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Belgian CX Nats... LIVE

A preview here, if you want to read up some.

The race starts at 15h CET, that's an hour after this thread goes live.

Turns out the race is not broadcast on Sporza but on 2BE, which annoys me to no end, since the only cycling they broadcast are the cyclo and road national champs, and they thus suck at it.
Still, links on cyclingfans and sports-livez

In the meanwhile, good thoughts go out to Bart Wellens, who was rushed to intensive care last night, with an acute fever attack which affected his heart muscle. With multiple organ failure (liver and kidneys) he was in serious, life-threatening trouble, but his condition is stable now. He's not out of the woods yet though, so fingers crossed for him.

Sven Nys suffered a blockage in his back this morning, and for a while thought he wouldn't even be able to start today. Turns out it isn't that bad, he will start, but he didn't sound very confident about his chances. On verra.

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Comments

Some other results

Dutch U23
1. lars van de haar
2. David van der poel
3. stan godrie

Belgian women
1. Sanne Cant
2. Joyce Vanderbeken
3. Hilde Quintens

French women
1. Lucie Chainel-Lefèvre
2. Pauline Ferrand-Prévot
3. Caroline Mani

Czech men

1. Stybs
2. Simunek
3. Karel Hlnik

Brit women

1. Helen Wyman
2. Nikki Harris
3. Annie Last
4. Gabby Day

Oh, Helen!

SO PLEASED! Even though the kona kit is mad enough that I wish i saw it more, Helen just wouldn’t be the same without her national stripes!

And I think it’ll be great to see the Frnch kit on Chainel, she’s been so strong all season!

Here's another baby with great CX genes for the future!

Lucie Chaninel Lefevre with hubby Steve & baby daughter, after she won her race

son, sorry, I can't read properly today
U23 race live now
hallo

bosmans is weg

Deserved title (if he gets it)
Good morning..!

Pancakes anyone???

Yes please!
You think they will get there by tomorrows breakfast?
Get on a plane already!
can i have waffles

please

Don't be picky..!
for a duvel?
???? what is that?
you don't know duvel?

boy oh boy

best belgian beer(my opinion) ever

Will have to try it..!

But not with pancakes..!

And why exactly not?

Beer pancakes!

That will work...!
better

make sure you don’t have to drive
kicks like a mule

If you don't know what a Belgian is talking about, chances are it's a beer

That was funny...!
U23

1. Wietse Bosmans (BKCP)
2. Gianni Vermeersch (BKCP)
3. Vinnie Braet (Sunweb)

They look very young...!

by that I meant like 15..!

Wietse is 20, Gianni 19
Good Morning from Rainy Guyana

Sad to hear about Bart, I thought he had a shot at the podium today.

Neils FTW!

morning..!

there is always sun after the rain…!

Dutch women

Marianne Vos of course

German women

1. Hanka Kupfernagel
2. Trixi Worrack
3. Sabrina Schweizer

I didn't know trixi rides cx

I like her even more, now!

Niels Albert

doesn’t believe Nys hurt his back this morning. No mention at all of his supposed pneumonia.

sandbagging niels
Yeps

not the first time either

Lucien Wellens - Bart's dad - is there at the race
Weird
Paid for the ticket don't want to waste it?
geert wellens

still racing

Geert is racing in the amateur race

Still, I know where I’d be

Well, unless he's out of the woods, & is one of those people who hates folk by his bedside?
its tough to judge people based on something like this.

Perhaps Barts wife asked Lucien to go and support Geert etc. Hard to know.

Yeah, I know

feel a bit guilty about saying something about it. Maybe Lucien needs to be doing something, anything, right now.

Bah

Is there a (n internationally accessible) stream that is in the right widescreen format? Sports-livez channel 3 and 5 are stretched vertically to 4:3.

And now the streams don't work with ad-block enabled

Foggetaboudit.

I’ve got something here.

Ta
Same problem, though
sorry.

I’m not sophisticated enough to wipe out the ads and am always just grateful for a smooth playing stream.

No, not about the ads, and the stream *is* smooth

I thought your post was in response to my 16:9 vs. 4:3 question.

