As a dyed-in-the-wool Northerner, my time living in the South was a mixed bag. Southerners think differently, speak differently, eat differently, and prioritize life differently than do Yankees. In many ways, I became a better person during my time in the South, learning to relax a little bit and stop chasing my tail over everything all the time. In fact, the new and relaxed Frank was probably better prepared for the mellow attitude towards living that I’ve found so delightful here in the Pacific Northwest. (Believe it or not, PNW Frank of today is less-uptight than previous iterations.)
On the other hand, trying to get something moving faster than it was already moving was a near-impossible task and one that caused my impatient self frustration at times. I also learned that while the North has long since moved on from the trials and tribulations of the Civil War (er, the War of Northern Aggression), parts the South has not. In fact, any conversation with an elderly Southern Gentleman would invariably lead to the assertion that the South would rise again, to which my query was ignorant as always: “Again?”
My sense of nationalism is a wonderfully flexible thing. I was raised in the States in a Dutch household by Dutch parents speaking Dutch as my first language. I was, however, born in Saint Paul, Minnesota, about a score after Johnny Cash accidentally met a heartbreaker there. On any typical day, I self-identify as a Dutchman, despite my passport being inarguably American after having been born within the borders of the United States. But whenever the good ol’ US of Fuckin’ A pulls one out of the bag, my allegiances happily flop over and I’m suddenly a proud American. Its very convenient, always being on the winning side this way.
Seeing the turnout at the Cyclocross World Championships was one of those times. Everything fell in place; the crowds, the racing, and the weather going full-blown Cyclocross by throwing ice, snow, mud, and rain at the racers. American Katie Compton even brought home a Silver medal. (Oh, and by the way, the Dutch won 3 out of 4 events, so put that in your pipe, Belgium.)
This was already enough to restore my faith in American Cycling, but it wasn’t until the Elite Men’s Award Ceremony that I was nearly brought to prideful tears. There isn’t any population that has a healthier disdain for authority than do Americans, and I can’t think of any group of Americans with a healthier disdain for fat white corrupt assholes than Southerners. Given the current state of affairs, I tip my hat to the great work done by Louisville, Kentucky in organizing the event, the throngs who showed up and proved that Cycling can be successful in America, and booing Pat McQuaid like he has always deserved.
I’m not sure if the South will rise again, but I’m mighty proud at how we pulled this one up from the ashes. Chapeau, ‘Murca.
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Loving the booing of McQuaid!
It looked like a fantastic event, jealous of those who could go.
Watched the race on Sunday morning, it was freakin awesome! The weather, the crowd, the racing, it was like a real Euro cross race! My mate Alex Revell had a good race, and finished a lap ahead of five other riders, and won his friendly battle with Aussie Lewis Rattray.
Pauwels was unlucky, it looked like his Di2 was giving him grief while trying to get the chain back on. He was looking strong. Vantornout made a couple of mistakes and that was all Nys needed to turn the screws. Klaas looked a bit pissed off on the podium, almost ungracious.
And Vos, well what can you say? Just amazing.
@eightzero WTF ! That was hilarious, But i did notice one thing that stood out? The home grown podium girls were smoken if i do say so myself.
"booing Pat McQuaid like he has always deserved" - excellent. Almost would have been worth the trip just for that.
Confusing all round....what is this strange sport of cyclo-cross?
Even more so is the Johnny Cash reference....as soon as you mentioned where you were born "Big River" gave me a massive lightening strike of reminiscence and although the riff is the same, was Cry Cry Cry about the same woman?
The reference is at 0:35 and I still recall the hangover the morning after the day he died after an all night session with my Dad discussing his life and music....and drinkiing far far too much beer wine and whisky....and sending texts to my brother in the Gulf letting him know the "Man in Black" had departed...
I was there, sorry I didn't realize you were there Chuck! Got to meet VeloVita and get a few photos, as I thought we were the only Velominati there.
What a day. My VMH and I did some couch surfing at a house that overlooked the Ohio River and the course. Tried to check it out Friday night but the cops kept us away. Awoke Saturday morning to snow and cold temperatures. The Junior race as nice, course was frozen and snowy. van der Poel was incredible. I actually didn't know who he was but did notice the WC stripes on his shades. "Hmm, I'm thinking he's won this before." Yep, defending champ.
Marianne Vos. Wow, she made it look easy. That is the thing with the best cx racers - they almost don't look like they are trying. Smooth pedal stroke the whole time, rarely out of the saddle and perfect through the corners. You can see the other racers get tired and cut corners and take bad lines, but not the best at the front. Katerina Nash. Heartbreaking, great effort, but seems as if that is the first ever podium in a big race Chainel-Lefevere. Caroline (my VMH) commented that it was poor sportsmanship to overtake Nash but I said that's how racing goes. So cool to see Vos in person. I've never been to a big race and to have her pass right by me...wow! I actually have two blisters on my fingers from ringing our Turkish "cowbell" (all we had!) so fervently. Battle wounds!
U-23 men. Another big Dutch win, as the crowd really started to build up.
Elite men - what can you say. Nys & Vantournout kept their powder dry as Mourey and Simunek went off the front, knowing that an hour of racing is a long time. I still haven't seen Klaas hang-ups so will have to go back and watch the video. Earlier in the day the crowd was small enough that you could run all over the place & see the race from all over, including running to the finish line. Not so by this race. Felt bad for the Hungarian, the Norwegian, the Australian, and the Kiwi racer & cheered my ass off for them, but think all four DQed. The Norwegian went down on the technical back corner that I would have had trouble with on a dry day & I think that is where he abandoned.
