Barn Cross 2013

Save the date:

The Barn has been booked for Jan. 27, 3-7pm.

Same place as last time. More details to follow.

Let's show those horse people how Roosters do it.

CX Season is Not Over

It just feels that way, since the last time we raced was over a month ago. But racing will resume again after the mid-season break real soon. The final race of the season is just over three weeks away! Good thing I haven't cleaned up the basement yet.

All the relevant details are right here.

Needless to say, the Dark Side will be out in full force. We should probably have a Nordic Cross race or two before then, just so we're ready. Anyone up for a race on Saturday afternoon?

Next time someone suggests a mid-season break that is longer than the first part of the season itself, someone remind them that it is a stupid idea. Better to keep racing all the way through.

Little Queens

No, not the Wilson sisters. Rather, it's the women of cyclocross. That's what we're talking about here. Sadly, we never get to watch them race in Europe. Not only because the organizers over there always have them racing ridiculously early in the day. But also because there is generally no television coverage of their races to begin with. That is too bad, because it looks like those races are more competitive than ever this year. At least we have Laurent Charras's cinematic recreations to make up for the relative lack of media attention given to these races. Here' they are tackling the sand dunes in Koksijde.

 

Frosty

CX Pool Roundup

Four races, four different winners. But one of those four actually won twice. That would be John B, who tied with Anna for the win in Koksijde and then won the first BayState race outright. Bill won Sunday's BayState race. And Daniel won in Geiten.

Matt still leads the overall race. But JP is just 85 points behind. These two look set to slug it out all season long. Then again, Chris O is getting closer. He's now just 230 points off the overall lead. And Ali and KK are not much further back. So it is still very much a five horse race at this point.

Full results and overall standings here.

TV Listings

Remember when hung out at Parlour Coffee to watch the Belgies kick ass in the sand? That was awesome. Well, they are returning to Koksijde to play in the sand on Saturday. It is also the third round of the World Cup series. So the field will have an even more international flavour than usual. Needless to say, it should be watched. Then on Sunday, you should watch again as the Superprestige series travels to Geiten in the Netherlands.

As usual, check out cyclingfans.com for live streaming options.

CX Pool Roundup

Five races last weekend. Three in Iowa and two in Belgium. Remember when we used to race cx? That was fun.

All the results can be found right here.

The World’s Love Affair with The Bicycle Comes to The Forks: European and Canadian Experts Share in Public Forum

Looks interesting... The World’s Love Affair with The Bicycle Comes to The Forks: European and Canadian Experts Share in Public Forum

The Sweetest Suit and Tie in the World

TNR Report

A bunch of us got together and rode around. Some(who were unwell or knew some that were unwell) went home post ride. Some of us did not ride, but showed up at the bar to hear what they missed (wearing a tie). Some were missed altogether. That's about it.

Nordic Cross #1 Report

We raced. And when it comes to Nordic Cross, the simple fact of racing at all is really the only significant objective.

Upon our arrival at the race venue, we were pleasantly surprised to find that there were some paths that could actually be ridden. And yet in order to complete the circuit, there was also a very long and snow-filled section that could only be traversed by foot. This proved to be a sufficient penalty for Hal and his stupid fat pig of a bike. Turns out running with those thing sucks even more than running with a cx bike slung over your shoulder.

Results, such as they are, were something like this:

JP
Daniel
Chris
Jonny G
Hal
Bill
Mel
Teagan
Andrea
Vanessa

More important than the race results was the question of who would win the loaf of deliciously crusty bread that Hal kindly donated as a prize. Acting as commissaire, Ryan called for a mid-race course alteration which would be used as a context against the background of which to judge something he referred to vaguely as the "best descent." This was won by Andrea for her inspired attempt to somersault down the snowy hill.

CX Pool Roundup

KK was king in Lousiville, winning both races. Vanessa won the Jaarmarktcross on Saturday and Andy with the Superprestige race in Hamme-Zogge on Sunday.

The big news, however, is that we have a new leader atop the overall standings. Matt continued his recent run and has now taken the lead from JP. Matt has 5755 points to JP's 5635. KK has moved up to third overall. He has 5310 points.

Full results and overall standings here.

Nordic Cross #1

There was quorum. So it is official.

The first Nordic Cross race of the season goes down Sunday, 3pm at Omand's Creek.

