The Phoenix
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.
I was there. I was epic.
Sorry, ‘it’ was epic. Well, maybe I was epic too but some of details from Saturday night are a bit fuzzy.
The unstoppable Belgian Blue train.
Nice one Frank. I’ll repeat here what I said in the other CX thread — we need some live reports because I think some of you were 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.”
As a German-Canadian I can identify with this stance. Kabush pulls off a 24th place? No sweat, I’ve got the Fatherland rounding out the top 5. It’s a convenient arrangement for all parties involved. Not to mention the German team kit is way cooler than the Canadian one. As a bonus when wearing the Fatherland’s kit in France the drivers will give you a wide berth.
Kabush was keeping some in the bank for the second event of the Omnium, the Hosers vs The World hockey game he organized at 10:30am on Sunday.
@Nate
I think I saw @QuattroCreep across the course. Couldn’t get to him though.
Thanks @CanuckChuck.
The most exciting USA news out of worlds might be the juniors results. We’ve got a good crop coming up in the next few years.
In American related news from Cross Worlds; Sue Butler, of Portlandia (44 years old, and could crush anyone of us softies any day of the week) brings home the hoops in the Masters Division! Good shit right there!
http://www.cxmagazine.com/masters-world-championship-2013-sue-butler-weber-sone
Sue always smiles which makes it that much worse when she’s killing you.
Isn’t it Phoenix?
Anyone got a link to the presentation?
@itburns
Um…yes. Yes it is.
Nevermind, found it.
http://youtu.be/Ol5bW3slz9A
I watched it on the uci youtube channel and it freaking looked awesome. Wish I could’ve made the trip to see it in person. There was a lot of epic and bad ass in Louisville from Sven Nys destroying the field, the weather and the booing of ol’ Pat. Kevin Pauwells stood on the side of the course messing with his chain for a minute and a half and still finished a minute or two ahead of the highest placed American.
Here is the video by the way –
I would like to congratulate my fellow Georgian Thomas Turner on his winning the Masters 30-35 CX World Championship. This guy barely missed first last year by about 20 feet. He’s been the local butt-kicker around here for the past few years. This dude makes it look easy. Second place is usually a few minutes back. Maybe now he’ll slow it up for us a bit and let someone else get close to a win in GA.
nothing like a healthy dose of “boooo”
If your like me and did not go to the big show because life gets in the way. Well i was able to find this little beauty for your viewing pleasure. So kick back and enjoy! Cycle cross worlds 2013
http://m.youtube.com/?client=mv-google#/watch?v=IL3oXSTWQTY
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?”
Lets be honest, the Dutch and Belgians could care less about disc vs cantis. They could pull the tail of a rattle snack causing it to bite down on the brake track, and still end up on the podium.
Great reports, youse who were there. But @Ron, gin, really? In Kentucky? Shoulda been bourbon!
I had plans to drive 3.5 hours from Columbus, Ohio, on Sunday to catch the races, then drive back. Really made no sense, but I was going to do it. Even found a guy with free VIP passes in a tent with food and beer. Then the schedule changed, couldn’t make it Saturday. Oh well. I stayed warmer watching it on the computer. I am stoked to race ‘cross this fall, though. Bought a cheap Raleigh Furley single speed.
And, not for nothing, it’s “dyed in the wool”, as in the dye is ingrained in the material. Sorry
@Cheaves
Indeed- away from cycling, but one of the more amusing moments of the Paralympics last year was during the Athletics, when the UK Chancellor of the Exchequer got to find out exactly how unpopular he was- at a veritable festival of inclusiveness and positivity he had the best part of 80,000 people booing his presence- nay, his very existence.
Weather was shit, kind of nice, then shit, then kind of nice, then shit for the elite men – so basically it was fucking perfect cyclocross weather. It was great to meet Ron and his VMH and chat for a bit. I wish we could have met up with all you other guys.
Some quick observations as sadly I have a lot of work to catch up on at the office:
1. Belgian fans I spoke to were overwhelmingly supportive of the event here in the US and excited that CX was growing in this country. Of course they realised the turnout was going to be no where near the 60,000+ at last years event, but were surprised and how supportive the fans were of all the riders, not just the Americans (which is what they expected)
2. Vos is fucking ridiculous. There is seriously no comparison between her level right now and that of Katie Compton. She was so far ahead the stewards were allowing full blown course crossings by throngs of people in between the two riders. It was great that Katie took 2nd and won the World Cup this year, but Vos is from another planet – Planet V.
3. The cyclocross equivalent of the V Locus is simply putting your head down between the bars, ignoring the fact that any exists in front of you and burying yourself on the flat, straight, paved sections. From the Juniors up through the elite men, I’ve never seen anything look more pro.
