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2011 UCI Cyclo-Cross World Championships
Trackside With Team GB
Posted January 28 2010
Words And Photography By Luke Webber
The British Cycling Team has arrived in Sankt Wendel, Germany for the 2011 UCI Cyclo-Cross World Championships and under the leadership of team manager Phil Dixon, are ready to race for the rainbow over two days of intense competition.
Already piles of tubs have been glued in a makeshift workshop overseen by Pete Hargroves and staffed by Stu Bowers and Nick Walling, each bike recieving meticulous treatment before race day.
And as in Tabor last year, riders are expected to face freezing conditions throughout the weekend. A brief courseride on Wednesday and Thursday revealed heavy mud, but as predicted, temperatures dropped overnight and Friday's course was revealed to be frozen, rutted and fast.
In contrast to Tabor however, there is no compacted snow. Instead, most straights are tarmac smooth, with only the most severe drops suffering from entry and exit ruts which have frozen solid.
Before official practice Friday morning started with a short road ride, taking in some of the climbs that typify this south-western region of Germany, reknowned for its fine wines.
Following lunch the team travelled to the race venue which although still icey, had slight signs of a thaw. However tonight, it is expected temperatures will drop further giving such areas a chance to re-freeze.
THE COURSE
Prior to setting off, senior riders including Paul Oldham, Jody Crawforth and Nikki Harris give some tips to the Juniors.
Kenta Gallagher rides one of the tricky roll-ins. Hugo Robinson is advised by Phil Dixon.
Paul Oldham and Luke Gray return to the pits to experiment with tyre pressures. Mechanics were on hand throughout the session to adjust bikes and help riders experiment with different combinations.
RIDER FEEDBACK
Paul Oldham
"The course isn't really to my liking; yesterday, when it was all muddy sounds so much better, but I had to expect the freeze; we're in Germany in January. In the mud I think it might suit me better, but it would be more of a drag. This place doesn't roll fast, I think we'll know more about Sunday's race after the Juniors and Under-23s go round on Saturday."
Jody Crawforth
"I took it pretty easy today, I just wanted to see what was going on, what the Juniors were gassing about yesterday. Today there were ruts, but I've just heard they are smoothing them all out; really, they may as well tarmac the course! I'm prepared for it to change though, I know it's possible. I'm confident and ready to race, I have done some good training sessions. I just have to avoid the carnage on the first lap and go from there."
Helen Wyman
"It's a really cool course, the only dangerous part, the muddy section, they had flattened off completely and it's like a road descent now. It's still a hard course even though it has frozen over, I can't tell you how much better the conditions are for me than Tabor. I really like the lap, there are a lot of short climbs, the downs are short and everything is compact, so you're not getting loads of recovery. I'm looking forward to Sunday."
Gabriella Day
"I really like the course, even though it has changed so much in 48 hours, I still enjoy it. I came back and was looking forward to the race. I don't think between now and the race conditions will change again, but it makes no difference to me anyway. If I'm going well, that's the main thing."
Ian Field
"The course was OK, still it's hard even though there is no mud. The trickiest ruts are getting smoothed out tonight, so it's not even going to be technical now. Hard, fast, lots of climbing, short descents; it's just like a hard, fair World Cup. It will be good."
Nikki Harris
"I really like the course - I heard it was going to be muddy - but now it has frozen which I like more. It is a hard course, it's fast, and there's no ice. That's the difference between here and Tabor. In the ice it was harder to hold your speed, whereas here, the corners are pretty safe. It's hard to call my own result for the weekend, all I can hope for is good legs and a good effort. This course is so unique it's hard to call; there hasn't been anything like it on the World calendar so far but I like that, it's a fresh challenge."
