Michiganscene, Schouten, Hoogerland

MICHIGAN: Ann Arbor - From one of the most unusual 'cross blogs you're likely to come across - Themichiganscene -



2011 LINDEN PARK CYCLOCROSS - SHORT from Hans Nyberg on Vimeo.

WISCONSIN: Sheboygan - Tristan "The Working Man's Pro" Schouten gives us the lowdown on the racing in Colorado this past Sunday, 'Ya gotta really read the whole thing, but here's a quick quote: " I was determined at that point to beat him (Todd Wells) though only because he accused me of basically sandbagging the big race by not racing the day prior but in my mind I was thinking no, I didn't race the day earlier but I did work 43hrs this week, flew to the race this morning, I don't have a bike in the pits and the one I am riding has 10lbs of mud on it and the last lap you took a fresh clean one from the pits, I also have a file tread on the front and it's a muddy race but it's all I have. No mechanic, no lawnchair under an awning or a trailer, no one cleaning my bike after warming up and getting full of mud, no one in the pit and I have to fly home in 3hrs and be at work tomorrow too. I Just showed up and let er rip. And I guess that is what made me so happy about getting 5th (yes I did outsprint him - probably due to working too much, and not from training too much I'll add).

I got extremely lucky that I didn't have problems but I went out to the race knowing I would have to get lucky and it worked out. What I am trying to say is what I have been saying for a while now and that is you can't think about how good others seem to have it or how easy it is for them to race without the other distractions that we all face day to day in our own worlds. You just have to deal with your personal situation and pin on your number and let it rip and pray for the best."

HOLLAND: Yesterday I ran across this video about the Bull of Breveland - Johnny Hoogerland. You know, the guy that got run off the road in this year's Tour and was forced to ride through the barbed wire fence? From Wikipedia: "At the 2011 Tour de France Hoogerland won the Mountain jersey in the 6th stage. After losing it in the 8th stage, Hoogerland managed to recapture it in the 9th stage. In that same stage, he was then involved in a dramatic crash after fellow breakaway rider, Team Sky's Juan Antonio Flecha, was sideswiped by a France Télévisions car, causing Hoogerland to crash into a barbed wire fence. Despite deep cuts to his legs, requiring 33 stitches, Hoogerland finished the stage, losing nearly 17 minutes as a result of the crash. Flecha and Hoogerland were jointly awarded the Combativity award for the day."