Euro Cross Campaign

Stuttgard, Germany (Photo: Kaitlin Antonneau)

BELGIUM: Lictervelde - Euro Cross Camp - Riders should be arriving in Belgium now for the 9th annual Euro Cross Camp. Midwestern junior riders Jordan Cullen; Hudson WI; (Clif Bar Cyclocross Development Team) , Lionel Rocheleau; Waukesha WI; (Team Geargrinder), and U23  Dan Gerow; Grosse Pointe Farms, MI; (Wolverine/ACFStores.com) are all attending (full roster). Their first race will be in Namur, Belgium this weekend which will not be a World Cup for the juniors or U23 riders, but it is for the Elite Men and Women. Kaitlin Antonneau will also be racing with the Elite Women and has just arrived along with team mate Tim Johnson. CX Magazine has a preview of this weekend's venue as well as Cyclingnews and they state that the course features long run-ups on the stairs, technical twisting and steep drops, and mentions that the weather forecast is for rain and snow. (Awesome! - Ed)

"Dear Mom & Dad, Having a great time at EuroCrossCamp. Send more mud!"

The website "Pave'" gives us more insight to Sunday's World Cup: "Namur, Belgium hosts the fifth round of the Word Cup this Sunday and is part of a series of firsts. This marks the first time Namur will host a World Cup round on its famous course. It’s also the first time a city in the Walloon region of Belgium has hosted a World Cup race. Finally, it will be the first time former Cyclocross World Champion, Lars Boom is in the starting grid this season.

The course, made famous by its proximity to the historical citadel features the same finishing stretch where Philippe Gilbert won the GP Wallonnie this year. The course in Namur features steep climbs, long run-ups on stairs, technical twisting and steep drops. It was a round of the GVA Trophy series last year and on that occasion Zdenk Stybar picked up the victory a head of Klass Vantournout. Kevin Pauwels was in the mix all day until he flatted out of the lead group.  ...

With a break in the action before the US National Championships, Tim Johnson and Troy Wells are headed to Namur to start a European campaign. They will join Belgian-based Jonathan Page and Jeremy Durrin, who has been racing in Europe for several weeks now."

Peloton Star will do it's best to follow our midwest riders as they race in Europe and wish them all the best of luck!