After our workout was done, we ran into Belgian CX National Coach Rudy De Bie, who was in charge of the workout. We found out how the course became groomed - he came early to the woods before work and before the sun came out and manually swept the whole course! What dedication to the kids. I was thrilled that i could benefit from it as well. I am very thankful that he has given me an open invitation to train with the kids any time. Rudy - see you next week!

Kalmthout World Cup Coverage

Each monday following the big races that I attend here in Europe, i will be posting race reports on http://www.cxmagazine.com/ . The mens and womens race coverage from yesterday's Kalmthout World Cup is already up! Go to the SITE and check it out.

Regarding my own race, it was a happy-sad experience. It was happy for the first few minutes as i quickly and steadily made my way up through the peloton from a last row callup. But just as i was thinking that everything was going as planned and was feeling great about it all, a 16 year old girl from Holland named Tessa Van Nieuwpoort racing for Flexpoint crashed directly into me on a presumably single-file sand pit. She broke my front wheel, front brake, front shifter, and left tire tracks up the full length of my shin. I was also left with two badly bruised knees, sprained arm, and a gash on my other shin.

By the time my bike and i wobbled over to the pit to get a spare bike, I was in last place. I tried to get back up to the race but only managed to pass a few racers since by then the gaps were too big. Eventually i rolled in for 30th place.

After the race, I asked Tessa what posessed her to do something so erratic? Her response was, "but i am only 16" and the mother nodded in agreement.

Well, there is always Tabor. We leave Friday and return monday, which means my race report for Cyclocross Magazine may not be up on their site until Tuesday.

Thanks for reading!

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Look for me on PROBAR blog

As of this week, you can read my updates on the website of PROBAR, my energy bar sponsor. They are periodically posting summaries of what I've been up to. Some of the content may be redundant if you read my blog. My favorite PROBAR flavor is now Whole Berry Blast, by the way.

As always, thanks for reading!

Two Minutes of MTB Fun at Scott Bike Tour

Last Sunday, I took my Ahrens Whole Shot cyclo-cross bike out for a leasurely spin around the neighborhood. What's great about Belgium is that there are always new bike route signs to follow so you never get bored with repeatedly taking the same routes. This time I followed the Scott MTB Tour signs which weaved in, out, and around the Kortenberg Woods. It took me through lots of thick wooded trails, much of it bermed singletrack. Just as I thought I would come out of the trails nice and tidy, I reached the last 100 meters of trail that doubled as a mud swamp.

As I approached it, there were three cyclist exiting - coated in brown butter. Naturally my priority was the bike, so I tip-toed through it. Looking back, I saw a few more on their tippies following suit. Hey, you can effortly wash the clothes but bike parts take longer to wash are expensive to replace if the mud ruins them.

Soon after, I was at the end of the tour - behind the Scott Bicycle Showroom in Kortenberg. The first thing i saw was a line of cyclists waiting for the water sprayer. I bet i know what they are thinking...if it wasn't for that last 100 meters of mud, I'd be drinking my beer by now. And i bet you know what I was thinking...tip-toeing rules! Sip, sip.

In addition to the beer cafe, they had lots of vendors showing off their latest gadgets, pills, parts, publications and rags.

Aside from the little kid that spent a full ten minutes staring me down, what impressed me most was the Scott Cross bike in the showroom. It was super mega light, completely tricked out and 5,100€ retail. Wanna know what i want for Christmas? (This does not, in any way, minimize my love for my Ahrens Whole Shot. Lust and love are completely different.)

With my pockets swollen with pre-landfill items, I headed home - on pavement.

Cyclocross Magazine's Fantasy Cyclo-Cross League

I am so excited to have registered for Cyclocross Magazine's Fantasy CX Game. For those of you who aren't familiar with it, CX Mag has you choose from a bunch of cyclocross racers to compose your ideal team. The teams are then pitted against each other. The highest cumulative earner of UCI points by the end of the season wins. What makes this fantasy game exta special is that they included women. Thanks guys!

You can sign up HERE and take a shot at winning prizes and earning bragging rights.

I picked mostly euro riders so I'm not doing too well at the moment since most of the early season uci races have taken place in USA. But i chose my team wisely - I think - so Team Peanut should start making its way up the rankings. Jonas and I wanted to choose exactly the same riders, but since there is no fun in a tie, we decided to make two of the names different. We pulled straws - or rather scallions since we dont have straws - to see who got to keep the original selection. I won.

Naturally I chose myself for the team for the extra motivation to do well! HAHA OK, i chose myself party because I'd feel stupid if i didn't and partly because I expect my season will be better than last year since my head injury is long gone. Fingers crossed...

Could I Have Seen This Cyclo-Cross Ad in USA?

I bet we may start seeing them soon based on the rapid growth of cyclo-cross throughout America. As I sit here waiting for the bulk of my season to start, I pass time by reading up on USA happenings.

When I first started to race cyclo-cross back in 1999 with Lyle Fulkerson's infamous Super Cup Series, there were about 30-40 female racers per event (if i recall correctly). The biggest event of his I ever attended must have been National Championships in San Francisco, which contained more women than i was used to. Maybe there were 50 women. (Here is the LINK for Outside Mag coverage of the event.) It is now close to 100 for Nationals - in Kansas Friggin' City nonetheless! Impressive.

What makes the number of participants even more spectacular is that due to the new USA Cycling and UCI rules, the fields should have shrunk after mountain bikes were made illegal and every racer was now required to have a UCI international license (at $150 per year) and be a card-carrying elite-category rider.

