Any chance you have some kits left over from the previous order? Or do you think there is enough interest to do another round? I have finally chucked some aging lycra and Podium Cafe's choice of Capoforma with a gray/black/white pallete seems a much better option than BMC's Belgian champion kit - poor PhilGil has to ride in that all year long! Bib shorts and jersey are on my 2012 wish list. Thanks in advance.

Is that a scarf I spy. And has anyone else ever done team issue black shiny shoes? Lots more to enjoy in this gallery

I know what people say online. On the one hand, the scarcity creates a phenomenon, so the beer might not meet the hype, at least as compared to some of the world's other best beers, which you can actually buy. On the other hand, it has won more than its share of awards, particularly the 12. I love Belgian beer, so chances are that if this is the best Belgian beer ever, yeah, I'll probably like it.

But for me, trying it means paying $130 online for a six-pack and abetting a scheme to defraud the St-Sixtus monks who insist that their beer not be resold. [That includes bottles on eBay, right?] In fact, unless people who've had it tell me that this beer is not to be missed under any circumstances, maybe I'll resist the urge to, you know, just buy one bottle. Can I wait for my next trip to Flanders, which might not be too soon? Help!

I've been following Kathryn Bertine's stories about her quest to ride for St Kitts & Nevis at the Olympic Games, and was surprised when I saw her latest update - all about how the UCI have taken away points she thought she'd won last season. I raised my eyebrows at why they took away her points from the Venezualan race:

Even though the Venezuela race was listed as a UCI points race and the points had already been given out, the UCI ruled not enough international teams had participated and rescinded the eight points I won there.

It seems bizarre, given that the UCI is all about "internationalisation", that they can decide to de-list a women's race in South America, where they surely should be doing everything to promote the sport in "non-traditional cycling countries"... but what really bothers me is how Bertine had to find all this out herself, and from how she tells it, don't seem to be particularly good at communicating with her afterwards.

I hope she can sort it all out - but it's good to see her article end on a positive - here's to her moving onwards and upwards, and getting stronger as a result.

According to Niels Albert, "Stupid things lead to success." Or, that's what the translate bots are saying he said. If you haven't heard, Albert spent the run up to Cross Worlds training in sunny spain. But he didn't just do intervals, he also practiced his sand skills. Knowing how crucial the sand sections are on the Koksijde circuit, he set up chairs on the beach and practiced turns and riding a sandy course.

Evidently, the Topsport Vlaanderen team was training in the same sunny locale, and Niels is sure they got a laugh out of watching him play on the beach while they sat on the deck chairs of the hotel and sipped their coffees. But! It worked! Niels was the only rider who could consistently ride the entire length of those massive dunes, which was pretty awesome to behold.

We (or, Sporza) has lovely viddy of Niels playing in the sand. Really, it's fun to watch. Because Sporza won't let me embed the viddy, you'll have to click on the link here.

Remember, kids - practice makes perfect.

Well, when I say I'm writing a book... Balint Hamvas (aka, cyclephotos) is compiling all his best pictures of the 2011-2012 cyclocross season in a book again, and this year, I'm writing the texts to accompany his shots.

If you wanna take a look (or if you just wanna go ahead and pre-order one, that's ok too) go to: cyclephotos.co.uk/book/

Picture by Balint Hamvas (cyclephotos.co.uk)

Stage 1 today of that first European stage race that can be pretty cold...Break went at 70km but was brought back near the end and eventually the sprinter's teams got the trains moving. Nacer Bouhanni (FDJ-BigMat) struck out and took the victory...but what was bizarre was the official results afterwards...

1 Nacer Bouhanni (FDJ-BigMat)
2 Jempy Drucker (Accent Jobs–Willems Veranda’s)
3 Bobbie Traksel (Landbouwkrediet)
4 Marcel Kittel (Project 1t4i)
5 Kris Boeckmans (Vacansoleil-DCM)
6 Samuel Dumoulin (Cofidis)
7 Jure Kocjan (Team Type 1-Sanofi)
8 Yukiya Arashiro (Europcar)
9 Kevyn Ista (Accent Jobs–Willems Veranda’s)
10 Anthony Ravard (AG2R–La Mondiale)

So Kittel was in 4th, eh? Must have been an off day...Or maybe he was in 2nd and the officials screwed up. Especially with the cameras, it shouldn't be that hard to get it right.

Anyways...tomorrow is more of the same

as suggested by tedvdw :-)

? any of you PodiumCafe types a 'cross racer (apart from Tiffany) ?

I would like to get some training tips ……

(1)
what are the best drills for training for those “nice” short/sharp (20%or more) hills ?
(2)
what kind of gearing do you run (50/34 or 46/36 or ??)
(3)
mud/sand = move weight to rear of bike .. but what is best way to ride rough sections which try to bounce you off the bike ?
(4)
I run tubed tyres, so cannot run low pressures like those “dugast” riders .. what pressure do you run ?

Thanks in advance .. maybe I'll be better next season (yuk I already hate saying that) ?!

This weekend, I went to Koksijde. They had a big bike race. There were lots of people, lots of alcoholic beverages, and not enough portaloos. I cheered my heart out along with tgsgirl (who didn't bring ANY of the Leffes she owes me), Sarah, Bingo Little and UrlaubinPolen and while it was rather hard to get close enough to anything in the midst of 60,000 people, I did take a few snaps. Enjoy!

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PdC Trivia Gang:

"Lost file" has been re-built and I'm back in business. PdC has a marvelous standing with Vlaanderen90 in control but with several contenders through 12 quizzes. The January's final Quiz #13 may hold the key to the January Stage Win!

Quiz #13 is posted. Trivia Monday QUIZZES

Good Luck,

BB

Ps- current results are posted on the Trivia Monday page.

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