WORLDS

Are you ready for the WORLDS? I am...although this time around I'll be riding the couch! I'm a little bummed not to be racing this year, but the US team is the strongest ever and the best 5 riders are representin'. I was pretty well spent by the end of the season and am definitely enjoying a little time off the bike.

I am however looking forward to next season. I'm already got a new Saris Power Tap SL +. I'm dialing up new sponsors, and dialing in a place for some spring training. A new Madone 6.5 Project One has been ordered, a new Top Fuel 9.9 is on the way, and the motivation is starting to come around.

First we better finish off this past season with some predictions.

Elite Men:

1. Nys

2. Stybar

3. Vantornout

Elite Women:

1. Nash

2. Compton

3. Vos

U23:

1. Meeusen

2. Jouffroy

3. Szczepaniak

Jr.

1. Boros

2. Van Der Poele

3. Lasak

Super Sunday 2 weeks in a row for me!

Keepin' Busy

More time in the basement scraping the old paint and efloresence off of the cement block walls and full time at the shop doesn't leave much time for anything else. Thankfully I didn't have to work this weekend, but I was still busy as can be...

Saturday morning breakfast ride on the commuter cross bike in 37 degrees and a light mist. It was the first time I have been on the bike since the race in St. Niklaas. That's three weeks off the bike and the legs were feeling it for sure.

After the ride it was Granpa Hildebrands 90th birthday party! The entire Hildebrand clan was there in full force to celebrate. After the party we hit up Lakeshore Lanes for a Bacon Cheeseburger and the big after party.....7:00pm. We bowled 2 games and I rolled a 140 and a 146! Andrea rolled a 97. Much better than in Izegem!

This morning was an early trip over to the in-laws so I could watch Hoogerheide WC live. It was an awesome race and after Prince Niels got the W, next weekends Worlds is wide open.

This afternoon might be a little more work down in the basement......but I think I'd rather ride the couch and watch some football......I'm catching a slight wiff of Belgian Waffles with the last of the Belgian Chocolate so I better head downstairs!

hmmmm

Cowboys or Vikings?

This looks like fun doesn't it....

FOR SALE $2350 w/o wheels $2500 w/ wheels

The New Year

I'm back.....back from Belgium and back from a mini vacation up to the cabin in Eagle River for some much needed r & r...

I made it home with little troubles from Belgium. Needless to say the last 7 days and 5 races had me pretty hurt. The 8.5 hour flight and the all nighter after the last race didn't help things either.

My best cure for the jet lag was a quick trip up north for some perfectly groomed XC ski trails. Andrea Elicia and I slapped on the striding skis and went and got all the fresh air one

needs.

As far as the racing goes....I'm happy to be taking an extended break and calling it a very successful season. The WORLDS team is pretty stacked this year and its looking like I will not be on the team. The camp was a lot different than last year. The racing was twice as hard due to a different schedule and the conditions. Things started a lot faster with a race 2 days after arriving instead of a week to get adjusted like last year. The mud made for a lot less recovery time and much more time cleaning and doing laundry. Overall my results were very similar to last years camp, but again I learned a ton and will come back to next cross season with more confidence and more knowledge of cross.

Now it's time to get some sponsorship dialed in for next year, get back to work at the bike shop, and come up with a plan for next race season. Oh yeah...I have about 9 months of home improvement projects that I need to cram into the next 1.5 months before I start up the base miles again.

I will be selling both of my cross bikes from the season so anybody interested in a Blue Norcross 56cm should send me an e-mail.

Thanks again to everybody who helped along the way in 2009. Can't wait to give it another go in 2010!

Sint Niklaas

My final race of camp is complete. The bags are packed. The bikes are packed. Hopefully they are underweight. 6 or 7 of us leave tomorrow at 3am. 5 hours from now. The others are going up to Holland to race Boom and then leaving on Monday. I'm hoping for an all nighter and then full 8 hours sleep on the plane. I arrive in the US at noon and then to Chicago by 4:00pm. Needless to say I'm pretty pumped to head home and see Andrea and Rosco.

Earlier 9 of us cruised up past Antwerp to Sint Niklaas. The race was pretty good. Last year I struggled on the big loop around the lake. Maybe it was my tire selection last year, but this year I had a full arsenal of tires and wheels to choose from. I opted for the EC90 Aeros with the Dugast Rhinos. I was happy with the selection. The course was a little different than last year and I like it much better. Instead of a full loop around the lake we made it half way around and then looped back. There was a huge flyover, some steep icy climbs, steep muddy drops, slick off-camber sections which shot you towards the frozen lake, sand, beach, steps, and of course cobbles.

I had a good start and after a lap was battling in a good group. Pretty close to zero mistakes, perfect tire pressure, and pretty good legs considering this is my 7th race in the past 2 weeks and 5th race in the last 8 days. I'm also fighting a little bit of a cold, but have been pretty good at pounding the Zicam, Vit C, and Echinacea. I finished 26th. Less than 4:00 min down on the winner.

Final Ham & Cheese count is 20! Not too shabby!

Again I would like to thank all my sponsors and those who have donated $ and bought T-Shirts. See you back in America....

Sven Nys is the Man

Today was the Sven Nys Grote Prijs in Baal(home of Sven Nys). It was one of the hardest cross races I have ever done. Thick mud with some technical descents and steep drops. Slow thick muddy climbs. A lot of running and huge time gaps. Thijs Al a winner of World Cup last year was over 6 minutes down on Sven. The results might look a little off ..... I finished 29th and 4 laps down according to cyclingnews.com, but I know I beat the dude who was 28th and I saw the sign with 2 laps to go, but thats Belgian racing!

One more race to go....It's been a tough camp on the equipment and the body. A little bit of a sore throat brewing, but I can definitely make it through one more race. Tomorrow is the race in Sint Niklaas. I'm sure it will be broadcasted live, but I'm not sure where. If you know you should post the link in the comment section.

Time to go advance the laundry....then bed.

Thanks for reading....