I hadn't been on my bike for 2 weeks so I really had no idea what to expect out of training today. But to prevent a chill and getting sick again I decided for the full arm and leg warmers today plus even my ski pants over because the zipper on my warm-up pants broke. And there was no chill in the air at all so this was overkill. The warm-up was fine after a less than thrilling ride over to Skatås. In the wet grass the Conti XKings still amazed me because I seemed to have loads of grip and a nice steady speed. I am starting to wonder why I just ordered a pair of Tufo Flexus Cubus but I know it will be even better with tubes and the lighter wheels. So then it was time for a race up in the usual spot but with a new track which had my mind spinning for awhile. The difference today was the massive wind that would gust up unexpectedly, usually when I just started on the long gravel sections.

I was kind of squished in the start as usual and CC  Lasse had set up a rather nasty corner just after so I was way off the line and basically lost a ton of positions. But after that tricky grass section full of holes and the triple bunny hop on the uphill part followed by yet another down and up section I could then see where I was in relation to everyone else. Hmm. Not great. I passed Anki and one of the kids before the long gravel part where I could see three riding kind of together. They must be passed!

I kind of took it easy the first lap but then after the first part it was time to pass the first on a nice acceleration after a grass corner. One down. The next guy was riding the same MTB I have so obviously he had to be passed. I waited until the horse track and actually got both of them on one straight but it cost me a lot of energy. The next in front was Lasse and he was pretty far ahead so this would be tough. And I could also see that one of the guys I passed was still there behind me. Oh, I forgot to mention that I took a nice slide in one of the grass corners because I didn't slow down and that distracted the guy behind. I also heard him make some mistake on the bunny hop part so he was gone for awhile. Lasse was also slowing down so I tried to close the gap and was actually pretty close. Then I fell apart.

Yes...I am not a superhuman. Chris Cross has a limit. My usual strategy of going full out from the start seemed to have collapsed in what ended up to be the last lap. If I had known this I would have pushed myself harder but my leg cramp came on fast and by the time I was at the end of the horse straight I was ready to faint. Lasse was gone and the two behind passed and I was left saying hello to Mr. Wall. I managed to keep together enough so that I wasn't so far behind those two which is what is annoying considering it was the last lap.

From now on I will ride without the leg warmers because that is probably what caused my cramp. And I see the weekend in Kumla as a training weekend because they have the toughest track in the Cup in my opinion. Today was only 30 min too. Aj.

Well, the curse seems to have returned. Yesterday morning a Klass III headache moved into my brain and I was feeling very bläää all day at work. I took my temperature at home and it said 35.5 C which only means that my thermometer is broken and/or cheap because I know a fever when I get one.

Today is not much better so I have already cancelled my night in Karlstad and will have to see how I feel tomorrow morning and whether a pre-race 6 hour drive is going to be possible or not. Two years ago I would have just raced anyway but since this is for fun I have a different view now.

So we shall see what the day brings for Chris Cross.

I suppose many of you are wondering what my excuse was this time for missing practice. And probably there is some speculation about secret plans and special training in preparation for Branäs. And that is kind of true.

Sooner or later those of us lost to CX start to realize that a race weekend requires two bikes because if you trash the bike the first day you are left watching on the Sunday. I started with my Merida Cross 4 which I bought at CykelCity Sthlm quite a few years back and this was enough to get me hooked on the sport. But I soon realized that to fit in here in Gbg one had to have a Ridley and building my X-Ride was the start of a new era of cycling experiences. The point of this story is that tonight I had to get both bikes in race shape.

This is the first time I have ridden both back to back and what an incredible difference. The Merida felt like it was 20kg and was slow starting and had a geometry that was all wrong. Maybe this is what a 29er would feel like for me? But after a few minutes it felt okay and things were in top shape so it was time to switch. Yes, I made the right choice indeed. Ridley X-Ride is da shit. The difference was absolutely incredible! And the good news is I fixed my bottom bracket noise so now it is race ready.

The moral of this story is that I need another Ridley X-Ride and when I do get one my Merida Cross 4 will be retired to being a commuter bike...

It is always nice with positive surprises on a very dull Monday morning. Unfortunately it was not an email from Ridley offering me a bike for all the promotion and hits for X-Ride here. And it also wasn't the bank to say that I deserve a free house for being such a good customer. Okay, actually the news wasn't all that exciting but it did the trick anyway.

I wonder who will get the task of keeping track of everyone in H30 and H40 class scattered across Super and Prestige? Either way, this is great news for me because finishing 45th is not exactly great for points. But something around 20th could be possible given that H30 has always been the smallest class.

