I saw that Öijer changed my result to read 40th instead of DNS so that made me Mr. Gladgubbe. And I was also glad that I could enjoy a peaceful hotel breakfast after the chaos of all the sports teams there during the weekend. Then I read the newspapers which you have already heard about from various sources. Falu Kuriren gave about a third of a page to CX and the rest to the orienteering. Dala Demokraten had a rather controversial half a page about the guys with no mention of Lisa Ström at all. Obviously this reaction appeared. Yes, the same Lisa who was hit by a bus two weeks ago. This was a very newsworthy comeback story. So newsworthy that I am pointing it out a second time. Sadly, it seems that my blabbering here gives more coverage to Dam Prestige cyclocross in this country than any other media source.

And so I get to the actual point of this inlägg and the thing I have been thinking about on the whole drive back to Gbg. Where are the cross fans? They used to be there. What cyclist could forget the roar of the crowd and the Flanders flag at the top of the famous steps at the Gbg cup races at Slottsskogsvallen? Or why not look way back to the year when the Sthlm race was at Bosön and the whole event felt about as Belgian as possible this far north.

One simple explanation is that all those wonderful cross fans bought a bike and are now racing. This is certainly the case for many and is naturally great for the sport. But I find it remarkable that with over 75 cyclists starting there is basically no interest from anyone. It is hard for cyclists to cheer on each other because of the scheduling and race prep. And that leaves it very empty around the track. The media itself is not helping cycling with all those 'mamil' articles. It just seems like people see cycling as a sport that you do, not a sport that you watch.

Björn F has been writing before about a 'huvudstadstrippeln' and even though Oslo hasn't caught on yet there is a 'scandinavian triple' chance already now. So for the sake of CX in this country I will venture out into the unknown on a mission to see if our neighbours have figured things out. Norway is mad about cycling but their CX experience is just starting. Read about their cup here. And in Denmark they have raced cross for many years. Here is the link to their cross page and this is their race schedule. Do they have more fans? I will find out soon...