Young Yorkshire Riders Tackle Belgian 'Cross

Event Dates: 29-30 Nov 2008

A six man team of young Yorkshire Cyclo-Cross riders recently took themselves out of the comfort zone of UK racing and tackled a tough double-header weekend of Belgian events. Racing in front of big crowds against some of the best riders in the world, it was a challenging but inspiring weekend for the lads, who experienced a completely new side to the 'Cross game, not least the classic Belgian courses, with mud and sand in spades!

Joe Moses keeps the wheels turning in the sand

Saturday saw the action beginning at the Koksijde International, the fourth round of the 2008-9 senior World Cup. Team manger Chris young described it as "a classic event. It had everything you need in a course, with sand dunes thrown in for good measure."

Scott Woodhead flies through the start/finish area

Conditions were good and with the unfamiliar sight of spectators flooding in and paying for the privilege of watching, the three youth riders in the party lined up for their race. Scott Woodhead, Nick Barnes, and Joe Moses had never ridden a 'Cross race outside the UK and were gridded at the back of a field of 45 riders.

Nick Barnes takes to running as he keeps up his momentum

However, despite this handicap, they all got stuck in and made good progress throughout the race. Nick Barnes took the honours with a fine 31st place, just ahead of Scott in 34th and Joe in 37th.

In the Junior International event, Tom Moses, Paul Young and Oli Webster were again at the back of the grid and with a 64 starters they too were up against it immediately.

However, they did even better than the Youths, moving up to all finish in the top half of the field. Tom was 27th, Oli 28th and Paul 31st. Chris Young was impressed with their riding and added "with a bit more practice riding on sand they could have been at least 15 places higher!"

Tom Moses looks for a line through the rutted sand

The following day all six riders were back in the saddle for the Drongen Baarle Flanders Cup event. The weather turned wet and cold overnight and the riders knew straight away they were in for a mud bath.

Despite frozen fingers and toes all round, the riders again got stuck in with real enthusiasm. Again they were gridded poorly, and the conditions made bike changes necessary every lap. But with everyone mucking in to help, the riders were able to concentrate on their riding.

Oli Webster fights for balance as a big crowd looks on

In the Youth race, Scott Woodhead was the best finisher in 19th with Nick Barnes 24th and Joe Moses 31st, despite having to ride on a borrowed bike.

The Junior event saw a good field of 40 starters but once again the Yorkshire contingent battled through the field with Tom Moses getting himself up into the top ten in 8th place. The other two weren't far behind with Oli Webster finishing in 11th and Paul Young 16th.

Paul Young looks comfortable as he heads into a sandy section

Chris Young summed up the weekend: "all our riders bar Scott are in their first year in their categories, so we should see the best of them next season. They were all buzzing afterwards and, after this experience of continental racing, were already talking on the way home about new training sessions.

Oli Webster leads Tom Moses over an impressive temporary bridge

Both Nick Barnes and Scott Woodhead found the sand challenging, yet enjoyable - "The sand experience was great" said Nick as he recovered from the first race." Joe Moses was struck by the support all the riders received: "The atmosphere and crowds were really inspiring!"

Oli Webster took the opportunity to benchmark himself against riders he'd competed against earlier in the season at the European Championships and was pleased with his progress: "I've basically closed 3 minutes on the leaders since the Europeans, which is great news!"

Paul Young was another rider impressed by the World Cup experience and said "Koksijde is the best course I have ever done."

All the riders would like to pass on their thanks to Chris, Steve Barnes and Alan Webster, who did all the driving, organising and, not least the bike fettling and cleaning during the races.

Britain's Helen Wyman - in the white kit - was fourth in the Women's World Cup race

Chris Young, on the left, and Steve Barnes, on the right, bracket a merry band of Yorkshire Cyclo-Cross riders and fans enjoying energy drinks and fine local cuisine!