Double Cross

First, an explanation. I had originally included the Sint-Michelsgestel race on the 2008-09 FGBC CX Pool calendar. This is essentially Richard Groenendaal's answer to the GP Sven Nys. You will recall from the 2007-08 FGBC CX Pool poster that those two don't necessarily consider themselves BFFs. In any case, Nys didn't show up to Groenendaal's race, even though Groenendaal showed up at Nys's, finishing 9th. But this isn't necessarily one for the gossip columnists. It has more to do with the fact that there was also a race going on in Tervuren, Belgium--the Vlaamse Witloof Veldrit. With one race in Belgium and another in the Netherlands, the field was basically split along national lines. I had not originally included this one on the calendar since it was listed as a C2 rather than a C1 race. But since more than half the racers were there, that seems wrong. So I've decided to include both of them for the purposes of teh FGBC CX Pool.

Unlike Nys, Groenendaal did not manage to win his own race. That honor went to Eddy Van Ijzendoorn. Groenendaal was third. Bart Wellens, who interestingly broke the trend as a Belgian racing in the Netherlands, finished second. Otherwise, it was pretty much an all Dutch affair, as evidenced by the fact that there were eight guys name Van Something in the top 20. Full results here.

In Belgium, it was Fast Albert, followed by Franzoi and Stybar. Nys evidently took the day off. He finished in 10th. Daphny Van den Brand won the women's race. Rachel Lloyd took second and Helen Wyman was third. More from CN.

Lars Boom was supposed to show up in Sint-Michelsgestel. But his elbow got infected and he ended up in the hospital instead. Bummer. Get well soon, Lars.

That brings to an end a very busy stretch of racing. Next weekend they battle it out for the national championships. Those should be fun to watch--at least the Belgian and Dutch races--but they are not included in the FGBC CX Pool. The next race, as far as we're concerned is Jan. 14. That feels like a long way away. But with all the racing over the past two weeks, a little break will probably be good for us.

Over in the FGBC CX Pool, Rachel found herself back atop the standings for the day. She finishes with 485 points. That puts her back into second overall. Jonny M drops down to fourth and David S slots into third. Expect a lot of jostling between those three for the rest of the season. Deanna and the duo of Paddy & Naomi set out to show that their good showing in the last race was no fluke. They finish second and third, with 440 and 420 points, respectively.

Jan. 4 Results:

Rachel 485
Deanna 440
Paddy & Naomi 420
Chris A 395
Vic 390
Chris H 385
Tomek 375
Dallas 350
David S 345
Hal 345
Gary 340
Ian 335
Olli 325
Charlene 315
Adam 295
Andy 260
Jonny G 250
Brad 235
Bill 170
Matt 150
Jonny M 140


Overall Standings:

Gary 12355
Rachel 11855
David S 11740
Jonny M 11570
Chris A 11340
Olli 10910
Chris H 10420
Paddy & Naomi 10145
Vic 9960
Ian 9885
Matt 9870
Deanna 9425
Charlene 9370
Tomek 8915
Adam 8855
Dallas 8640
Jonny G 8565
Brad 8425
Bill 7880
Hal 7690
Andy 7375