Yep, I seahorsed.

7 is good

but Silverlight, which won’t stay fullscreen on the 2nd screen when I click somewhere else (here, on screen 1). Sigh.

Italy

Marco Fontana and Eva Lechner

Oh, I am SO happy it's no longer Vania Rossi!
And we're off
small peleton
Yep, 20 or so?
Tiny peloton

One corner down and already the commentator is mixing up Sven VT and Sven Nys. Oy vey.

looks like a smallish PdC podium too

glad I could make it.

oops, by podium I meant “peloton”

the main Crossers are here

the competition is still fierce.

true, true

I’m sure the pace will pick up with each lap. : )

Its a bit strange Alberts in the front

so early….

I know! Funny, though!
I so have no clue who is who...!

Still fun to watch…!!

Niels Albert is in black and white in the lead

Dieter Vanthourenhout is also in black and white

Rob Peeters is the guy behind Albert in yellow, white and blue
Tommeke Meeusen is also in yellow, white and blue; he has more of a babyface

Klaas Vantornout is in in red and white, the taller one
Kevin Pauwels is also in red and white, but he’s shorter and tinier

Sven Vanthourenhout is in green, with a yellow helmet
Sven Nys is also in green, but with a white helmet

DVT was the nice boy who indicated 'left' when approaching the left turn after the finish
Niels on the attack

Rob Peeters, Sven VT, Klaas VT and Dieter VT following

C’mom Bart A

A crossrace with only belgians

It’s just like every other crossrace

Hahaha, yes indeed!
hehe

Styby used to screw things up a bit

There is less

comical falling off, perhaps.

So, PdC folk

Who do you THINK will win, & who do you WANT to win?

Nys, Meeusen
Not one of the favorites..!

Just to be a surprise..!

I'd quite like Peeters or Meeusen or someone

It looks like Albert, though (unless Nys can hulk it? I really want Nys back in the tricolor, if only cos I hate his green this year!)

Albert will win

but Nys is my favourite from since the last millennium.

Dito

Nys doesn’t look so good

Strike that, he's already in second place now

Just a lap to get to his best

well, my man is in hospital, so instead I will go for Peeters
Hope your man gets better soon :(
he is strong and will make it, but the whole thing sounds very bad.
Nys has caught up with the group behind Albert

who has a sizeable gap already

NO one can catch Albert here

this is over.

Lots of crashes in the previous races

it ain’t over.

Nys is right on his wheel now

I like that alley between the trees.

Oh my

Nys is catching up fast

Christ but that was a slow start from Nys
Almost like he confused himself with Albert for a second there
Battle of the sandbaggers
story of my life
"cough cough, you go first"

“no no , I couldn’t possibly with this back of mine”

We could be in for a long afternoon

Hehehe

“I don;t trust that kid as far as I can throw him.”

“well you shouldn’t be throwing anybody with your bad back, Ed”

You're the sausage king of Chicago aren't you?
that's right - I'm Abe Froeman
just joined - is it Nys + Albert out front?
Yep

Albert attacked right of the bat, Nys was way back but caught up quickly with a massive hulk it effort.

your crystal ball is pretty good.
The shade of green on Nys threw me for a second...but white helmet gave it away...
I want the old green back
looks like Kermit the Frog
It's not easy being green...
Bah, it used to be lovely!
apparently it's not THAT hard
Ha :)
Ja, kiss Kermit goodbye

and say hello to black/yellow/red

my favourite cross colour
How come Kermit never turned into a prince

when Miss Piggy kissed him?

+1

Fading green. wtf.

WELLENS UPDATE

He’s getting better, he’s even talking. Wow. Doctors were talking of a 35% chance he wouldn’t survive the night.

better is better!!
Phew, here's to his continued recovery
+Many many many
How high was his fever? Usually organs get in danger around 105-106F
40°C

which is 104 degrees Fahrenheit, says google

well, when it reached 40°C they rushed him to hospital

maybe it got higher than that afterwards, don’t know

40 c

don’t know how much that is in f

Really fucking hot for an adult

At 106 you start to cook your own organs

Hey, K-Pow, remember him?