My last minute interest in Branäs has meant a bit of shopping for some extra brake pads. And now I see that I am out of chain oil and my gloves are not in top shape either. There will be no time to look at my tubdäck because I now need to make sure both the Ridley and the Merida are in running order. I am not exactly sure about my bottom bracket fix yesterday and I am starting to realize that I am pretty shite at repairs in general. But I try.

Anyway, it looks like the track is full of corners and that is great for me. But I wonder just how far up the ski hill it goes. I hope we are not in for a Lund thing all over again.

So it was time again for the highlight of the weekend and another CX race. Yesterday I was out for a bit of tjuvträning and testing the XT pedals I had moved over from my MTB. It was pretty wet everywhere so I saw pretty quickly that the XKing tires are not absolutely perfect when there is mud. But I did learn a bit more about how to handle the bike. On my way home I felt my vevparti coming loose so I tightened that up and this morning on my ride over to Skatås everything was clunking away making a hell of a noise. That brought me down as much as my lack of sleep. Later on I found out it was because I had the arm too tight against the bottom bracket so I think it is fixed now. But I should probably change the bottom bracket anyway.

Warm-up was some corners in a little sand field and that was also going very wrong. The starts went better this week since I just concentrated on pedalling rather than waiting till my shoe was clicked in. They click in sooner or later just automatically. Still, my starts were going very well.

For the first 'race' we did a tempo lap around a portion of the track and the fastest would get to wear a leader jersey (Hisingens CK shirt). Björn did not seem to be so thrilled to wear that but ya gotta love the Gbg humour. I nailed my start and accelerated well along the back straight even though I instantly felt sick. It is tempo so that is the right feeling. Things were going superb and my dismount and run up the hill were great but on my remount I slipped on the pedal and lost 2 seconds so I had to put in a serious sprint to come in at 1:16. The fastest was 1:06 and correcting for the 2s meant I was only off by 8 seconds. Not bad.

Then it was time for the real 5-lap race where once again I got to start at the front. I was next to Sven and he pretty much took me out in the start because I had nowhere to ride but I got a start anyway and was pretty far from last. I passed Lasse at this first part and was right on the tail of a group of around 5 riders. It was kind of crowded still so I was kind of calm and just concentrated on not running into anyone. At the end of lap 1 I was behind a woman from Uddevalla CK and I passed on one of the straights near the finish line to see who was next in front. Next was Anton, the man with the greatest race face in the business. But there was some kind of race yesterday so when he hit something on the first part of the singletrack I could pass in a pretty aggressive way. A bit farther along when the long grusväg part started he passed me again but I was not ready to give up. So I tried to sit på rulle and on the straight after the mud puddle I attacked and got ahead. I just kept consistent and the more I looked back the more farther ahead I was getting. Good good.

So then in front of me I could see an MCK jersey and this felt like a repeat of last week with Sven. So I thought I would try again because with every straight I was gaining a little bit. Peter could see me coming at the parts where the course turned back on itself and I could see that he was getting a bit slow. Maybe this could work. Time again for a super last lap. By the end of the long straight he was less than 20 m ahead and I did my best to fly through the grass and over to the tree section. The way out of that was rough so I couldn't really get the attack I wanted but at the finish line I had closed the gap to around 5 m. Almost.

If I can keep up this steady pace for 40 minutes I think the real races will be pretty nice.

When your boss is suddenly very happy to see you it does not take a genius to predict that a pile of work is on the way. But in my case that same boss is also the one that approves my vacation days. So I was willing to sacrifice training today for some key days off in October. I have also been sneezing all week and I have to teach some med students tomorrow so there were lots of obstacles today.

Anyway, I finally made the proper choice and sent in my tävlingslicens application. So bring on CX Cupen! I doubt I can get everything fixed by Branäs so the plan is to make my cup premiere in Kumla, one of the classics. They have everything but it is a rough way to start the season given the serious hills and the sucking grass in the park. But actually that is perfect training for Falun the week after. Tanumshede is obviously close but there is a Norwegian alternative and I am keen on a 3-country season. And they always draw a huge crowd over there. I have never seen the tracks in Sunne so there is a definite and Sthlm is the place I always find someone to battle against since there are so many people starting. And by then the Danes will be going so I can end the season in CPH with a race or two. Yes. Now I am psyched!

And so it was finally time to finish the week in the best possible way...with cyclocross! My roll over to Skatås from home was anything but superb despite being the time that I always train. But the more I rolled the more I woke up. After rounding up people who were scattered all over it was time to give Lisebergs camping a taste of CX. We started with dismount training and starts before heading over to take a few trips through the sand in front of thousands of fotball-playing kids. But this is all boring compared to the race so let's jump right to that.

