Sylvestercross Results

Another day, another cyclocross race. How awesome is that? This time the victory goes to Jonny B. He had the day's winning combination of Stybar, Nys, and Commeyne. The three of them managed to come up with 350 points for the FGBC's Toronto Chapter. Olli got back on track and back on the podium. His 310 points were good enough to move him back ahead of Jonny N. Charlene rounded out the podium with 285 points. As captain of the vaunted FGBC women's cx team, we know all about her real cx racing skills. It is nice to see her kicking some vicarious ass as well.

Full results and overall standings here.

Watch the highlights, including some nice coverage of Sven Nys's embattled mechanic Fons. Nys finished second again, but this time nobody can suggest it was Fons's fault.



There is no race today. But we're back at it tomorrow with the GP Sven Nys.

Thursday Anticipation

It is not common knowledge, but Gianni is known to some as the Guru of Greed. He has been busy crafting his expertise on the subject of avarice into a race for us to enjoy. To wit:


Sandals? It may well be grounds for banishment from the Kingdom of Wolseley, but not only do I not own Birkenstocks, I don't have sandals of any type. I will find some.

Some loudmouth suggested that we might have a race on Jan. 1. That will not happen. That suggestion was made when judgment was still clouded by the presence of too much curry in the system.

So Nordic Cross #2 will be Greed Cross on Jan. 16. You have just over two weeks to get ready.

One way to get ready, and to spend more quality time with Gianni the Guru of Greed, would be to participate in his Frozen Crow ride on Jan. 8. St. Pierre to St. Malo and back via the Crow Wing Trail. Sounds like a winner.

Azencross Results

Josh wins. Remember him? He had 460 points today. Second place went to one of our all time favourite people, King Andy. And Jonny G rounded out the podium. He no doubt made the podium girls smile.

In the overall race, Gary's fortunes seem to be mirroring those of Sven Nys. He conceded another 65 points today. But first place is only 75 points away. That deficit could easily be erased if Klass Vantornout would show up and actually race one of these days. Between Gary and me, it basically comes down to Albert (me) vs. Vantornout and Franzoi (him). We both have Nys and Page. The other American men are irrelevant at this point. And our three women are also identical. In addition, I have Jonathan Lopez on my squad. He is either retired or dead. Either way, he has not raced once this year.

Full results and standings here.

The bell lap is worth watching, if only for Nys's late race crash in the pit:

It is Tuesday

We will ride. That is what we do. At least some of us.

As for determining where and when, that is what the comment button is for.

Diegem Results

310 points and the win for Jay. The Dark Lord Little Dicke was second with 300 points. And Josh rounded out the podium. He had 275 points.

In the overall race, we have a new leader. Gary's month long lead is gone. But just barely. The Dark Lord Little Dicke is now in first, just 10 points ahead of the CX Czar. Jonny N remains in third.

Full results and standings here.



There is no race today. I know, it's hard. But the GVA series resumes tomorrow with the Azencross in Loenhout.

Diegem Live

The race is still a few minutes away, but coverage has started. And on a really good, clear feed too. That is nice because it will be hard enough to figure out who's who in the dark.

Right here.

Vicarious Zolder

First of all, Lars Boom is a stud. Too bad he's only doing this for training. Having him focus on cx full time would be awesome. Nobody else really had a chance today.

Last two laps here:



As for the vicarious version of the race, the Dark Lord took the win. He had 720 points. Dan and Jonny N round out the podium with 610 and 590 points, respectively.

Gary's lead is down to just 100 points. And Jonny N has moved ahead of Olli to reach third spot overall.

Full results and overall standings here.

Back at it tomorrow in the dark at Diegem. It even has a commercial:

CX-mas Week

What do you do between Christmas and New Years in Belgium? You race cyclocross. There are six races over the next eight days.

It starts today in Zolder on a course that incorporates portions of a race car track. This is the 6th round of the world cup series, so extra points are up for grabs. There is 30 cm of snow on the ground. That should make for a fun race to watch. Tomorrow they race under the lights in Diegem.

