12/22 Essen, 12/23 Namur, 12/26 Zolder, 12/28 Loenhout, 1/1 Baal, 1/3 Surhuisterveen (NED). I plan to be at those events. Anyone else going?

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TED ESSENFELD
Schoorl, Noord-Holland, Nederland
Bike Pics
English Custom Steel Internal di2
Litespeed Ghisallo

Me and Sascha! (in our dreams. I'm so busy I can't even ride in my basement!) Have fun, we'll be watching for you!

Are you racing or spectating?

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Michael - The Anaerobic Threshold is neither...

my program is essen, namur, zolder, loenhout, baal in belgium.
everyone very welcome to stop at my car for chatting, taking pics or whatever.

First time Ive not raced this christmas period in belgium I sure will miss it! hit it hard anyone who's racing

Well, Essen probably won't happen unless I drive there myself this afternoon. My kids had a rough night last night, so no sleep... ugh.

Simon, we'll look for you at Namur tomorrow. Or just look for the American with kids and a Burley trailer.

My son wants to enter some of the youth races. I may try to enter a couple of the amateur events, but am feeling a bit intimidated. I don't know where my fitness is at and I haven't raced in almost 3 years. Plus, I am a little sketchy on how to register... some of the races have an easy on-line registration, others don't seem to provide any information. We'll see...

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TED ESSENFELD
Schoorl, Noord-Holland, Nederland
Bike Pics
English Custom Steel Internal di2
Litespeed Ghisallo

Yesterday's World Cup Cyclocross race in Namur, Belgium was completely different from any 'cross race I ever experienced. Honestly, I prefer American 'cross. Don't get me wrong, it was a great race. But from a spectator's perspective it left a lot to be desired. Expensive entry fee. No parking nearby. Not family friendly. Smokers everywhere. Course crossings few and far-between. Limited and expensive food. No tents, coolers, chairs, or bikes allowed. Apart from the many fan clubs wearing the same jacket or hat, and serenading "their" rider at the team van, the crowds were actually very subdued... not much cheering or applause along the course. My son and I had the only cowbells which, I hope, our American racers appreciated. And the course was really more like a mountain bike xc course than a 'cross course. It was great to see the U.S. riders out there... and winning 2 of 4 races. But I hope Zolder is a better experience for us. We want to support the American riders... especially the ones we know. But seriously, these races have nothing on New England Cyclocross in terms of fun and entertainment.

Photos below for those interested:

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10200186581734400.2197142.1447422736&type=1&l=edea9a9b2a

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TED ESSENFELD
Schoorl, Noord-Holland, Nederland
Bike Pics
English Custom Steel Internal di2
Litespeed Ghisallo

So how about a report on Zolder? Seems like there was quite a significant change in weather between the start of the day as the images I have seen of the juniors and U23 seemed to indicate partly cloudy and sunshine were as the women raced under mostly cloudy skies and the elites were slogging through a light rain storm with lots of mud and puddles to contend with.

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Michael - The Anaerobic Threshold is neither...

Yes, the weather changed dramatically... it was much colder and wetter by the end of the day. I don't know that I can give a very thorough race report. I was really focused on the riders I know personally from back home in the U.S., but I did get to meet Simon who had a stellar race as well.

Photos are at https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10200206488672061.2197529.1447422736&type=1&l=68e4b4c416

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TED ESSENFELD
Schoorl, Noord-Holland, Nederland
Bike Pics
English Custom Steel Internal di2
Litespeed Ghisallo

Here are some shots of Simon... I am pretty sure there are more, but I took over 1000 photos that day. Simon was 15th at Zolder!

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TED ESSENFELD
Schoorl, Noord-Holland, Nederland
Bike Pics
English Custom Steel Internal di2
Litespeed Ghisallo

15th is very impressive! Took me a while to notice.

How did the rest of the events go? ANy more pix?

Zolder https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10200206488672061.2197529.1447422736&type=1&l=68e4b4c416

Namur https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10200186581734400.2197142.1447422736&type=1&l=edea9a9b2a

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TED ESSENFELD
Schoorl, Noord-Holland, Nederland
Bike Pics
English Custom Steel Internal di2
Litespeed Ghisallo

Simon Zahner makes a guest appearance at 16:30... http://www.behindthebarriers.com/season-3-episode-10/

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TED ESSENFELD
Schoorl, Noord-Holland, Nederland
Bike Pics
English Custom Steel Internal di2
Litespeed Ghisallo