Post-race gathering to follow. Somewhere.

Did Somebody Say Nordic Cross?

I'd almost forgotten how fun this is. We will need to start racing soon.

USGP live coverage

Watch it here, both Saturday and Sunday.

Women at 1:15 pm Winnipeg time and men at 2:30.

Of course, there is some cx racing in Europe too. The Niel Jaarmarktcross goes down tomorrow morning at 7:45 am. And the Superprestige series resumes in Hamme-Zogge on Sunday. Live streaming options for those races here.

Nordic Cross 2012-13

Did someone say something about snow? That can only mean one thing: Nordic Cross is just around the corner. We will start soon. Possibly as early as Sunday afternoon.

We don't exactly have a full calendar just yet. And it's entirely possible that we never will. But we have made a few decisions about the upcoming season. This year we will return to our roots. That means at least two things:

1) More cyclocross races in the snow, fewer alley cats on frozen streets.

2) More Sunday afternoon/evening races, fewer races on Tuesday nights.

3) Hopefully it also means more Poosher.

We will stick with one principle that was adopted last year, however. Fat bikes will be heavily penalized. Maybe an extra lap. Or we might send you to do run-ups at garbage hill. Those bikes do have a place. But that place is not Nordic Cross.

Stay tuned for more information, boys and girls. This winter is going to be a lot of fun.

CX Pool Roundup

It was a busy weekend. There were eight races spread across five different locations. It's a miracle that we were able to get caught up at all, really.

The big winner of the weekend was our very own VP Style, otherwise known as Tony H and occasionally referred to simply as Matt. When it started, Matt was languishing in 11th place, almost 900 points behind JP. By the time he was finished going ballistic in Cincinnati, he'd moved up to second and is now sitting just 65 points off the overall lead. Dare to dream, boys and girls. Dare to dream.

There was also a change at the other end of the standings. Marcus seemed well on his way to keeping the lanterne rouge all to himself. Four year olds, they don't always understand that there are some things that are best given away to others. But by the end of the weekend, Bill had gently bumped Marcus out of his spot at the very bottom of the overall standings. And this despite winning two out of the eight races. Always looking out for the little ones, that Bill. Good thing the world isn't filled with people like him. There'd be nobody left to hate.

Individual race results and overall standings here.

Up next: the USGP is in Louisville for a test-run of the worlds course. A handful of the European women flew over for the experience. It should be fun to watch. Check back for live streaming options.

In case you missed it . . .

watch the whole men's race at Zonhoven race here:




While you're at it, go ahead and watch the men race at Koppenbergcross too:

   


Sadly, there are no videos of the women racing either of these races. But you can watch the women race at the Plzen world cup:

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CX Pool Update coming soon.

Zonhoven Live

Zonhoven = sand. Sand = awesome. At least for watching. Find out where to watch right here. Coverage starts at 7:30 am.

That sandy descent has carnage written all over it.

Roosters, Riding

For the first time in seven weeks, there was no cyclocross race to go to. That was sad. So Olli called the Dark Red Roosters together for a group ride. He introduced us to some of his favourite trails. That made us happy again. Thanks Olli. A happy rooster is a beautiful thing.

Vicarious Koppenbergcross

Nov. 1 is a holiday in Belgium. What better way to honour all the saints than by racing cyclocross? Judging by the number of empty beer cups littering the course, it seems like everyone had a good time. It also helped that the conditions were perfect. All the mud made for brutal back-breaking climbs and wild white-knuckled descents. Perfect conditions, in other words, for Sven Nys to remind everyone that he is still the alpha dog when it comes to racing in the mud. Watch him make Neils Albert look like a little boy on the last lap. Helen Wyman also excels when the conditions are nasty. She continued her hot start to the season by taking a big win in her hometown race. Sadly, there was no video coverage of the women's race.

Chris O won the vicarious race. He had 370 points thanks to Nys, Page, Harris, and Kupfernagel. Gentle Ben was second with 315 points. And Lyle had 260 points to finish on the final step of the podium.

JP continues to lead the overall race. With 3300 points, he leads Anna by exactly 100 points. Peter is another 400 points behind Anna. But he better not look back. King Andy is lurking right behind him and ready to remind all of us who is the alpha dog when it comes to vicarious racing.

Full results and overall standings here.

Up next: the three day cx festival in Cincinnati begins tonight.