{"id":302582,"date":"2025-12-07T03:53:10","date_gmt":"2025-12-07T03:53:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/302582\/"},"modified":"2025-12-07T03:53:10","modified_gmt":"2025-12-07T03:53:10","slug":"a-cyclocross-pilgrimage","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/302582\/","title":{"rendered":"A cyclocross pilgrimage"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"A<\/p>\n

Escapism<\/a><\/p>\n

If you’re a fan of the sport, there’s nothing quite like a trip to its Belgian heartland for the full ‘veldrijden’ experience, and its charms may be best outside the crowded holiday period.<\/p>\n

\"Daniel<\/p>\n

Daniel McMahon<\/p>\n

Daniel McMahon<\/a> is a longtime writer, editor and cyclist who has worked for Bicycling, Time, Business Insider and other publications. He’s covered the Tour de France and other road races, but this was his first trip to Europe for cyclocross, and is his first story for Escape Collective.<\/p>\n

We all have our own ideas of the perfect vacation, a friend reminded me not long ago. For some it centers on a sunny beach, but for me it usually features bikes. I\u2019ve been fortunate to ride in some of cycling\u2019s meccas, from Marin County to Mallorca and on roads in between, and I\u2019ve covered several Tours de France as a journalist. Yet I\u2019d never scratched the itch and traveled to the world center of cyclocross.<\/p>\n

But after breaking my collarbone on a training ride in September, and seeing my own amateur cyclocross season in Chicago end abruptly, I found myself restless with pent-up energy. I wasn\u2019t used to not riding. Long walks helped, a little. I can ride the trainer for only so long. Then one day it just came to me: I\u2019m going to Belgium to watch cyclocross races. It was as simple as that. Finally, a trip I\u2019d dreamed about for years.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Kerstperiode CX gallery, part 2: It\u2019s a Mud, Mud, Mud, Mud World<\/p>\n

A bumper festive gallery with star turns from Mathieu van der Poel, Fem van Empel, Wout van Aert and Lucinda Brand among many others.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

I didn\u2019t go about things the usual way, though, which is to visit Belgium during the Kerstperiode, or around the holidays, when there\u2019s star-studded cyclocross racing almost daily. Instead, I decided to go in mid-November. My cycling friends gently protested: Go for the Kerstperiode. Namur, Hulst, Diegem, Zonhoven, the legendary races. But I wanted to see exciting racing, I wanted to see group racing, I wanted to see racing before \u2013 forgive me \u2013 Mathieu, Wout, or Tom turned up. As much as I love seeing those guys do their thing, when they start racing cyclocross, later in the season, it\u2019s all too often a one-man show. I still watch, but it\u2019s not the same.<\/p>\n

\"\"Clockwise from top left, in Bruges: A scene in the center of town; a bike ride along the canal to Damme; the hard-to-find-but-so-worth-it De Garre tavern; a Tripel van De Garre.<\/p>\n

There were other considerations. I was going for nearly a week and a half, and with four days of racing on tap, I\u2019d be left with several days to explore. There\u2019s more to Belgium than bike racing, believe it or not, and I wanted to dive in. Showing up in the off-season has its advantages: fewer tourists, lower prices, easier travel, and a little more breathing room.<\/p>\n

On the start grid<\/p>\n

I flew into Brussels on a Saturday and took an hour-long train ride straight from the airport to Ghent, the base for my stay. My Airbnb was centrally located and cost me roughly half the high-season price, and was only a 20-minute walk to the Dampoort railway station, which I\u2019d get to know well in the coming week. My attic studio was modest but served up gorgeous sunrise views of Ghent\u2019s skyline and its famous three spires.<\/p>\n

I didn\u2019t bother with renting a car, so I got around by public transit. (Uber exists in Belgium, and I used it just a couple of times in a pinch.) The main train app, SNCB, and the tram\/bus app, De Lijn, proved hugely helpful for planning my travel and purchasing tickets. Public transit in Belgium is good, but the trains are prone to delays, usually short but sometimes long. One day there were \u201canimals on the track\u201d and on another there was a problem with a bridge we had to cross. I found ticket prices to be affordable, with most of my round-trip day tickets costing around \u20ac15.<\/p>\n

Even though Belgium is small, train travel takes time, because even a relatively short journey could mean taking two or three trains. If I were to do this trip again with friends, I\u2019d consider renting a car to make the days shorter. Note that the trams to and from races get packed, and you might have to wait for the next tram or the one after that.<\/p>\n

\"\"Belgian juniors in Middelkerke.<\/p>\n

At heart I\u2019m a romantic and I love traveling by train, especially in Europe, because you get to relax and gaze out the window, and mix with the locals. Ahead of my trip I learned some basic Dutch expressions, as it\u2019s the predominant language spoken in Flanders, but still everyone spoke English. Note that most signs and announcements are in Dutch and French, but not English. The conductors graciously explained everything in English the few times I did have questions. Knowing some French helped me in Brussels, where it\u2019s widely spoken.<\/p>\n

On this trip I used the Google Translate mobile app for the first time. I didn\u2019t use it much for actual spoken language, but it came in handy for translating signs, plaques, menus, and bits of text in various places. I even used the app to translate a full newspaper article \u2013 yes, about cycling \u2013 from Dutch to English. And while translation accuracy wasn\u2019t always perfect, it did the job.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

CX Euro Champs gallery: An incomplete but intriguing picture of a fledging season<\/p>\n

A guide to who\u2019s on form \u2013 and what to look forward to \u2013 as the cyclocross season begins to simmer.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

To get over my jetlag, I pushed myself on Day 1 to move around and stay awake as long as possible. It meant walking around Ghent all afternoon, taking in the historic center with its cobblestone streets, lush canal scenes, and bustling town squares. That weekend was the European Cyclocross Championships, in Middelkerke, out on the coast, and I planned to head there in the morning to see the races on Day 2. But on that Saturday, to my surprise, I couldn\u2019t find a pub showing the Day 1 races on TV. Each place I tried was showing rugby or football. Win some, lose some.<\/p>\n

\"\"Thibau Nys at the European Championships.Sand, fries and a dance party<\/p>\n

Day 2, and after a good night’s sleep and a 45-minute train ride to Ostend, I hopped on a tram to take me along the beach all the way out to Middelkerke, a military base-cum-cyclocross course. As I boarded I saw my first yellow-and-orange X2O duck hats and I knew I was on the right tram. The short walk from the Middelkerke stop to the race entrance got me pumped, as I could begin to hear an announcer in the distance calling the junior men\u2019s race. I was struck by the turnout. There were seemingly thousands of us, walking together, making the pilgrimage to the sacred place. Kids, older folks, families, myriad languages, colorful flags.<\/p>\n

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Did we do a good job with this story?<\/p>\n

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\n Escapism<\/a>
\n Cyclocross<\/a>\n <\/p>\n