Belgium Adventure

As I write this, my husband Michael and I are on a plane headed to Brussels, Belgium. Why Brussels in December? International level cyclocross and the weather.

We are going to visit "the motherland of cyclocross." While cyclocross is an emerging participant sport in the U.S, it is a beloved spectator sport in Belgium. Throngs of paying crowds line the course, cyclocross riders are celebrities, and they bet on cyclocross! Not surprisingly, despite being a very small country, the Belgian men are the best in the world in cyclocross.

Then there is the weather. Belgium is maritime temperate with more annual rain than Great Britain, and December is one of the rainiest months. Belgium cyclocross is famous for its mud, long lengths of bike destroying mud. Its courses are more technical than ours and the racing style is more aggressive.

In cyclocross terms, I am a mudder. I am better when the course is either wet or snowy and the weather is foul. Basically, if it's a really good day to stay inside, it is a really good day for me to race my bike!

I seek out mud, and am very disappointed when a usually wet venue (think Portland or Seattle) happens to be dry. When I booked this trip, I joked that there would be a December drought in Belgium. Fortunately, it appears luck is on my side; the 10-day forecast is for rain, rain, and more rain.

We will be staying in the small city of Oudenaarde, which was the starting city for the Tour of Flanders the last two years. It is about an hour from Brussels, and they speak Flemish (Dutch).

As an internationally licensed rider, I will be competing primarily in UCI (international cycling federation) C1 races, including Bpost Bank Trofee - Loenhoet (Dec 27), Superprestige Diegem (Dec 29), and Bpost Bank Trofee - GP Sven Nys (Jan 1). There is a World Cup occurring while I am there, but not being in the top-100 in the World, I do not meet the USA Cycling criteria for consideration. (Last I checked, I was sitting in the 140s.)

To deal with the mud, I've brought two bikes and my pit crew: Michael. He's been quietly gaining experience in U.S. pits, but will be taking it to a new level in Belgium, where there will be a lot more screaming in Flemish!

This is an important racing period in Belgium, known as Kerstperiod, in which the best in the World celebrate Christmas and the New Year by competing two World Cups and five UCI races in Belgium and surrounding countries. It is the "densest" period of UCI racing on the CX calendar (both in terms of scheduling and location), and the last block of racing before most countries' National Championships.

I have had a huge year of travel and racing, including 16 UCI races in 7 states. I work full-time (pays for the bike racing), so many Fridays from September to December have seen me hopping a plane to get to a race. Obviously, Belgium, and U.S. Nationals shortly thereafter, are the culmination of a very long season.

Although I was once an elite skier before cycling stole my attention, I have never been "across the pond" before. As a skier, not only could I not afford the trip, I never reached the level where going to Europe to chase points made sense. I am only somewhat better a rider than a skier, but with my age climbing up there, it's time to make this happen, so I have.

About the author... A former elite skier for Madshus, Corey Coogan Cisek is now an internationally-ranked cyclocross rider for The Fix Studio, Minneapolis. She was the 2013 USA Cycling Cyclocross National Champion in Women’s 35-39. Though skiing and cycling have taken her many cool places, this is her first trip across the pond!