He’s in tenth position atm.

dying halfway into the season.
Albert sand bagging to much?
No, I think he's genuinely tired
Ha!

young pretender no longer pretending!

Come on Sven

HULK IT!

albert looks cooked
nys looks like he'll lap the field by the end
only 10 secs

not over yet

I'd like to see what is happening behind the front two, please.
Yes, dito

we know Nys is in the front already

ok, Tom Meeusen is in third, 30s or so back
This is a deceiptfully heavy course

Also, there is something incredibly beautiful about a well executed dismount/stair run/re-mount.

Is it the same Hoogerheide course they race on in whichever series it is?
We're in Hooglede-Gits today

so, no :)

We had a world champs here in 2007, and a world cup race in, uh 2005? ’04? ’06? Around that time.

that'll be it!

Thankyou!

Hoogerheide is in the Netherlands

albeit 5 km from the Belgian border.

Adrie van der Poel is from Hoogerheide
I feel like one of those stereotypical Brits

“It’s foreign, it sounds the same”…. the shame!

Nah, it does sound much the same

Easy to mix ’em up

Lap 2 done

1. Sven Nys
2. Niels Albert +9s

If I were Rob, Dieter, Kevin, Tommeke etc

I’d be wishing I had thought to tell the world about MY bad back/pneumonia etc….

Tommeke did :)
tommeke

was not sandbagging

No he was not

You can DNS Leuven to sandbag, but you don’t DNS Baal just for the hell of it.

Ha, for this race?
Ok, the telephone commercial was kind of funny
Sorry didn't get it my apple was ringing at that time..?
I see what you did there

Is your pancake a fax machine?

big action during that commercial interlude, eh?

Ok somebody has to say it...

if Wellens comes from behind here – ultimate sandbag?
(I really hope he gets better, or I will feel bad for making jokes…)

Hard to remember sometimes that Nys is 35

He’s got a million miles on his odometer

By the look of his shorts it's 2 million
Haha, messing up terribly right as they take you out of the race

that’s a shame

If 2BE showed us anything beyond the first two riders, we could play ‘spot the road cyclist’ here too. Zico Waeytens and Jelle Wallays (both TSV) are there too.

yep

2be def not pro

It's very boring this way
Zico? his dad loved soccer eh?
Probably yes :)
albert not quitting
Never! Which is good.
Where is the rest of the field???
seriously, this not that small a peloton
Albert catching up back?
looks like status quo
Niels is not a quitter. I like that about him.

Plus he’s the CAS of CX

Niels The Arbitrator
Lot's of delays early on

but when he gets down to business the effect is devastating

and Bart A is the Chris Horner -- all smiles
De goeie rug van Sven is helemaal terug.

Pure poetry.

The good back Sven is back?
Sven's good back is back
hartelijk bedankt
with this lead, will Nys change bikes every lap?
I think so, yes

Albert will, too. Too much mud.

Three laps to go

Dullest race of the season?

well, the company is nice, at least
Cross without foreigners is like frites without mayo
Or Sweden without popular murder mysteries turned into movies on 2 continents
I liked the original one

haven’t seen the American one (yet)

Me neither and I don't have plans to (much as I like Daniel Craig). It's too Hollywood.

I enjoyed the original very much, would like to see the Lisbeth actress is more stuff. She’s devestating.

apparently she's the only good thing in the new Sherlock movie
There was a woman who was good in the new Sherlock movie?

Not that I remember.

Will have to verify
perhaps you fell for the, "Well it is Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law, how bad can it be?" ploy
Go online and watch the new Brit Sherlock (A Scandal in Belgravia).

Kicks Hollywood’s ass.

I am tyring to resist temptation and wait -- you are not helping
It's not scheduled to be shown here until MAY.

We couldn’t wait that long.

I don't like my chances of waiting it out either...
I don't even know when it's scheduled on Belgian telly

but at least we get BBC here

The BBC Sherlock is absolute aces

Recorded the previous episode but haven’t watched it yet

It is great

(was it Belgravia?, The original is Bohemia)

They're doing that title updating

Study in Pink (Scarlet) etc

Yes. They have fun with the original titles.
Oh, I have last week's to watch

LOVED the 1st mini-series, such good tv!

