This season will be an incredible one in the United States. Cyclocross has truly exploded in this nation and for the first time (at least since Jan Wiejak for those of us that are old enough to remember this champion who taught the Americans what European cross REALLY is…) we will see seasoned Europeans toe the line here on our shores on a consistent basis. They’ll be competing in the biggest and best races from New England to Portland and all UCI stops in between. As Cannondale-Cyclocrossworld.com announced, multi-time Swiss Champion Christian Heule will race for the ‘Green Train’ here for the full fall schedule. But as I previously reported, Ben Berden will be yet another prominent European cyclocrosser coming to race here as well full time. Riding for a new bike manufacturer, Stoemper Bikes of Oregon, Ben will take on a full schedule here mixing it up with the best the US can throw at him.

Ben, as I reported in the last post, has a…past. He was a rising star as a Junior and U23 of the late 90’s generation…

Click to read more ...

My dear friend Michel sent me some bummer news.

Davy Coenen, a popular mountain biker and crosser for the team2mega/Ridley crew in Belgium was diagnosed with brain cancer last year where a 2x3 cm tumor was extracted.

A year of radiation and rehabing and it unfortunately appears that Davy is not gaining ground on the disease.

I snapped this photo of Davy railing the sweet singletrack in Shriek Grootlo in Belgium in January 2008. A mere year before he was diagnosed with the tumor. He flowed that day. I focused on him that day while Brandon was racing because I loved his style. It was noticeable and hooked me. I learned from watching him.

Life is... Well, life just 'is'. Think on Davy as anything can happen. More importantly, put that extra strength down on those pedals each ride. Because you're healthy and you're able.

I don't get it. Do you? What the deuce is slung on Lance's back?

In the annals of cycle-dom, there have been some doozie uniforms...and many worse than RadioShack's cute little number, but none that resemble a cocktail dress. Lance needs a little more boob salad to pull it off it seems.

Maybe I'm just old and my style vision is wearing thin...but these kits need a re-think.

Post haste.

Everything you wanted to know about Prince...ahem...Albert.

Honestly, I do not think that I’ve ever seen Joachim (emphasize the "Yo!" in Joachim) without his red and white Danish National Champion’s kit. The guy is an institution of cyclocross battling with the best in Za Motherland and we are blessed to have him here in Boulder for a bit. Joachim Parbo is hosting a ‘cross clinic for those who are ready to step up their game. Here’s your invite…

It's time to fine tune your skills, and prepare for the last month of the cyclocross season! Join Boulder Cycle Sport and Danish National Cyclocross Champion Joachim Parbo for an advanced cyclocross skills session on Monday, November 16th at 4:00pm. (Yes, we know it's early, but we have to get it done before the sun sets!). On the bike we will cover topics such as, how to ride sand pits, negotiating off camber turns, dismounts, remounts and more! Once the sun sets we will make our way to Restaurant 4580 for a technical discussion on equipment, bike set up, tire pressure and race strategy. Joachim has battled on the most difficult and challenging cyclocross courses in the world, and against the toughest competition, too. Learn some of his riding, training and bike set-up secrets!

WHAT:
ON THE BIKE SKILLS CLINIC: 4pm - 6pm

• Tackling sand pits

• Proper dismount and remount technique

• Setting up for tricky off-camber turns 

• Personalized tips and advice for each participant

OFF THE BIKE TECHNICAL CLINIC: 6pm - 7:30pm

• Technical discussion on equipment, bike set up and tire pressure
• Cyclocross bike fit suggestions
• Race course strategy: Planning your efforts right will make you faster!

WHEN:
MONDAY, NOVEMBER 16th, 4:00pm - 7:30pm

• 4:00 - 6:00 pm - On the bike skills clinic
• 6:00 - 7:30 pm - We'll get out of our bike clothes and head to Restaurant 4580 for an off the bike technical clinic, Q & A, plus food and drink!

HOW:

CLINIC FEE is $45 per person and included food and drink at Restaurant 4580
SPACE IS LIMITED TO 30 RIDERS!

Please swing by Boulder Cycle Sport to sign up. Payment must be made with cash or check (to Boulder Cycle Sport)
FOR QUESTIONS OR MORE INFORMATION: email brandon@bouldercyclesport.com

There are signs of life growing in the advertising world, my friends, and large corporations are beginning to poke their heads out of their foxholes, having been forced to bunker-in during the last year or so while the markets were pounded and companies reeled in spending to improve any aspect they could on profitability.

But alas, storms pass, and corporations are looking towards was to brand and market themselves. Web 2 and other social networking mediums are in use, but health and lifestyle are as equally important in the eyes of those attempting to associate: product<-->brand<-->lifestyle.

I'm happy to say there there IS MOMENTUM and there are motions being made to formulate new professional North American road and cyclocross teams for men and women backed by a large sponsorship. A big part of making this a reality is proving to potential sponsors that people who would be interested in their products and services are also cycling enthusiasts.

So, I am inviting you all to take this short survey (sub 5 minutes) which will help yield data to the companies investigating the viability of large-scale sponsorship.

Click Here to Take the Survey!

Also, if you feel so inspired, leave some comments on your thoughts about this below as the parties reviewing this data will be interested to see free-thought on this subject matter too.

Old people of the world, unite!

She's gone and done it. AD has announced her un-retirement...for 'cross! That's right Allison; the Force in this sport, too strong is.

This makes me unspeakably happy. It shows that the attraction of the sport is 100% fun. The pain and suffering required to be good is proving to fade away as the joy of being at a 'cross race and demonstrate yourself in front of fans lining the tape and being in your face every weekend outweighs....well, outweighs just about anything. Even perceived 'age'.

You rock on AD. Bring the pain to those young'uns like Compton and Georgia. Just man up and get rid of that bunk shoulder pad on your top tube! Totally un-PRO. Ha!

Photo ©: AFP

I'm such a weak-ass blogger these days....sorry! My focus is about work these days. Getting in the riding at odd and random times to keep me from turning into a Michelin man, but the balance is imbalanced these days to say the least.

Anyhoo, my main man Geert in Za Motherland reminded me that 'cross is alive and well! And the last one, a GVA, will be at Ooostmalle this Sunday and bright to you in live streaming technicolor by our friends at Sport.BE. I'll set this post to go off again Saturday PM to remind you all for Sunday but figured I's send this out now.

Set your alarm clocks for tomorrow's SP at Hoogstraten. Race is at 2:30PM in Belgie-land and is 8 hours time difference from MST. So do the math for your region...

Here it is folks! Confirmation! Universal Sports is definitively covering our beloved World Championships in Hoogerheide this weekend. SWEET!

From their representative:

Schedule with Video Links ( the video links will come up as soon as they are available the day of the event): http://www.universalsports.com/SportSelect.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=23000&KEY=&SPID=13044&SPSID=105620

Cycling Channel Page: http://www.universalsports.com/SportSelect.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=23000&KEY=&SPID=13044&SPSID=105618

"Unfortunately we can only say the event is VOD (video on demand). It
depends on how long it takes them to send the feed over to us as soon
as the event ends, so we can't say a specific time that it will happen. But it
should come up a couple hours after the event so still in the morning
time.

But sorry we can't be more specific with the time, if we had it live we
would definitely be able to give out a time. The best link to use is
this one. "