Zolder coverage starts just before 8 am Winnipeg time. Find the links here (scroll down past the soccer coverage).

Merry Christmas from the Dark Side

Yes, we love you. We really do. Well, most of you. Or at least some.

Now go make yourself useful and ride some bike.

TNR Report

Best ride of the year? Probably not. There were not enough crashes. Other than KK and the Hipster getting tangled up on the bridge at Omand's Creek, there was very little carnage. And the Cricket wasn't there.

But it was nevertheless a very awesome ride. A classic I Hate Winnipeg adventure. We slogged our way through the Ass. Forest. And then Gianni shepherded us to the snow hill. We climbed it. It is high. At least for a big pile of snow. And then we rode down. Good times. The guys in the trucks thought it was pretty awesome too. They tooted their horns with approval before heading back to their job of cleaning the streets for us.









Sadly, we forgot the FGBC flag to mark our presence at the summit. But we will be back. Possibly as early as Jan. 16. That is when Greed Cross is scheduled to go down. Gianni is the race director.

Good times at the klubhaus as well. JP and his friend from Vancouver brought treats from A&W. And KK treated us to a round of 56 herbs. There was another near altercation with Lisa. This time it was not Brad the Impaler but the Hipster who almost dropped the gloves.

Tunes: the Cheap Trick streak continues.

TNR

Jonny G has an idea for the ride. Unless someone comes up with a better one, we will stick with G's plan. You have to show up to find out what it is though.

[Update - 2:13 pm] Gianni has seen Jonny's idea and raised it. Considerably. I think it might be possible to combine them. That could very well make it the top TNR of the year. And no, I haven't forgotten that we've already had a year full of pretty sweet rides. You still have to show up to find out.

9:30 pm at my place.

Junkyard X

We have talked about this before. It went down again this past Sunday. Videos courtesy of cxhairs.com.




Be sure to check out this one too. Even if you have to fast-forward to about 30 seconds in.



To say it needs to happen here is like saying that the dark at the klubhaus is sometimes off. In other words, it is incontrovertible. The best chance to bring it to fruition passes through the dark and complicated soul of Brad the Impaler. Could there be two cx races with cars on the course in 2011? We will talk more tonight.

CX Pool Weekend Roundup

Ian wins the Fidea CX Classic. Jay and I shared the win in Kalmthout.

Full results and standings here.

Kalmthout Live

It's the 5th round of the CX World Cup. If he stuck with his plans, which doesn't always happen, Halberto will be there. There is lots of snow on the ground.

Coverage has started. The race should start shortly. Here (scroll down).

Thursday Anticipation: Special Friday Edition

The curry flavoured belches and cold sweats have almost subsided. Time to move on.

In case you missed it, notice the announcement about the 2011 edition of the 24 Hours of Falcon Ridge. Last year was good. But we expect a bigger FGBC presence this year. More details coming soon.

To help pass the time during the next 7 months, we will continue with our exploration of the seven deadly sins, otherwise known as Nordic Cross. We heard a rumour on Tuesday that the Editor was close to having a calendar ready. There was also a rumour that this year's series might include a 50 km cross-country ski event. We are not sure what we think about that. But that doesn't necessarily mean anything to the Editor. In fact, it might only serve to encourage her.

If we stuck with the schedule of once-every-three-weeks, that would mean the next race would be some time around New Years. It is hard to imagine a better way to bring in the new year, don't you think? Go ahead and mark it down on your calendar for Jan. 1. We will figure out the rest later. Envy would seem to be a fitting theme for that one, since it is arguably a big factor in the often self-deceptive ritual known as the New Years Resolution.

Sloth Cross, at least, is set. It will be on the February long-weekend, as usual. Apparently that means it will be on Feb. 19-20 this year. We have yet to finalize the location. But the poosher's palace remains a strong favourite.