BC is excellent in Tinker, Tailor too
I didn't see that

it looked beautifully done, from the trailers

I thought Rupert Everett made a good Sherlock
Meh - I like them both and know it's going to be a popcorn movie ahead of time

What is does make me want to do is re-watch Kiss Kiss Bang Bang again

I did laugh at lot at the first one

but possibly in all the wrong places…

I liked the new Sherlock movie

Entertaining, though obviously not high-brow stuff.
Also, Robert Downey Jr. has much hottitude.

We saw it the other night here in Baltimore.

It was entertaining, but they go for too much action, not enough plot. Of course, at $12 a ticket, it was almost like being mugged.

I only ever go when I can score free tickets these days

bloody criminal prices

It's not that it's not high-brow

it’s that it’s not very Sherlock Holmes!

Why, no cocaine?
It was a bit more James Bond than Sherlock Holmes at times, yes

but I still had fun

Hmm, frites for dinner...

that’s not a half bad idea

I dunno, at least there's mud

Imagine how boring it would be on a dry course!

(I still think those dry races were duller – Igorre, eg)

Good morning from the lobby of a Marriott in Baltimore!

Hello all, go Nys, best wishes to Wellens.

good morning! I hope the lobby internet cooperates for the lap few laps
So far, so good.

My sucky power cord is more worrying—it cuts out at the slightest nudge, then I have to unplug it, wait a minute or two, then plug it back in and hope it decides to work.

our macbooks seem to eat cords -- most annoying (and expensive!)
I'm on my 3rd cord in a year

In fact, one more, and it’s been worth buying the 3 year apple care package to get them replaced for free!

design flaw, I'd say
You know chewing on them is bad, right?
Ja

I never chewed on my Mac’s power chords and they’re fine.

Damn, that must be where I'm going wrong!

Using it as a lasso is fine, right?

You can buy universal back ups fairly cheap you know

unless you’re on a mac. I know nothing about macs.

Mostly, I just need a new computer.

My little pink netbook is nearly 3 years old, and other computers snicker and point at its specs.

I bought a new one earlier this year

the previous one was 5 years old. Computers really aren’t made to last that long.

It's a losing game.

One month after you buy the newest shiniest one on the lot, a superdoublemega version will come out at exactly the same price you paid.

That's why I never by the newest shiniest ones

can’t win that game anyway

Good morning Baltimore!

AND Majope! I have really weird visions of that city, based on the films of John Waters and The Wire!

And Homocide?
I never watched that

but yes, that too!

Baltimore has been cooperating nicely--someone at the convention was mugged the first night very close to the hotel.

I think the hotel arranged it to drum up more business for their restaurant.

Blimey!

What convention is it? Which could be a roundabout way of asking what you’ll be dressed as today!

Ha! Society for Historical Archaeology, where mr. m has just assumed the presidency.

Don’t think Indiana Jones, though. Lots of jeans for this crowd.

congrats to mr. m
Oh, yes, that too!
I just DID think Indiana Jones!

So, will you be tweedy professor’s wife, or sexy tomb raider type?

Not sure I can pull off the Lara Croft thing.

But I don’t have a lot of tweed, either…well, I have 2 years to figure it out.

You could be female version of Indy, rather than Lara Croft?
Maybe Karen Allen in the first Indy movie.
No whips

this is an absolute demand from the International CabinBoy Union

I was looking at the Cabin Boy doll the other day, thinking he needed more work...
PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE!!!!
Wait until ursula prices Dekker ay 16 p

and then make a really top notch Cabinboy Skip version

Cabin Boy Skippy would not survive that.
set your own unique 1st lady style
As long as you don't let mr. m turn into Nicholas Cage

in those abysmal National Treasure movies. Or doctor Carter in The Librarian.

truly abysmal movies - make the new Sherlocks look positively brilliant
Ha! I'll be vigilant.

mr. m is big into English Laundry shirts and skinny jeans, if that helps picture him.

