From my www.bikenewsasia.com site - the next part will be posted there tomorrow
Cyclo-Cross – Mud, Sweat, and Beers
Dirty, cold, painful, but great fun, it’s like racing on a knife-edge, almost gladiatorial in many ways. It’s cyclo-cross time again, so we thought we’d take a broader look at what the sport is all about.
Cowbells clang boldly as if there is a mass stampeded taking place, air horns blast out in unison, while regional and national flags rage above the frantic crowds, all cheering insanely for their favourites. No it’s not the Super Bowl; it’s atypical Belgian cyclo-cross race.
If you could imagine all the roar and atmosphere of a finale of a Tour de France stage on the great Alpe d’Huez, and then bring it all into the centre of a small town for everyone to join in then you’ll get a feel of what it’s like at a major cyclo-cross race on a cold winters day in Belgium, or in anywhere else within driving distance of the tiny beer and fritte producing nation, which is without a doubt the original homeland of all things bike racing.
To many people cyclo-cross is seen as some kind of strange sport that involves riding and running around in the cold and the mud (which it is), and could well seem kind of pointless. After all, that’s what mountain bikes are for, aren’t they? But say that to any Belgian cyclo-cross fan and you’ll probably be hung and strung by his braces and battered by his cowbells.
Sure enough Belgium has more than its fair share of great classic bike races to go at, not to mention top bike riders and teams, and the place virtually drowns in cycling culture and history. But when it comes to cyclo-cross they become that extra little bit fanatical, and when it comes to the racing rule the roost in every single aspect of the wintertime discipline too.
The frosted and misty cabbage fields of Flanders are a bleak and unforgiving place in winter. The wind roars, the rain cuts sideways, and in-between the rains the ice freezes its ploughed furrows. It’s these sorts of conditions that have moulded the Flandrians over the years, and is partly why they have such tough bike racers. So the thought of getting out and racing around these fields in such conditions is not exactly alien to the wind hardened northerners, and coming out to watch them do it is great entertainment on a cold and dreary winters weekend.
On any given weekend between September and late February there will be local cyclo-cross races taking place all over Belgium and Northern Europe. These races have all of the usual race categories, are held on circuits of about a mile in distance; and for the senior riders races are usually raced for one hour plus one lap, almost like a big muddy critirium
Conditions vary; but a typical Belgian race circuit will contain a number of obstacles, lots of twisty grass riding, short road sections and a few technical bits plus a short run or two. Most aficionados don’t consider a race to be a true cyclo-cross unless the circuit is also caped in ankle deep mud, and they often are.
The sport started out around a century ago as a way for road riders of the day to keep fit during the harsh winter off-season. But these days with longer and more demanding road race seasons to cope with, and the easier availability of cheap sunshine in southern Europe, not so many of the really top line road riders compete seriously in cross. Although many top road pro’s do still regularly ride the mud; riders such as Lance Armstrong, John Gadret and Roger Hammond are all fans of playing dirty.
Cyclo-cross has grown in stature and standard dramatically since its official “incarnation” in 1950. Belgium leads the major players by a long muddy stick, while Holland, Czech Republic, Switzerland and France follow on, with smaller cross powers like the USA, UK, Italy and Germany trailing a little behind. That said; from a participation numbers stand point the US pretty much rules – with some events attracting over 1000 riders, more than many road events get.
There are a number of potential reasons for the sports popularity; from an average riders point of view it’s great fun, it really works well as a way of maintaining and boosting fitness – which forces them to ride more and cross train during the winter. It’s also great for bike handling work, and it’s all over with in an hour – an intensive hour that could all too easily have been spent in front of a TV on that wet day.
It’s also a great way to be able to race at weekends for riders who simply do not have the time available to put in the long training hours that are required to even stay in the bunch of an average road race.
At the top end it’s a different story; many European riders first cut their knees in muddy cyclo-cross fields, so it is pretty much in their blood. Plus for those on a higher level, it’s an incredibly lucrative sport too, and they are virtual super-stars in their home countries – especially in Belgium. Besides the usual team sponsorship and prize money, most elite riders will receive handsome start money for races, especially for the bigger events. A rider of the prominence of Sven Nys could earn up to $10,000 in start money for a major race – and race 40 times during a season. Major race organisers are full time commercial set ups, so the standards are always high in every aspect.
The upper echelon of cyclo-cross is comparatively rich when compared to other branches of the sport, why? Imagine Frazer Vs. Ali, the Super Bowl or the World Series taking place every weekend somewhere close to your home town, and once a year within walking distance – and for free!
Just as they do with other major sports, the average fans in Belgium know all of the riders. Bart Wellens even has a weekly TV docu-soap show following his every move; so when they come to town everyone comes to watch. Add in the fact that the circuit distance and layout means they can see the riders every 2-3 minutes, and it’s great free entertainment.
Bike racing is a tough sport, and in Belgium it has always been associated with the tough working classes, so when these working class cycling heroes come out to race the atmosphere is nothing short of electric. But, or course you have to add in the other great Belgian element – beer! Yes beer; the Belgians make more of it, and better beer than anybody, and they love to drink the stuff too. What better accessory for a cyclo-cross bubba watching a race? And then by late afternoon it’s all over, and they can make it home in time to watch the race on TV, because all of the major races are televised. This accounts for the sponsorship, popularity, and the high awareness factor of the sport in Northern Europe. When it comes to filming a cyclo-cross it’s a piece of cake, and cheap when compared to following a road race.
Outside of Northern Europe there’s the Czech Republic Although the former eastern block nation has no great cycling culture, its system has always produced great cyclo-cross riders. Back in the communist days they produced several World Champions, drawn in to sport by the great potential bonus offers; and even now they rank second to Belgium on a performance scale.
In the USA the sport really kicked off in the late 1970’s, but now it’s quite huge, and American riders are making regular top positions in big Euro races too; the great Nike add with Lance certainly helped things along on the popularity front.
Elsewhere cyclo-cross gets harder to find. In Japan there are a few races; and the Kansai Series is very popular, and sometimes attracts visiting Europeans. In China there is a very small series in Beijing, and a bigger series in Shanghai, and Mongolia sent a small team of riders to try their hands at the sport in Europe – with the support of Johan Musseuw’s bike manufacturing company. So it really is slowly taking on the World.
** Thanks to UCI technical guru Simon Burney for his help.
To be continued