Gluttons Cross Report

I just realized I forgot to eat breakfast. It is now almost lunch time and I'm still not hungry. At all. That's how awesome it was last night.

The mood was bouyant at the start. It always is.



We were in the presence of a legend. His quiver of heroic qualities, however, does not include the skill of being able to estimate how much a plate of food weighs. He was WAY over the 500 gram minimum. Like almost double. Twice. A major strategic blunder. Liam got the closest to nailing it. His first plate was an inconsequential 2 grams more than the legal minimum. Very impressive. Notice him shooting the legend a scornful glare.



The Hipster did not live up to the hype. Failure is a beautiful thing. It makes us love him all the more.



JP went out hard. But he crashed even harder. "It all seemed so managable," he mumbled, before disappearing to the boys room to DNF.



Others found themselves emboldened by the new lower minimums. Three plates. First time ever.



The Impaler also polished off three plates, the last of which consisted entirely of rice pudding. It was a jaw-dropping and potentially game changing move, even if it was not part of his game plan. He claims to have shown up without any ambitions for the overall podium. But when the start gun was fired, he found himself unable to hold back. That is why we love him. Three plates plus an additional pint meant that he got to leave first, a full minute ahead of the other three-plate finishers, Juan Eppstein and me. He was second into the klubhuas. And second to find the finish line at the bottom of his glass. But immediately thereafter, he arose to make the long, lonely walk down DNF lane. Bummer.



The winner? Gianni! A complete surprise. For the first time ever, the overall victory went to someone who did not finish among the top performers of the buffet stage. Chapeau Gianni. That was awesome.

Full Results:

Gianni (2 plates)
Dark Lord (3 plates)
Cricket (1 plate!)
Juan (3 plates)
KK (2 plates)
Jonny G (2 plates)
Darryl (2 plates)
Mennonite Lady (1 plate)

DNFS:
Impaler
Tenacious V
Hipster
JP
Cousin Thomas
Liam
Lindsay

We have yet to debrief the new format. But it was interesting. Never have we witnessed so much gastronomic carnage. And neither have we been treated to the kind of drama that was on display at the finish line. Brilliant.

The poosher and the evil temptress joined us the klubhaus. It was pretty quiet for the first 45 minutes. Lots of moaning. Few words. But things eventually came around and the usual jollity and confabulatory goodness ensued.

Tunes? Red Hot Chili Peppers, Weezer, Foo Fighters. Or so I'm told. Malorie was at the controls. A nice diversion.

Honk If You Love Mud

Ian Field loves mud. If you listen carefully, you can hear him honking all the way from Bradford.

Now, back to thinking about curry.

Gluttons Cross Eve

Here we go, boys and girls. Our favourite time of the year is finally upon us. Yes, we love ourselves some cyclocross. But at the end of the day, it's all just training for Nordic Cross. This is where the real heroes float to the surface. Belly up, usually.

We have secured a scale and planned a route. We decided last week to lower the minimum weight in an attempt to create a full on sprint for the finish of the buffet stage. The Secretary seemed to think that the previous standard was 650 grams of food per serving. We decided to lower that to 500. We will test to see what that looks like tomorrow and adjust if need be. The goal is to bring five plates within the realm of possibility for someone who can pull off a very special performance. Hipster? As usual, the first plate is a neutral lap. It is your official entry into the race. Each subsequent plate will net you a time bonus. Somewhere between 3 and 5 minutes. We will figure it out before the eating commences. There may well be Little Scrapper primes as well, each of them good for a minute or two.

As for the route, be prepared for a generous portion of river trail. We will explain it a little more clearly during the meal. Bring a good light.

See you tomorrow. 8pm at the East India Company on York St.