I think it actually was more fun to have all the races crammed into one day. Spent Sunday seeing Louisville, as we'd never been there. Cool city, felt "northern" after driving up from NC but not as "north" as my homeland of NY.
My first major race & it was really great. It blew my mind to see all the mechanics/crew just walking around shouldering super nice bikes, bringing them to the pits and such. And really, really cool to see the Bart Wellens fan club, just a bunch of Belgian folks out having a good time.
Note to self: ease off on bike purchases and buy a better camera. The VMH nearly got a photo of me under the Finish banner with Jonathan Page passing me as he rode back to the team area but...it shut off as she clicked it. Argh! Did get a sweet shot of Vantournout's bike being wheeled back to the team area by his mechanic right after the race ended.
I had a great time & Caroline is now hooked on cross, which is great. As she said, anyone could have a great time there. Really fun to be so close to the racers.
In other news: I think they had 6 porto-bathrooms. That was rough. Beer & frites lines were insane. I didn't even bother, just nipped the gin I had in my pocket. Caroline gave up on frites after a long wait. I guess this situation was due to cramming the races into one day but c'mon organizers. Lots of fun fans & the changing conditions of the course made each race really unique and awesome.
Ha, I said, "What the fuck?" aloud when they announced McQuaid. I couldn't/can't believe he had the balls to show up! Yes, I booed him.
Crowd was big but I do wish it had been more balanced in the sense that the scruffy, bar-fly Pabsters hadn't seen it as just an outdoor frat party and just used it as a chance to get totally bombed & the people who came just because they live in Louisville and wanted to check it out had been a bit more enthusiastic. I cheered every racer but some of the folks around me just stood hands in pockets, hoping for the race to be over so they could get out of the cold.
That said, WOW! What an awesome weekend & what a great experience to be inside the (outer) barriers and that close to the racers, the mechanics, the Dutch, Belgian, & Swiss fans. Crazy for me to see some regular dude walk by, smoking a cigarette, carrying some $4000 wheels. Damn.
I'll get some of the less-than-spectacular photos I have up later today. Velovita had not one but two nice cameras. I'm hoping he'll hook it up for y'all!
Oh, and I'm certainly no expert but one thing I noticed: the professionalism & unity & focus of the Belgian & Dutch teams. This was highlighted for me by the fact that they all had on the same clothing, gloves, etc. They were using cantilever brakes too. Meanwhile, the Americans were all dressed differently. What I'm getting at is it seemed the Belgians & Dutch had a coach who simply said, "Wear this." and that was the end of it. Focus on the race, not your knee warmers or something else. Full leggings, high socks, good gloves, nothing under the helmet. The Americans were all over the place in dress & some on disc brakes.
It just seemed like the Belgians & Dutch used the proven gear & dressed smartly and left it at that. Focussed on the race. The Americans, and others, seemed to spend too much time second-guessing clothing, gear, etc.
There is a good story on Sven Nys' bike & how he's on a Colnago that is a few years old, still using older Shimano pedals, and still on older Di2. Bonkers to me that the best in the world is using scuffed up cranks, but hey, I'm not going to question his decision!
I was freaking 90 minutes away from Louisville for a whole week the week before the Worlds. I really wish I was there for the event. However, Merckx willing, I will be moving to Lexington, KY in the near future and will be CXin' up a storm in years to come.
i attended as well. and it was ri-goddamn-diculously amazing. road cycling is great and everything, but wow is it incredible to see riders plow through mud at insane speeds and hear the roar of the crowd nearing you with every passing lap.
there are a couple items in the article i'd like to point out:
1) there wasn't really any ice or rain being thrown at the racers. in fact, only the elite men had any precipitation, with snow coming down on 'em (and it was pretty light). the ground was snow covered (and mud...so much mud) but not icy. doesn't take away from the "epic-ness" of it, but just wanted to point out that really the weather was basically perfect that day. it is, however, insane that a few riders didn't wear gloves and a couple went without leg/knee warmers on. screw that.
2) i wouldn't credit any booing slung towards patty mc'q to southerners. i think locals accounted for a very small population of those present and others were from all over the US (and Europe).
some pics!
@Ron
can't really speak to the unity/focus you've mentioned, but as far as their kit i think it kind of varies depending on the rider and country. for example, gabby day is a british rider for rapha/focus normally and was riding in GB colors with SKY logos and no rapha logos to be seen (other than on her bike), simply because british cycling and SKY are tight-knit partners. on the other hand, you could see trek logos on katie compton's but not on other US women. similarly, the elite US men from cannondale/cyclocrossworld.com had cannondale logos on their kit. if you look at the belgian riders though, you can see they have a different range of sponsors on their kit. on the other hand, every photo i've seen of dutch riders just had rabobank logos on them. like i said, it's all over the map so i think it just depends on the country's national cycling program and its sponsors, as well as the rider's sponsors and their agreements. it's normally this way at road racing worlds too, i believe.
disc brakes: powers and johnson have been on/off them all season (trebon too, i think). johnson was actually running hydraulic ones with MONSTER hoods to hold the master cylinder. they're crazy. makes the bike heavier too. but they seem to like 'em for whatever reason... but there is a resistance among european CX pros to disc brakes. there's a velonews article about it somewhere... i forget their reasoning, but i think it's basically: "cantis work fine, why change?"