(oh, ps, I meant sexy-tomb-raider-type-of-archaelogist, not wife!)
Historical Archaeology

is that the study of how people used to do archaeology..?

I will pass that one on.
Rob Peeters in third position now
set everything in now, Peeters. Go.
I want him to podium

if only so I can coo over his cute baby. It’s about the only baby that does that to me!

Nice and muddy today.
Yeah, it is

Too bad Nys is so much better than everyone else, and that the damn tv channel hasn’t shown us anyone other than Nys or Albert for 4 laps

It would truly be less dull if we could see some of the other action.
now we just need some riders
ROB PEETERS!

We finally get to see someone else!

The great American Ben Berden with a bit of a tumble there
and I missed it.
Germany

Christoph Pfingsten
Philipp Walsleben
Marcel Meisen

Lars Boom is leading in Holland

Boom...where have I heard that name before?
Fun fact

his latest lap time was 30 secs slower than mini Lars in the U23 race.

Did you see it? I only see skating
That's a BRILLIANT fact!

How come mini Lars wasn’t racing for the grown-up title?

He wanted to be 100% sure he'd win?
Surprised Walsleben didn't win
still recovering from whatever nasty thing he had maybe?
Pfingsten is quite a good rider.

Maybe a bit better on the road though.

Lars leading? Naaaaa....!

All you need t Mariana won in the women side..!

Two laps to go

Sven Nys 38s ahead of Niels Albert.

FWIW, his new Hulk green colors are much closer to the Lou Ferrigno Hulk
Sounds like the race behind is full of crashes

from twitter – Pauwels crashed & DNF too?

Yep - the sharp downhill is claiming a lot of victimes
No, K-Pow is still in the race

3min something down though, so maybe he did crash. Don’t know.

He did crash, there was a replay
Ah, didn't catch that

Maybe I just start paying attention to the race

Nah, it's much more fun talking about Sherlock

and what majope’s wearing today!

No, sorry!

It was his team mate.

Jim Aernouts!

I did see that!

Tough day at the office for Niels

Chapeau

my feed got bored and stopped for a bit there
I was expecting a slugfest today

but I am still pleased with this result

DING DING DING

Sven Nys ∞ seconds ahead of Niels Albert

Good for him.
OT: in what context did Frank Schleck say those magical words you have as your sig?
Yes, I would like to know this too
He and Andy were training on a track in Belgium because the weather sucked at home.
Ah, Ghent

saw some footage of that

I thought he was explaining his cobble skills
8th national title for Kermit apparently
Party time chez the Cant family

Kevin Cant wins the amateur Belgian Champs

Sanne's little brother, yes?

I thought he rode u23 too? Or was that Jelle?

That's some early cheering there Sven :D
He's got the time....
Should have stopped at the frites bus there
Secret to success?

Still being happy as a little kid even though this is your eighth title?

this one means a lot to him
and to me too

NO MORE KERMIT-NYS!

someone special in the crowd at that spot?
what a performance by Nys.
Sven Nys' first medal at the medal champs

was bronze in 1999. His first gold? A year later.

Do any of you know, off the top of your head, when Rotterdam 6day starts?

I know, I know, i could google, but you lot MIGHT know!

What time you mean?

cause it’s been going for a few days

Think it's already on
THE END

The master wins again, for the eighth time

What dominance!
Aw, Albert doesn't look happy.
He'll just have to wait

til Nys retires

He had it last year
I wish my back felt as bad as Sven's
Niels looks very unhappy there

Maybe his pneumonia is hurting?

Aw, look at Sven

He’s actually crying

Christ, Sven is really emotional
delayed reaction from seeing the semi-nude guy
Maybe it's cause of Bart too?

They have been racing together since the dawn of time

I'd like to think it's the latter and not the former

How come when people streak, it’s always someone you’d never want to see naked or semi clothed?

How come people streak? At all

Rob Peeters third, Sven VT fourth, Tommeke Meeusen fifth

well

i’m off to baal
party tonight

It's been fun, folks, but my inlaws are coming up from Richmond any minute.