4. Apart from Trebon, these guys are so tiny its ridiculous. Trebon’s seatpost however looks the length of my entire seattube and I’m only 3″ shorter than him. I’m amazed he can handle a bike as well as he does.
5. The only disc brakes I saw were on bikes ridden by the Americans. Cantis didn’t seem to give anybody very many problems.
6. Ridley must be thrilled at the course announcer proclaiming the bike’s brand over and over when commenting on Pauwels chain issues. That said, its about the third or fourth time this season he’s had a mechanical issue that’s completely taken him out of the race. Sunweb can’t be thrilled with either their mechanics or their bad luck.
7. Good call on moving all the racing to Saturday. Riders would have needed scuba gear in the wooded section had the race schedule remained as originally planned.
8. Nys really needs to be seated at the right hand of the Merckx. He is just plain awesome.
9. Sportcrafters had the absolute coolest product on show at their tent. Its a prototype of mini-rollers (say 6″ or so) with built in resistance (like their current roller offerings) attached to a folding fork stand. Folded up, this was maybe the size of a car tire jack, but could easily replace a full fluid trainer or full set of rollers for warmups at races or even training at home.
10. I should have brought my DSLR and some autofocus lenses. Still Here are a few photos. I took a lot more but haven’t had time to go through all of them yet:
The man himself
Tim Johnson finished as the top American in the elite mens race
J-Pow had a rough day
So did Gabby Day
The new Giro helmets are fugly no matter who is wearing them
Even the Belgian U23s know how to do casually deliberate
Who says light blue isn’t a bad ass colour?
Putting the ‘V’ in Vos
The weather was perfect for the mens finale
@Ron
Ah ha! Now I understand why you weren’t toting beers! Nice work! I had some whiskey back in the hotel room, but figured I wouldn’t be able to smuggle it in. As it turns out, I could probably have brought in a film crew and rolled a keg in with me and no one would have cared.
Velo – Nice shots! And great analysis. Aaaah, sorry for not sharing. I guess I was so overwhelmed by everything I forgot, but very unVelominati like to not help a Follower out. I’ll have to get ya back next time we meet!
They had some demo Moots on display with Shimano stems & seat pillars. I had never seen the pillars…which sport a V right at the front, so when you are really dying and hang your head so low you can see between your legs, you see a V!! Nice compliment to the stem V.
Yeah, I know I was in bourbon country but as I ride a Gin & Trombones I decided to go with gin, thought it might help me fully get in the spirit.
Yep, they had signs up “no outside food or drinks” and then when I saw people carrying in sippy cups of pussy drinks and even dogs I realized they weren’t really enforcing things. Might have very easily rolled in a keg, or two.
@Ron Did you bring a trombone too? Because that would have been over the top.
@Ron Goodness – I thought only flapper molls from 20s drank neat gin? Careful, you might get depressed.
@Nate
That would have been fucking awesome! Trust me, @Ron with some gin and a trombonewould have been exceptionally tame when compared with some of the fans
@roger
Mmmm. Rattle snacks.
@G’rilla
In the ‘Nam, they ate rattle snacks and they liked them.
I don’t know from cx, but the father of this heroine is one of the local retirees who can ride me into the ground:
http://www.cxmagazine.com/cx-female-master-3539-cyclocross-masters-world-championships-2013
A few more photos
Sven shaking out the legs pre-race
Georgia Gould
The Dutch did bring other women
Yes, yes it is
Vos drilling it
Yet more of the Dutch
The U23 race was arguably the most excitng of the day
Albert really seemed a bit off the entire race
The woods were packed with fans for the elite mens race
Trebon hoofing it
The Belgian champ pre-race
If someone could put all these in one of Frank’s neat and tidy albums, that would be great. Unfortunately I don’t know how to do that.
Alternatively, as I go through all my photos, I’ll be putting them here in case anyone is interested.
@chiasticon
@VeloVita
Great pics. Wish I had been there.
I watched the feed through CX Magazine in a cafe. It was spectacular. You Americans did us North Americans proud with the show!
Vos is a Boss! She killed the course. And the U23 Men’s race was the race of he day.
@VeloVita
Great shot! You should submit that to CXMagazine.com
A better video of McQuaid being welcomed to America:
http://cyclocosm.tumblr.com/post/42380183080/every-time-you-read-a-story-about-sock-height-uci
Some awesome photos here. However
What about, er… the French?
Why Trebon DNFed: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DH5XC12I1dc
That was a pretty steep hill and he’s falling from higher up than most.