Two races at 15 min each is good since not much tends to happen after the group gets spread out and plus I assume we will get points for both races. I was given #5 which is probably the closest I will get to the top of anything so why not. Startled 1 as always. Everyone passed me at the start, as always. But I did keep up all the way until after the obstacle and grass hill climb. I seemed to be sitting behind Lasse (I think that is the name, if not I fix later) and kind of rode a third of a lap behind but I realized it was better to just pass and take off since I was certain to make a mistake. Besides, Åsa Erlandsson was in front of him. And this made no sense because she is actually fast so I thought, wait, could this be my chance to pass someone who has actually won CX SM??? My non-cycling friends would like to hear this. So it was time to unleash the extra horses and give this a shot.

I was being 'Fixie Chris' again and sticking with the same gear but I did have two more down before I was maxed on the 34. But this really worked well because I could accelerate enough to close the gap up to Åsa. And then she fell in the grass corner which was kind of sloped downhill at the finish so I asked if she was okay and then took off as fast as I could. I passed! But she was still there and I then realized I didn't really know where I was going so I led us the wrong way a couple of times. But then I missed a whole section and had to turn back so Åsa and Lasse had passed and I was starting again with a lap to go. Crap. I was på rulle with Lasse just at the start of the singletrack section and he seemed keen to stay ahead so I had to skip over the braking part in the tree corner and could fly passed and see what Åsa was up to. Hmm...need those extra two gears now. I did a massive sprint down the last long grusväg part and went into that fun grass corner at top speed (superb tires, I say!) and had caught Åsa. And then she fell again on the same hill and I could roll pass and be the winner of Dam Elit class. =)

Race #2 was entirely different because I had killed myself in the first race. So my Startled 1 was again wasted although I made an effort and I think I could keep up with better utväxling. Åsa was way ahead this time since she let some air out of her tires so this race was uneventful. I passed Lasse again on the first lap and then there wasn't anyone else in any close range. I could see Sven around 75m ahead so I thought I would try and basically did the rest of the race flat out. I might have gained a bit at first but Sven could see me and had things under control. Either way, this was an excellent day for Chris Cross.

Honestly, why am I even considering skipping CX Cupen? I have the car. I have vacation days left. I even have the money. Branäs is already out but the rest are still open. Hmmm...

Since this blog is only text it might be nice with some questions. When I am training I rarely stop so there is just no time for pics. And my guess is that you would rather see pics of someone else. So, what kind of questions are there in this lovely pre-CX period?

1. Will there be a Focus Cross Race this year in Tidan? It is usually in September and was a blast when I tried it 2 years ago. They also have a very large Sportklass so I would have many to race against. If anyone knows anything just post a comment.

2. Will I manage to get a deal on a tävlingslicens? CX races are considered 2013 so why can't I get a licence for now and use it next year too? Of course making that change would screw over everyone else so I don't expect much support for that idea. Still, I have emailed SCF and will see what I get for reply.

3. Why am I not busy gluing my tubdäck? Yes, exactly. Why not? I do have a set of Vittora XM which have been sitting here since late 2010.

4. Why is it sunny this weekend? Göteborgs Superprestige needs a bit of wet grass and mud if you ask me.

5. Why have I not ordered a 46-36 crankset yet? How many times do I need to be shown that 50-34 is wrong because I end up always on 34 with a cadence of 2000.

6. And finally, which CX Cup races will you be doing? Add a comment below. If I am stuck with engångslicens and Sportklass I will do the Falun weekend (for tradition) and the Tanumshede weekend because it sounds nice. And then two weekends in Denmark depending on where around CPH they are. So 4 weekends + the local races is just fine. And if the licence works out I would add Sunne to my list and probably Kumla.

Last night it was time for the real world test of my new Continental CrossXKing tires at CX training...now with even more snabba pojkar. I was a bit late with the driving so I was iskallt when it was time for the first exercise of the night which was 'not a race'. Or perhaps we can call it 'stafett of death' now that it is a reoccuring event. Yes, start sprint down to the end of the grusplan, dismount while panic braking, remount and then sprint back again...first on your own and then in a group of two. Nope, no racing here. Being iskallt meant that everything here went entirely wrong. But I did get warmed up.

Next was some stair training which I suppose Philip did not enjoy given a nasty fall right away. Hope your back is okay. This was my first feeling of 'race stress' because obviously I am not use to riding with a whole bunch of others around. But I managed to get around and be able to get some feel for the tires. I would not say that the grip was superb because I was still slipping a bit in the loose gravel/dirt and the faster I went the worse the slipping became. But I think the difference is that I can actually go faster with these tires and so once I train at higher speeds these issues will disappear. But the RS20 wheels feel completely unstable and fragile so I guess there is no way around a new wheelset.

Tomas announced that he will do teknikträning on Thursdays and to give a taste of this we tried an example. Run 50 m with your bike at max speed and then jump on without any hesitation. Yikes. I am not sure what the teknik was here but 'tripping over the bike' is one possibility and naturally there are many other outcomes when one jumps on a bike seat and misses. Anyway, I did not plan for 2 sessions this week so I doubt I will make it today. But next week is better.

