By Tim O'Regan
Belgium, the home of Cyclocross. It's a very tough scene and I certainly didn’t pick easy races to start. Indeed, I was straight into some of the toughest races on the calendar.
I travelled from Dublin to Cherbourg on October 19th and arrived the next day; the long way to go, but a necessity as I needed to bring the car for all my kit.
I had Seán Nolan for company while in Belgium and our base was Maria Aalter in Oostkamp, outside Bruges. We stayed in the house owned by Irish Continental team EvoPro Racing, which Seán rides for. It's a massive house with a very large service course, well equipped with tools.
There's plenty of space in the team house, with five good sized bedrooms, a great kitchen, plenty drying area and lots of indoor training space; handy when the weather is bad. There's also a bakery and shop across the road - always important. EvoPro has two cars and a camper van at the house permanently and there's a wash station set-up for giving your bike the once over after training riders.
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I'm not sure why this house hasn't been used more. It reminded me of the house in Merchtem owned by An Post-Chainreaction. It's an invaluable asset that hasn't been utilised by Cycling Ireland, though it looks like that's about to change.
So with a fantastic base, all I had to do now was get stuck into the races; some of the biggest and hardest pro events on the European calendar. I could write a story on each race but I'll compress the races into one, with a quick summary of each at the end.
First up, how can riders enter these races, often against some of the biggest names in pro cycling?
For the races with C1 and C2 UCI ranking - the so-called smaller and easier events - you simply enter via the races' websites. There may still be uncertainty around Covid-19, but with a few emails to organisers I was in. For the UCI World Cup races, you can only enter via Cycling Ireland.
I'd encourage riders to do some 'B' and 'D' level races if you are considering making the trip to Belgium for cyclocross. It would be more competitive in that you'll be pushed hard by riders closer to your standard. This is probably better for a younger or emerging rider's development than racing the World Cup and other top races against the best riders in the world, who just ride away from you.
If I was younger, I'd go to Belgium for a longer stint for winter cyclocross and do a series of B and D races, with a few C2 and C1 events added to that schedule. And then I'd do the occasional World Cup; adding those for the experience but with the lower level races as my bread and butter. I think that's the main advice I'd give to someone thinking of making a trip next year.
When you arrive are at these races you get parking and sign on. At some races this was very simple. But for other races, it was much more difficult that it should have been due to signage issues or the language barrier. Google maps can only do so much! But I was happy to see all races I was at were strict with Covid-19 clearance and protocols.
Once parked and signed on for each race I'd unload the kit and bikes. The best advice is to decide on a pre-race routine and stick to it. Generally I think riders going abroad should stick with the same routine they have at home. There's no point trying something new out here.
It's very, very easy to get star struck and ride up and down and spot your heroes. I spotted retired riders I'd love a picture with and current riders. That's all great but you can easily get distracted.
One rider I decided I'd try get a picture with prior to heading out was Lars Van der Haar. After a few messages back and forth, some missed opportunities I finally got a picture of myself with him on the course in Koppenbergcross while doing the recon.
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I spotted him coming up behind me and I let out a roar in his direction. He rode up beside me and as we were rolling along I got the picture. I had planned to go to his camper for a proper chat but I kept missing him. He was a pure gentleman and was asking if I'd brought my runners for Koppenbergcross. He's a total ambassador for the sport and a role model for the younger riders with his attitude. He just loves it.
Before each race you've got to decide on tyres for the course. Then you pre-ride and make the final decision on pressures and tyres. Riders generally start here on the least thread possible and chance it if possible. Muds are a last resort. It's the most important decision of the day.
After the recon its back to the car. You pin your numbers on, relax, have food or whatever you are used to pre race. You get the rollers out and in your race kit you warm up for the race.
Just before the race you get down to start in plenty of time. They are strict on call ups. You do your tyre check and line up at start. If the nerves haven’t gotten you before now, they'll kick in when you line up at the start.
It's nerve wracking, it's tight. Depending on where you are on the grid you are meters away from your heroes or idols. You also have a lever in your right and left hip as well. At some races they are stricter on wheel overlap than others.
