Today, we all got what we wanted – a preview of the the 2022 Cyclocross World Championships. A course, that yesterday looked almost vanilla turned into an epic day of racing due to a huge rainstorm. It was one of those days, when you really don’t want to go out into the rain, when you are holding out for as long as possible – but once you’re out, it’s actually not too bad. While it was super wet, it wasn’t cold, so life was a lot easier than in 2019 in Namur or in 2013 in Ronse. Well, except for the leaky press tent, which originally had only two sides covered. Later, it was extended to three, but I really hope, that for the Worlds, they’ll have all four sides up, or, god forbid, they build an actual press room.
While the women’s race was super exciting, I must admit that I was most excited today about Quinten Hermans’ first World Cup win! He’s been around for a while, it was great to see a new face on the podium. Hopefully, this means that he’ll be in contention for the win in the following weeks and months as well.
What was interesting about this course was that yesterday I ran the full length of it. I’ve never done it before and it was a great experience. Firstly, I saw every single meter of the course, which is not always the case with new venues. It helped me to find interesting spots and gauge how much ground I would be able to cover on race day. But it also helped me to appreciate how hard the course was. It’s one thing that one ambles along the course and stops to take photos and it’s another thing to cover the whole loop in one go. I felt it gave me a better understanding of it, how it flowed, etc. It’s not something I’ll be able to do loads in the coming season, but if the opportunity arises, I’ll try to do it again.
Two down, one to go on this trip, looking forward to a bit of a down time before the crescendo on Sunday.