Yes, and then there was that race which was not an actual race. CC Lasse decided again that we should try and keep together to practice riding with others (good thought). So the first lap us slow people were allowed to skip over the stairs and get a head start so the others would be chasing us. One other idea was that anyone who got a 50 m lead should have to brake. Or my idea that they should have a 'straffrunda' and have to take the stairs 3 times. None of this really helped and we still all ended up spread out. Oddly enough many people disappeared after the start...that was quite the lead! The track was fast and pretty flat so I could keep the same gear all the way. I was experimenting with utväxling and was up on my 50 klingan for the last 2 laps. When it is dry I should certainly be able to manage this but a 46-36 is also likely in my future.

Anyway, Sunday is the first Introcross and it will be at Skatås kl 10. There was some confusion about the name since there never seem to be any new people showing up anymore. So Outrocross was a new name suggestion. But I will always call it Göteborgs Superprestige. A whole pile of points were also promised since some MTB people would be racing in Uddevalla that day and since 'this is not a race' there is no reason to be that honest with points and things. We should also bring 20kr but I assume that bringing more will be good for more points.

Speaking of Continental CrossXKing tires, I noticed that their 2013 line-up includes a tubular version. Yes...give me now. I try. My guess is a tubular CrossXKing would pretty much take care of any tire choice dilemmas.

And then the schedule for Introcrossen has suddenly appeared in my Inbox. Nice nice. With this many races the motivation to get a tävlingslicens drops even more. So, Göteborg Superprestige lives on...

I realize that most of you out there would never dream of considering anything but tubulars for your cyclocross. And I also understand the benefits of tubulars and know the feeling of when things float along nicely. But Continental just released the CrossXKing tires which are the cyclocross version of the MTB tires that changed my life. On my MTB those things work in every condition and I was flying along effortlessly. Those tires have saved me many minutes in long races. So obviously I had to try the cross version.

The numbers look pretty good. Their RaceSport version is race-legal 32 mm and 3 pli/180tpi is certainly comparable to the Vittorias and Tufos I have tried before. But their suggestion of 3 bar will probably turn off most of you immediately.

After the sliding incidents back in the 2010/2011 season I chose to get a very serious mud tire and use it all the time. The name CX Pro was obviously just a name because these had the steel wire to keep them in shape and treads the size of BMX tires. The grip was amazing even if it felt like 2kg on each wheel. But that was the snow season when organizers made every track into MTB so I needed grip. I threw on the CrossXKings on the only other clincher wheelset I have, the very non-cross Shimano RS20s. But still it was guaranteed to feel better than the bomb-proof rims from my old Merida and the 2kg tires.

Better? Oh yes. Having ridden yesterday with the old tires and today with the new I can definitely feel the difference. And I also know that they have least grip at first and just get better after a few weeks of use. The best thing is that they have a nice line of treads right on the edge of the tire and for the first time ever I was able to lean way down in the corners without any sign of slipping. The wet grass was also quite positive. I could constantly sustain my pedalling 2-3 gears lower than yesterday with the old tires. This was exactly the same improvement as when I first tried my Tufo Prestige tubulars.

But we will have to wait until Wednesday and the 'real-world' testing at Slottsskogsvallen...

So now the day is here and we get all this info about CX Cupen that we have been eagerly awaiting for. So there is plenty to read at SCF, CX Sweden and Facebook. Since CX Cupen is no longer a kind of dictatorship there are not really any drastic changes. Drastic changes are impossible in a democracy and would lead to another 89 comments on Facebook.

I find it interesting how no one is just directly pointing out the real problem. People who are fast are racing Superklass and they always win. And we could all give a list of the names of these 'people' because it is pretty obvious which cyclists are always at the top. So I think it is great that the varvnings rule is gone in Prestige but I still think someone has to kick a few Superklass winners up to Prestige. It should be enough to win two races in Super to be banned from it. So I fully support the testing of some kind of A/B points system because that is perhaps a more polite way to kick people.

In terms of my racing it is not looking great. I still have no tävlingslicens and to waste 700kr for only a couple of races is not my idea of fun. The fact that I have been able to do 4 top-quality MTB marathons without a licence demonstrates the flaw in the system. Either everyone should have a licence or no one should. If there is a way around the system everyone will start to use it. And they do.

Open Sport Mix is still 30 minutes and that I can do with engångslicens but it will mean that I probably only do one weekend of the Cup. I can see that there is some bitterness since tradition is broken. Falun is not starting the Cup and Sthlm has taken the finale from Göteborg. So I smell a bit of a southern revolt and a few lovely weekends in Copenhagen. I won't need a licence there and I can race 50 minutes.