Amsterdam Cyclocross season
As the season is winding down, and I am having cross withdrawal I thought it was a good time to reflect on my first season of cyclocross racing here in Amsterdam
The local scene
The Amsterdam cyclocross scene is a live and well, with 12 races making up the local series running from early October to mid-January. These are all within 20km of Amsterdam, and held by different local clubs and are a mixture of races in the park, around fields, through a local village to racing in a horse farm. Not the most technical racing, but good variety and great fun. Typically the fields are between 50 and 70 racers and the skill level varies from beginner to a ex-amateur world champion and a Conti-pro racer. A true mix, but this is what makes the scene. You do not need to an expert to race, and the field is a mix of cyclocross and mountain bikes. Everything from bling carbon cross bikes to 20 year old mountain bikes, and even a city hybrid turned in to a cross bike. You do not need a cross bike to race, and you do not need to be fast to race. You just need the right can do attitude, and it is great fun.
The other great thing about the series is that you get out to all of the local cycling clubs, and they are true clubs. Most have custom build crit courses, club houses that range from stylish with expresso machines to pretty basic, but all have beer on tap, showers and changing rooms and many years of cycling history on their walls. Ex-world champions jerseys, old time photos of years bygone and even the old old timers themselves drinking beer watching cross in the corner.
The local races can be found at https://sites.google.com/site/amsterdamsecrosscompetitie/agenda
Pre-season practice and skills
Prior to this season I had raced 2 cyclocross races, both last season. For those who have followed me this year, you will know Leah and I raced two multi-day stage races and enjoyed those a lot and also played on the mountain bike a little. My cyclocross specific skills were pretty rusty prior to the start of the season, and the jumping on and off the bike needed some work. Thanks to our friend Julio Jacob, who is now back in chilly windy, Chicago, we got a few lessons before the season. I say we, as my partner Leah, and a few others from ATAC, Amsterdam Triathlon and Cycling Club, were also racing and newbies to this cross thing. The early season practices involved learning how to get on and off the bike, without doing long term bodily damage to your undercarriage; riding our cyclocross bikes around the local mountain bike trail and then also the correct method to pick up your bike and run with it over your shoulder. All important skills for the up coming cross season.
We also practiced regularly with the WTC Amstel club. They run cyclocross training every Thursday night under lights and we made the most of this. It was great to see 40-50 juniors practice before us, then another 50 or so practice a little later. No wonder cross is so strong and the fields so deep when you see how young they start to practice and build the necessary skills
Armed with our new found skills, we were ready for the first race.
19 October, 2014. UWTC , Zwembad Nieuwveen
Cyclocross racing is sometimes called the hour of pain, although thankfully for the old over 40’s, it is only 40 minutes, but it still hurts. From the start whistle, it is all go and does not let up. The first race in the season always feels the hardest as your body is just not used to the intensity of 40 mins at your maximum and the first race was no different.
My memory of the first race is of a slow start as I was not sure how the race would go, then a hard push to get past a few people, before settling into a more steady pace. It is amazing how hard a 6 foot high bank can be if you climb up and over it every few feet (well that was how it felt), ride off camber along it, then push straight up it on the muddiest spot they could find before a 100% effort on a long straight. The course then continued on, drop down a steep little bank, hard slippery left, then a hard right and into a long bog pit, hard left, across the finish line, and into the sand pit and onwards. After my slow slow start, then hard push I found myself towards the front of the field and eventually in second place. Ron Vroom, ex over 40 amateur world champion had got away on the first lap, and started away, and I rolled across the line in second. I am not sure who was more surprised, the locals or me as they were pretty curious as to who this ATAC rider was that had unsettled the balance of power in the local scene and was collecting flowers on the podium. Good fun.
1st - Ron in the middle, 2nd - I am second in the ATAC kit and Casper came in 3rd.
Krakow
26 October, 2014
Missed the race as Leah and I spent the weekend in Krakow. A fun weekend, although I missed a flight and arrived the best part of 24 hours late and missed the salt mines. I will have to go back as I heard from Leah, that they are very good! A fun weekend and I enjoyed getting back to Krakow as I used to go there for work.