There will be brunch involved, which is good, but also two small children and an irascible old man.

thanks for the companhy!
put them all at the same end of the table?

Have fun in Baltimore! Don’t get mugged!

happy brunch!
Tenth place

for K-Pow, 4min15s back

Boom wins in Holland.

2. V. Amerongen, 3. Wubben.

Deed Gerben mee?
6th

@denrijn

Depends on what you call 'meedoen' ;)
Will we get podium & interviews, do you think?

Given that we’re on this not-normal channel

are you asking the TV or tgsgirl?
Belgians

and Dutchies and anyone who could have heard something like “we’ll be interviewing the winners after the break”

just kidding -- it's just that she is our PdC source!
yeah, we'll get em
Sven Nys

I never cried from happiness after a win. This morning I didn’t think I could start, and that made me very emotional. The first time this has happened to me, I just raced on emotion all day. To win like this, after I didn’t even think I could start… I’m very happy I can race in the Belgian jersey again for a year. And I see my teammate is fourth today. I ask the Belgian cycling federation to take that into consideration for the world champs. He’s important for me, it’s important for me to have him with me in the bedroom, it’s important to have him by my side… I ask them, as the Belgian champ, to consider that.

Aw, nice to Nys to use this for his friend!
Emotional

Don't think I've ever seen him like that
I think the same happened in Gieten

when he saw his son after the finish… it was the weekend of Nys-closed-the-door-on-Pauwelsgate.

Niels Albert

Sven was best today, I’m the first to admit that. It was an honest race, simple as that. The best won. Today was a race where you could your own thing, so I went with Rob Peeters, but I saw Sven Nys caught up quickly. His back? It probably wasn’t that bad, otherwise you can’t do this. But I believe him you know, I’m not going to argue with him.
It’s not cause you’re out for three weeks that you just become Belgian or world champ. It’s definitely not guaranteed I’ll win there.

you can hardly blame him for thinking, "bad back, yeah right"
Mind you, his pneumonia didn't seem to be affecting him either....
True

unless that is what we were seeing on his face.

Rob Peeters

I don’t like it when they put the pressure on me, I always get insecure. At the start I saw Klaas was struggling, and I saw him fall back and then I managed to get on the podium. Fantastic. This race was tailormade for Bart Wellens. I don’t know how he’s doing right now, I tried to worry about it as little as possible, cause of course it’s a huge shock when your team leader is suddenly in intensive care. I may go visit him tomorrow.

That was a lot of fast talking
thank you for the translations
Nys crying in the replay clip - aw!
Thanks for the translations, gs
look! a big blue hat
There he is Pigeons :)

He looks more like a boy today

looks more confused too

maybe he’s used to it by now

Oh, I like the holding the baby above his head!

That’s one hell of a victory salute!

Rob's baby makes me happy every time!

Attention stealer!

Pigeons — here is your baby shot.

Crowd going insane for Sven!
Brit men

Fieldy wins, according to twitter!

Sven just looks so RIGHT in the Belgian jersey!
Aw, the jersey is back where it belongs :)
The only problem is

If Sven wins Worlds, there’ll be no Belgian jersey on show for a season… Not that Sven will mind, I’m sure….

(I'm imagining Albertina yelling NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! at the prospect!)
a sacrifice he'd be willing to make, no doubt
It has been suggested by some

that winning the Belgian champs is harder than winning the world champs. At the World Champs, there are only six* Belgians at the start…

*or seven if we’re leading the world cup

Ha!

Again, I’m hearing Albertina in my mind!

La douce France

1. Duval 2. Chainel 3. Mourey

No more naked lady jerseys in cross races

OR

lady in tricolore underwear on the back of national champion jersey.

Dutch champs videos

Marianne Vos & Lars van den Haar after winning their races

and Lars Boom

"So this is the end of your cyclocross season?" - "Yes."

(Aside: I don’t like interviewing by statements instead of questions.)

Leading the interviewee is never good

unless it’s Kevin Pauwels. Then you simply don’t have a choice.

Lars Boom isn't the most interesting interviewee either.

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