The start is incredible. You burst out of the blocks with full effort; going from 0 to 55km+ per hour, depending on the surface, in a matter of seconds. You're fighting for position; to not move back, hopefully to go forward but at least to hold on to where you are.
Then you hit corners, mud or whatever the first bottleneck will be and it’s a melee; off or on the bike you just must move forward. Its hectic, you’re hitting riders, tape. You're inches away from the crowd, you’re through the bottle neck and part of an ever-stretching string that’s going to break.
When it breaks you're left with riders around you, carrots to pick off. If you get into a good group it makes the race a lot easier, compared to being on your own or with just one or two other riders.
Being gridded at the back makes the race a lot harder. For sure, you really have to earn the front. I reckon it would take a season to get familiar with all the courses and the riding style, the lower pressures. These guys run low, extremely low compared to Ireland. I ran my lowest pressure ever in Koppenbergcross and and could have gone lower. Even 1-2psi makes all the difference at this level
Every race for me was a learning experience. Even with a lot of years racing - road and cross - under my belt, there is more to learn. For example, ruts don’t form in Ireland as such. We also don't ride and run in sand. Racing abroad and at this level means you must get to grips with different soils and how they interact with the bike.
The week between races was very much a training week; easy spin Monday and Tuesday to Thursday have fun on the CX bikes and challenge ourselves with various courses.
One Friday we went to check out the course for the World Cup in Overijse. In hindsight it was a bit of a waste of time. I think it would be easy to get bogged down by going to the courses and riding them week in week out before the race and not doing a specific workout. It could become very detrimental to a riders form. You also have to bear in mind a shower of rain the night before a race, and the formation of ruts, can completely change a course and so your recon would be nullified.
Finally, it's hard to do without help so avail of any assistance available to you. Myself and Seán had invaluable help. My dad travelled out towards the end of my few weeks and he drove home with me; making the trip much easier.
On the theme of helpers; pit crew and minders are essential. Most of the riders have two helpers and two mechanics. We were the opposite the first weekend, two riders and one helper - Sean's dad, John Nolan. At the races we also had Martine Verfaillie - a huge friend of Irish cycling - and her buddy Kurt also mucked in. We would have been lost without all their help.
I'd love to spend a full season in Belgium. If you’re a junior or U23 rider I'd really recommend it. I think the potential for cross in Ireland to grow is real. There are great permanent venues being created as well as a UCI C2 race on the calendar and more and more underage riders getting involved.
My Races
- Ardooie, C2, P47 – Long two days of travel before – Long way to pits, difficult on my own, very very muddy field, warmup behind Laurens Sweeck for ½ lap and he was tipping around, me… I was on the limit. Race was OK, bike just clogged with mud and no one to wash it. End of day.
- Ruddervorde, C1, P55 –Rain completely changed the course from the pre-ride the day before, fast but technical, quite slippy. If there was a mistake to be made, I made it. Very frustrating but got on with it and over it.
- Zonhoven, CDM, P43 – Very fast race, a lot of running, reinforced how important sand riding/rut riding is and how much skill is lacking. Deadly race, quite enjoyable and pushing the limits especially down “De Kuil”.
- Overijse, CDM, P50– Very muddy, hard race, a lot of deep ruts, got more used to them at this point, was getting going on lap 3 with 3 to 4 riders in sight but punctured then crashed hard and had to run/ride 3-4 mins to pits. Race over
- Koppenbergcross, C1, P22 – Extreme mud, pre race thoughts, how low can I go, remove spikes to get up Koppenberg as a lot of Juniors and U23s were running up it and can my dad and Kurt wash the bike in half a lap while competing with all the other teams washing bikes. Ended up pitting once per lap. I enjoyed this race the most, it was brutal, I was nailing the ruts, really did get a rush getting through them and being carried out the other side, fans were incredible, got a good lift from them, got the picture with Lars, could ride parts others around me had to run, happy with that bit, finished in what I believe is Irelands best result in a C1 race in Belgium so that was a highlight for sure, a sign of things improving/coming together.