The quality of the field today, while equally impressive at the top end, has twice the depth of amazing riders. Just as before, some found their way to cyclo-cross through off-training for road or mtb, but now it seems there are women who are beginning their career as cyclo-cross rider swhile using the other cycling disciplines strictly for training. Just like in Europe. I expect we will see more days like 2007 World Championships when we won three silvers. Although I did not medal, I was proud to be a part of the team. There was a very special feeling at our team house - almost magical.

Now all we need is more financial support from USA Cycling. If they could somehow create a little more budget for cross racers who have designs and talent for competing at the top level - NO MATTER their age or gender - it will easily have a direct effect on the success of Americans in the international level. In turn, the raised competition level of these folks will trickle down at the USA races to the rest of the field, raising the level throughout the country.

I may sound critical of USA Cycling but I am actually rather hopeful. Over the years, they have increased their support for racers - at least with World Championship competition. My first time at World Championships, I think I had to pay $2500 for a week of support (ticket to Europe not included.) Next time I had to pay only $1500 upfront (ticket to europe not included) but got a refund for portions unused (I was already in europe and didnt need certain services.) The third time I had to pay $500 up front (again, flight not included) but since i already lived in Belgium, i showed up a couple of days before Worlds to get a refund of 100 bucks or so.

How Much is Sven Nys Really Worth

According to Hans van Kasteren, organizer of today's race Zonhoven Cross, Sven Nys is NOT worth his asking price of 8000€ start money. Considering he easily attracts a significantly higher amount of fans than any other cyclo-cross rider, you'd think he would be worth his asking price. But by van Kasteren turning down his asking price, it makes me wonder two things - does he truly think Nys will not make good on the start money investment, OR is he using it as a convenient excuse to keep Nys away from the race since van Kasteren ALSO manages Team Fidea.

Title of newspaper to the left says "It's double wellens' value"

When asked how he can request such a high start money, Nys confirms what anyone who has seen him live knows as truth - he brings in the spectators by the bus-load. Considering a race entry fee usually varies from 8€ to 15€, and that he attracts more than 1000 Sven-Nys-specific

fans, it seems like a fair price.

This season, Nys plans to do about ten fewer races which means ten fewer times to see him so theoretically his fans will make every effort to attend ALL his events. That alone should increase his per-event spectatorship. And when you combine that with Nys' stated intention to give his best at every race he attends, you can be assured that additional folks will pay the price to see it.

Title of newspaper reads, "Is Sven Nys too expensive?"

Zonhoven Start Money Requested

Sven Nys - 8000€

Lars Boom - 6000€

Bart Wellens - 4250€

Niels Albert - 3500€

Erwin Vervecken - 3250€

Zdenek Stybar - 3000€

Klaas Vantournout - 2000€

Richard Groenendaal - 1800€

Sven Vanthourenhout - 1500€

Kevin Pauwels - 900€

Ben Berden - 400€

Jan Verstraeten - 300€

After this info was made public, Lars Boom understandably increased his start money asking price to match Sven Nys. Heck, he IS wearing the World Champion Jersey. But does he bring in the crowds like Nys...should that be the question?

This topic has been hot since the beginning of the cross season with Ben Berden one of the first to speak up about the high start monies asked by the top guys. With the start money increasing every year disproportionately faster than the increasing number of spectators, the money has to come from somewhere. That somewhere is the proverbial pocket of the lesser known cyclists like Berden and the many others who rely on start money to cover costs for their season.

Is it not fair to pay the top guys what they are worth? Should we put a cap on their start money? How do you fairly judge what a person is worth?

What may just happen is you'll have maybe 12-18 top racers per race - a very small field. Or maybe the organizers will open up the events to anyone so that it is a full field at the start line while the rest of the race may play out like a circus as most of the field will be lapped five times per race. If there is no longer money to spare for the decent racers outside of the top 15, it may just kill the sport.

Good thing women race for the pleasure, not for the money - as if there were an option.

With Nine Mississippis to spare...

This was how long it took for the hail storm that chased me and my bike the whole way home to smack against the ground after I stepped inside the house. Running from dark clouds is an even more unneverving experience when having to be done at a piano (recovery) pace. OK, let's see just how fast i can ride the bike while keeping the heartrate under 90bpm? This time i won the game. Tomorrow may play out differently. It is supposed to rain straight through to sunday. Monday's promised 20 deg C sunny day cant come soon enough.

(Here is a photo of the sky just after the hail storm passed.)

Guess who is considering to ride the 2012 mountain bike Olympics in London? Bart friggin Wellens! He and Fidea teammate Stybar want to qualify for it if it works in with their cyclo-cross plans. Since Sven Nys has already declared his intentions in competing, that leaves theoretically one spot available for Wellens given that Philippe Meirhaeghe has announced his retirement.

Last year, Nys competed in a bunch of mtb events to get extra points for Belgium so they may send three guys (instead of 2. the third spot was taken from USA when nobody from USA showed up to the last qualifying event to ensure their extra spot.) This means that Raul Paulissen, Nys and Wellens all have to chase UCI MTB points leading up to the Olympics to earn Belgium three spots again. AND what this means to cross fans is that we now get to see our favorite rockstars playing in the dirt during the summer as well!

Speaking of Sven Nys, my interview of him is set to be published shortly in Cyclocross Magazine (as well as my regular column that includes a few surprises.) Click HERE to subscribe.

They are also putting a lot of content regularly on their site. They update it more often than i do my site - which at times is not too hard to do. It seems everyone is finally linking up to them so they are getting cyclo-cross feeds from everywhere. It is about time cross fans have a site to call their own. Anyway, check it out HERE.

And don't forget to add them as your facebook friend to gain access to yet another source of cyclo-cross happenings.

Yeah, I have an ulterior motive for increasing traffic and subscriptions for Cyclocross Magazine. If they grow quickly enough, they can pay me a trillion dollars to write for them so i can sponsor myself for cross season.