Road trip to Denmark!
It’s just over two weeks ago that I raced the cyclocross world cup in Bogense, Denmark. Just thinking back to that race is giving me goosebumps. Racing at home with all your friends and family present is pretty special at any time, so a home world cup is something else. I have never seen as much red and white or heard so many people cheering along a cyclocross course!
I must admit that I was nervous travelling to Denmark. I drove our camper from Sidmouth in the UK, where I now live, via the channel tunnel, through France, Belgium, Holland and Germany to Bogense. After 1500 km of solo driving, and hours spent staring at the back of trucks, I was not 100% sure how the legs were going to be but as I had arrived 2 days before race day I was hoping for the best.
Bogense is a little coast town on the north coast of the island Funen in Denmark, about 150 km from the town where I grew up on Zealand. The course was built right on the coastline and with a strong wind from the north, waves were splashing seawater on some sections of the course. For anyone that saw the course and surrounding town it had a quintessential Danish feel.
The course itself was characterized by steep run ups. This is one part of cyclocross that, with my long legs, I really enjoy. So, despite the added pressure that comes with wanting to ride well in front of friends and family, I really enjoyed my race. This was my second world cup of the year and to be honest I wasn’t sure what to expect. I just put my head down and focussed on running those monster banks as quickly as possible.
In the first few laps the banks caused a bit of a bottle neck especially for those of us without a great start position. However, from pre-riding the course, I knew this would be the case, so I rode patiently, and as the race opened up I could play to my strengths and move past people on the banks!
Coming down the home straight for the last time was a great feeling. I had moved up to 42nd from the last row, had dealt with the added pressure well, and enjoyed the experience of a home world cup! If this is how good a home world cup feels, I can only imagine how good worlds will be in Feb 2019!!
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Photo 1 : © BechBox
Photo 2 : © Peter Geleen