CX Pool Weekend Roundup

It was about this time last year when everything started to head south for Gary. After the US National Championships he had a lead of almost 1500 points over Bull City Cycling's cx wunderkid, Jay. But once the North American season came to a close, Jay began to chip away at that lead. In the end, he wound up beating Gary by almost 900 points to become champion of the 2009-10 FGBC CX Pool. Gary's lead is not nearly as big this year. But he managed to double it on this crucial weekend. Most significantly, he did so by winning the two races in Belgium, thanks largely to the performance of a resurgent Klaas Vantornout. There is still two months of racing to go. The fat lady has not even begun to warm up her vocal cords. In fact, she is still hovering over the backstage buffet. But at this point, it doesn't look like Gary is headed for another late season collapse.

Full results and standings here.

US CX Nationals Live Now

136 riders! Here.

Vlaamse Druivencross

Live now. Right here. Scroll down to the bottom.

Lars Boom is there.

Live coverage of US Nats later in the afternoon.

Good times.

Dept. of Big Ideas

Now that the 2010 cyclocross season has ended, the Dept. of Big Ideas has a little more time on its hands. And they have been making good use of it. There are a couple of significant projects in the works. Neither of them is anything like last year's Big Idea. But one of them involves mountains that are every bit as daunting. Maybe even more daunting. Especially since there will be no trading off of riders for this one. They are certainly more legendary. Be sure to click "view elevation." This is the proposed queen stage. There will be 10-12 other stages.




The other project is much closer to home. The newly appointed Assistant Director of Big Ideas and the Dark Lord went on a reconnaissance mission today. Hopefully, the snow will be gone by the time we return. But that we will return is a no-brainer. There will be a grandstand run-up, plenty of punchy climbs and twisty turns, as much mud as we want, a mid-course beer garden and possibly a car wreck garden to ride through, a live band. And much, much more. As if that wasn't exciting enough, all of this will go down under the cover of darkness. So fitting for the FGBC. It will be awesome. Very, very awesome.

Thursday Anticipation

Giddy up, boys and girls. Only five more sleeps.


The festivities commence at 8pm. Meet at the East India Company. Be prepared for something a little different than what we've done in the past. The Dept. of Big Ideas has been looking it over. There will be some tweaking. Most significantly, we will not follow up the meal with the usual lap race. Rather, it'll be a point-to-point dash to the klubhaus. On trail, as much as possible. There will also be some changes to the buffet stage. It has been suggested that smaller portions might make things a bit less predictable. We may throw in a few mid-meal primes for good measure too. The basic formula, however, will be the same. Eat lots and then ride hard.

Who is bringing the scale?

TNR Report

A very good turnout. It's always nice when old friends return for a visit.

We drank some espresso. It made Jonny G radiate:



We watched the poosher defy gravity:



And then fail to defy gravity:



Before finally retiring to the klubhaus for conversation into the early hours of the morning:



The Dept. of Big Ideas presented a report. They have been busy. So much so that their capacity to dream is running well ahead of our economic capacity to make them come to fruition. Some fundraising efforts may well be required. And so once again the discussion came around to the nude calendar project. With the Hipster and his fancy camera and photographic skills having been added to the mix, we might have something to work with. It would no doubt be tastefully done. But this discussion came to a screaching halt when we realized we couldn't settle the matter of whether to feature the boy Cricket or the girl Cricket.

Tunes? They were very quiet. Or maybe it's just that we were too loud. The Hipster dissed U2 and sung the praises of a Scandanavian metal band whose name escapes me at the moment. Perhaps he would be so kind to remind us. We also had a discussion about the awesomeness of Rufus Wainwright.

TNR

We will unleash our inner octopi.

The Lethbridge Chapter will be riding with us. We'll leave the snow crits for another day.

9:30 pm at my place.

Asteasuko ZK

ZK as in Ziklo-Krossa. It's one of the few Basque terms without at least one combination of Ts and Xs. It was so much work just getting to Spain that they decided to stay and race a second day. Nys won it, ahead of Pauwels and Albert. The Dark Lord won the vicarious version, ahead of Jonny G. Jay, Ian, and Gary wedged themselves onto the third podium step. No significant change to the overall standings. But Gary wasted no time celebrating his crossing of the 10,000 point threshold. He's over 11,000 now.

