2003 Superprestige #1 - Ruddervoorde - C1
The Superprestige series is second only to the 'cross World Cup in terms of the "prestige" associated with it. Sven Nijs could set the record this year for most Superprestige wins, as well as for most times as the overall winner. Unfortunately, Bart Wellens has been the 'cross man this season in his flashy, Cippolini-esse, World Champions skinsuit. The parcours was an excellent test of 'cross skills with two sets of stairs and at least two other runups. This in addition to a long sand pit through the beer tent made for a lot of dismounts and a premium on cross skills. However, the top few riders are all so smooth that there is little noticeable difference in their skills. They seem like they're going slow, but you know its just because they use little effort getting on and off the bike. One skill pointer to pick up was how effortlessly Nijs and Wellens remount, no wasted energy and all the sudden they're back to full speed. So, with a dry fast course, and a lot of accelerations and hairpin corners, it all comes down to power on the bike. Wellens, Nijs and Vanthourenhout gap the field earlier and then about half way through Wellens lays down the heat and its all over. From then on it's a TT on grass, and Nijs isn't able to close down the eventual 20 second gap. Jonathan Page rides to an excellent 17th place, but you get the impression it all he can do to hang with the group he's in. There are little chase groups scattered around the course, but on a fast course like Ruddervoorde, it takes a superhuman effort to cross a 5 second gap. The chasing riders all settle into their own private pain caves, and simply hope to not make that technical mistake that sends them back a group and costs 5 places. The sand pit provided some good comedy as even the top riders tried to ride all the way through and inevitably failed. The first Superprestige was a great display by the top riders and established the pecking order for the rest of the season. A great skills clinic as well, with gratuitous footage of beer-drinking Belgians, some in shirt and tie especially for this important social event. The short coverage of the Junior race was appreciated if only for the awesome beater resulting in facial lacerations by one of the erstwhile leaders. If you speak Dutch, you are also treated to an interview with Erik de Vlaeminck's daughter (or young girlfriend, it wasn't clear to me) who was in the Women's race.
4 Dugasts for the cool runups and the sandpit as well as "whose your daddy" riding by Wellens.
(Source: ProCycloCross)
2003 GP Eric De Vlaeminck.
You can read the official race report on cyclingnews. Here is my take on the race. The most amusing thing was the start, evidently the temperature was about 35 C, so you had the spectators in shorts. The commentary was in Dutch, but I'm sure the commentators were saying "cyclo-babes", no kidding. It's the same problem that the French have, there are some terms that just work better in English. Anyway, whether you believe this or not there were models in shorts and halter-tops helping organize the start. They had umbrellas as in most 'cross races, but it was to shade the riders. Erwin Vervecken was the official starter rather than racing since he had a cast on his wrist. He doesn't look so fast in street clothes. The course wasn't very technical, but the dry conditions had something to do with it. Again, the total lack of artificial barriers is a trend we would like to see reversed. The race was pretty much a case of the big guns, Wellens, DeClerq, and Nijs simply being patient. Wellens chased quite a bit early to keep it close and then rode away from Nijs and DeClerq to catch Berden and win the race. DeClerq again shows he's the old master of cross, minimizing his efforts and playing the opportunist. His skills are truly amazing in that he never seems to make a mistake and he gets back on the bike quicker than anyone else. De Vlaeminck is determined to get 'cross into the Olympics as a summer games sport, but it is truly antithetical to be watching a hot weather cross race. Its not the same game without the prospect of mud and snow, and where is the pit crew with their barn boots and pressure washers? This is a DVD for the hard core cross fan, but 'cross is still cross and it still ranks well above Nascar. Dr. Cross gives it a rating of 2 Dugasts.
(Source: ProCycloCross)
2002 Kalmthout(WC2)
Excellent video coverage of a World Cup mudfest. Conditions and the course were really "heavy", a few pavement sections, but mostly slogging mud. The course is characterized by several slippery runups and a couple of "jogging" sections due to the deep mud. Groenendaal shows why he's the best on slippery, power courses. Mario de Clercq also shows his excellent cross skills and demonstrates that he's not simply a sprinter by grinding down the younger Belgians. An added bonus is seeing Sven Nijs stack it twice, including one over the handlebars crash for maximum style points. Even a Colnago 'cross bike is evidently no guarantee against the untimely beater. Who knew? Dutch language commentary is a bonus for those with Flemish roots, but the video coverage is so good that the DVD is still well worth watching. An excellent race for picking up skill tips due to the numerous dismounts and runups.
(Source: ProCycloCross)
2003 Cyclocross World Championships
English language commentary of 2003 Worlds in Monopoli Italy. Once again, Belgian domination of the world championships demonstrates the uneasy alliance among the Belgian crossers. For the most part this race shows the key strategy is to establish an ethnically pure break and then fight it out later in the race to decide the best Belgian of the day. Wellens is clearly the strongest, fighting back from difficulties early in the race. Highlights are an impressive ride by "the Elf", Italian Daniele Pontoni who was snubbed last year by the Italian cycling federation. Pontoni displays disdain for his competitors by causing a crash and then throwing his victim's bike to the ground during the disentanglement. Grace under pressure. The course is an interesting mix of fast and slow sections with a couple of slippery off camber corners and even a barrier section; now a rare feature of top-level 'cross courses. There seemed to be a lot of whining from the US 'crossers this year, but the cream rises to the top and you don't beat Bart Wellens by racing against Johnny Sundt all year. DVD includes the womens race, unfortunately the commentary is Dutch. Same women's podium as last year, only the order is reshuffled.
(Source: ProCycloCross)
2002 Cyclocross World Championships
English Language commentary of 2002 world championships at Circuit Zolder, Belgium. With the 2002 race taking place in the stronghold of cyclocross, there was extreme pressure on the Belgians to capture the title. The course was setup on the former F1 car racing circuit, including the grandstand flanking the start finish. This was good planning since the estimated 50,000 fans certainly taxed the facilities, although there was sufficient beer tent capacity and plenty of frites available. The 'cross course was a generally fast circuit made even faster by the dry conditions. Despite this, the DVD shows a surprising technical aspect with a couple of hills that became dismounts among the riders fighting for advantage. Watching the DVD, I was surprised at how technical the corners were, something difficult to see live since the Belgian fans were 15 deep in front of me when I was watching the race in person. Zolder was a good example that it’s the riders that make a race hard, even on a supposedly "easy" course. There was a lot of opportunity for pack riding on this course, but the lower rank riders still got blown out the back by the Belgians.
(Source: ProCycloCross)