©Barry Sandland/TIMB – Steel frames and cyclocross riding.

“This is my first season doing cyclocross and my ambition is to get a few races where I don’t get lapped. In road racing, you can hide in the peloton and, with a little bit of luck, you can get a good finish. But in cyclocross, it is full speed from the very beginning. There is nowhere to hide.”

Notes: Cyclocross has started, and it is time to venture into the muddy trails and watch some of the finest cyclists race the circuits. My first UCI race will likely be Namur. I love that course. It looks like hell and a far cry from the flat land rides where riders cut their teeth in cyclocross. Flatlands are the mainstay of the category rides, where the competitors are subjected to a less punishing terrain. Often quite flat, in comparison, but still a lung burning hell for the competitors.