Sicko-cross
A few months ago, while in the depths of the Belgian winter, I was offered a small ray of sunlight from the other side of the world. It was more the prospect of a glimmer of sunshine and warmth, something to distract me at a… More ›
Author: alex
Kiwis of the Worlds
The second week of my time in Kentucky saw the arrival of the rest of the Australasian, and so too the entire southern hemisphere, cyclocross contingent. This consisted of 7 people, with five nationalities represented – Genevieve Whitson, Kiwi racer based in Scotland and her… More ›
‘Merica, F*** Yeah!
The state of Kentucky is famous for several things, from a massive horse breeding and racing tradition with the annual derby to the Colonel’s secret recipe and the ensuing high rates of obesity, heart disease and diabetes that he (amongst others) has helped bring about.… More ›
New Year’s Revolutions
It’s been a while since I last put an update here, and that time has seen the last of the mud in Belgium swiftly run to the refrigerator, find that not cold enough so hop out and slip into the freezer nextdoor. This has in… More ›
Murry Chrossmas
Merry belated Christmas everyone, and Happy New Year. I don’t have all that much more energy for celebrations at the moment, as the last couple of weeks have been quite different to any of my life until this point. For a start Christmas was cold… More ›
I’m Leuven It
After three and a half months of racing every weekend, with two per weekend once a month as well as the occasional mid-week race, I felt it time to have a bit of time off racing. I’ve been feeling good and still as excited about… More ›
Far Roo-bey, chur bol.
Last weekend I headed South of the border for my first cyclocross race outside of Belgium since I left New Zealand. Roubaix, France hosted the 4th round of the elite men’s World Cup, and my second in as many weeks. A very different course from… More ›
Mud, Sand and Gears
The last two weekends have featured some of the coolest and most unique races of the Belgian cyclocross season. After getting sick for a couple more days following Hamme-Zogge I eventually started to feel better, and by the end of the week was able to… More ›
Thinny, Fatty, in a Meat Patty
When I last checked in I’d just had three races in four days, two of which were A races and the last one a B grade affair. I’d been feeling good in the second two, but was slightly anxious about picking up some kind of… More ›
Riding on the Heads of Children
A few weeks ago I was invited to attend the media presentation for the annual Koppenbergcross race, which doubles as the second round of the bpost Bank Trofee series. Along with two other local Oudenaarde-based riders, British champion Helen Wyman and Danish representative Margriet Kloppenburg… More ›
Modder of Fact
After the broiled cess pit of a bog that was Laarne a fortnight ago, I thought I’d encountered some of the worst that Belgium’s rain on recently harvested cornfields could produce. The following week I had a painful but exciting frolic around the NZ pasturescape… More ›
Rolling Meadows, Struggling Minnows
Sunday saw the hosting of the first round of the 2012/13 season’s bpost Bank Trofee series. Formerly called the GVA Trofee, it is the other main cyclocross series in Belgium along with Superprestige. I had been over the course earlier in the week to practice,… More ›
Modder of God
Last weekend I had my first taste of real Belgian mud, or modder as it is called here. I was encouraged to enter the race by my friend and local ex-pat-to-Belgian convert Darryn Medhurst. It was just down the road from his house, and he’d… More ›
Going to Town with the Pros
This weekend just gone was again a double header. The difference between this pair and the others I did over the weekend back in early September was that this time they were both A grade, classified as UCI category 2 and 1 respectively. The addition… More ›
Hoboken Bonobo Bro
After my awesome virginal experience with the professionals last weekend, I let my fledgling ambitions of fandom take a back seat and once again found myself staring at the rear ends of what was this time a massive field in the B grade at Hoboken.… More ›
How To Get A Fan Club Overnight
Last weekend I had two B-grade races, and these served as my introduction into the world of cyclocross à la Belgique. The racing was high-speed, furious, dusty and very hot. It was around 30° on both days, so having drink bottles handed up during the… More ›
The Cyclocross Season Is Over: The Cyclocross Season Has Just Begun
After a winter of racing cyclocross in New Zealand, I have made it to the Continent for a detailed education of the finer points of this denomination of the cycling world, which will be taught to me by the absolute best. In the world. New… More ›