December 14, 2009 (Overijse, Belgium) – Ontario’s Mike Garrigan is a former CX national and provincial champ and currently is a level 3 cycling coach working in Ontario coaching MTB athletes. Racing since the age of 21, Garrigan was a member of the MTB U23 national team, and twice member of the National Cyclocross Team winning the National CX title in 2007. After a season of coaching he decided to move to Belgium for three months where he plans to race weekly for fitness and experience and will be sending us regular reports about the Euro CX scene and his adventures.

Three days of no rain leading into the weekend made for some faster courses. Most riders still used mud tires on Saturday in Essen but after another sunny day, more racers rode the “normal” tires on Sunday in Overijse. I have learned that regarding tire choice, here you either say “I’m running muds or I’m using normals”. I’m guessing there’s no easy Flemish translation for “I’m running whatever I have.”

Make no mistake, the courses where still slick, and although the mud bogs weren’t soupy, they were laden with very deep ruts.

Saturday’s course in Essen was primarily flat with the exception of four large man-made features including two very soft (deep mud) run-ups (a few rode up), one large ramp that rode over the course to create a figure-8 profile, and, in case your bike wasn’t dirty enough, two large sand pit piles to top off the spectacle.

The pit had 10 pressure washers for the mechanics and riders seemed to be pitting every few laps. Lots of fans cheering and hollering, and the party didn’t seem to be slowing down as the riders left the venue.

In contrast, the course in Overijse on Sunday was VERY hilly – the designers decided to start us off on a cobbled climb that was 1-2 minutes long (depending on the rider). With the first portion averaging 15%+, there was some quick reshuffling in the group as more than 50 riders battled one another for position. I witnessed a few collisions with fans as we fought for prime passing real estate on the edges of the course. It’s a little more aggressive here than back home. Good times.

Niels Albert took another victory in the end and I got to learn that I actually ride much faster when I’m being chased!! Getting caught by the leaders is a humbling but amazing feeling. All at once you go from feeling you are racing alone listening to most of the fans slurp beer and gobble frites, to feeling the crowds absolutely erupt to full volume! And that is when you realize you’re riding with some of the best cyclocrossers in the universe.

Good weekend – more photos and results from Essen here.

Mike

ps. I’d like to add (potentially for no other reason than to help my ego) that there are often many more starters than the results post. Before coming here, I sometimes wondered why the fields appeared to be so small in Belgium.  It turns out that many riders quit (for whatever reason) and the lap counters at the finish line deem some too slow to matter and eventually just stop counting. Good times all around. As a good friend of mine says – don’t get bitter, just get better.