Full results and standings here.

Five Digits

The top four teams have crossed the threshold. We are in 10,000+ territory now. Others, like Halberto, look like they might not make it there by seasons end. Gary extended his lead thanks to an impressive weekend by Jeremy Powers in Portland. The US season wraps up next weekend and then it's all Belgium all the time, at least as far as vicarious racing goes. That is when Gary's season went downhill last year. We'll see if he can hold on this year.

Full results and overall standings here.

Wielerjaar 2010

In other words, the year in review. Lots of cobbled goodness at the start. Those races are awesome. And only 3 months away.

Watch it here. You don't need to know Flemish to enjoy it. Good times.

Igorre Live Now

Nys is there. Someone lent him a private plane. Wellens is there too. Tough as nails, that guy. Stybar, however, is not there. He's off until Christmas with knee problems.

It is very muddy. In other words, the conditions are perfect.

Live coverage options here. Scroll down.

Oops

Apparently, the women raced in Geiten last Sunday as well. They were not included in the results on cyclingnews.com. But the FGBC's Dept. of Low Stake Gambling is fortunate to be served by a gaggle of industrious interns. They scoured the interwebs and managed to track down the results elsewhere.

My girlfriend did not win. She was second behind Daphny Van den Brand. There are also significant implications for the 2011 FGBC CX Pool, most notably for the fierce battle for third overall currently being fought by Jonah and Olli. Van den Brand's win means that Olli holds onto his third place standing after all.

The standings have been corrected: here.

There is no vicarious racing in Europe today. But the next round of the World Cup goes down in Basque land tomorrow. That is, if the riders can find a way to get there. A strike by Spanish airline workers threatens to leave Sven Nys and some others stranded in Mallorca. Over on this side of the pond, the USGP series heads to Portland. Those races are always awesome. Velonews is streaming it live. Women at 3:45 our time, and men at 5pm.

This Video Kicks Ass

And not just because it features a cover of Bowie's Space Oddity. I think I have a crush on Sanne Van Paassen. Sorry Fabian.

Thursday Anticipation

Here we go . . .


Vic is making contact with our friends at the East India Company. Stay tuned for further details.

TNR Report

Better late than never.







We got reacquainted with the Junkshon. We will be back there many times before the snow melts. Espresso is your friend. Speaking of friends, it was nice to see some old ones out for the first time in a while: Gianni and the Old Man rode with us. And even Halberto showed up at the klubhaus. He's off to Belgium this weekend to take in some pro cx races, among other things. We are envious. But that is actually fitting in a way, since we can consider it training for Envy Cross, which is coming soon. First up, however, is Gluttons Cross. It will go down on Dec. 14, which is less than two weeks away. The format may be a little different on account of a bunch of good ideas that got thrown around toward the end of the evening. But it will still involve feats of gastronomic excess. Start your stomach stretching exercises now. Hearing all the battle stories for the first time, the Hipster started to talk tough. Like 4 plates 3 plates tough. We suggested he might want to tone it down a bit. And then we explained to him what real suffering feels like with a brief recounting of the masochistic phenomenon known as Burger Cat.

The Impaler almost got into a scrap with Lisa. Over Guinness. That could have been interesting. But it's probably just as well that the dust up did not materialize.

After we were pushed out the door, Halberto discovered that his lock was pooched. Fortunately for him, the Impaler is always prepared for pretty much any eventuality. That guy is essentially a superhero. So he dug out his hydraulic pump car jack and proceeded to demonstrate just how tenuous the promise of security can be. Sadly, this was witnessed only by the vehicular set and Halberto. But they promised to recreate the scene for us next week with the old Supercycle that has been hogging space on our bike rack for far too long.


As far as the tunes went, all I can remember is that we were treated to Cheap Trick for the fourth week in a row. How long can the streak go?