A weekend of cyclocross in Belgium
Many thanks to club member Harriet Butcher, who has written this excellent report of her experience of racing in Belgium with her brother, William.
'We set off Friday afternoon catching the ferry from Dover. After a two hour journey we arrived at the unique Flandrien Hotel which caters for us cyclists. Within minutes of arriving we met the owner Bernard, whom was very warm, friendly and showed us to our room and served up an amazing hot evening meal.
The following morning we headed to Meer for our race, it was dry but very cold. The organisers were fantastic and much to my mum’s relief spoke English! With over 30 starters I was lucky enough to be on front row while William was at the back.
The course was nearly 2km long and predominately sand, which was a new experience for both Will and I. I had a fantastic start going into third place, unfortunately on a tricky part of the course, I was taken out and the boy landed on top of me with a bike between us and we slid under the hoarding.
By the time help came I had lost a number of places but managed to keep first place girl. William had a great result finishing 14th place. I was lucky enough to be invited onto the podium with the boys.
It was really great because every rider also came away with a cap and a medal, so nice for William to also receive a prize.
Once the van was loaded we headed back to the Flandrien Hotel, where we had a hot bath and a lovely hot meal again. It was lovely as Bernard sat with us for dinner and was asking how our day went.
In the morning, we were lucky enough to have a lay in, as the race was closer to the hotel but on the way home. Again with over 30 starters I made the front row and Will was on the third row. We both had great starts there was a very steep short tricky mound we had to climb but it was a course that suited the boys with lots of power.
We had a bridge we went up and over, a spiral section, the course was approximately 1.5km. I was 8th overall and first girl while Will came 9th overall after a real tough battle with a boy twice his size!
Again I was invited to the podium with the boys to receive my prize, but also again every rider received a bag of goodies.
It was a fantastic experience racing in Belgium, Will and I can’t wait to go again.
I would like to thank Bernard and his family for their hospitality and great food, would definitely recommend to any cyclists.
Also a huge thank you to Luc Dierick, who helped my dad navigate the entry process and point him in the right direction, especially after dad had entered us in the wrong age group!'
