My day started with this lovely picture. No wonder people were staring at me and my bike. But will 10cm of snow stop us today? No way!

Lasse and Jonas succeeded again in setting up a wonderful earlyLuciacrossen course. Today's snow was different because underneath was not grass so grip was more of a problem this time. On my test lap, I (and everyone else) went full speed into a short hill with deep snow only to discover that our front wheel stopped dead. This is Chris Cross Air informing you that the emergency exits are rakt fram directly over the handlebars... It's been awhile since I have done that and it felt good that I could land in a pile of snow.

Today's real pain was the SPD pedals and actually any type of pedals. The only one who escaped this pain was Ted and I suspect that Tomas was involved in some shady business here. Afterall, last week he brought a friend who sat på rulle behind me and passed at the finish. This was opposite today. Ted had a great start and I didn't since I could not get my shoe clipped. I took many chances and could catch up to Ted at the end of every straight but as soon as I had to get off and clip in again, he took off and left me pounding my foot on my pedal.

The longer we went the more I was sliding like hell. One classic was when I jumped back on the bike and slid right off again. I also managed to slide in the corner where Aase was warming the glögg (Tack Aase!). Boy did I feel like heading into the depå for a drink but I waited till the end. Others seemed to be spread out all over and Mattias was in first until Björn took over for the last lap. And no I didn't get in anyone's way this time.

This was a lot of fun but and very technical and my legs feel strong when I can actually use them. Today was not one of those days. Again, I haven't felt fast since our CX Cupen race and it would be nice to have that feeling again this season. Let's see if the deep south will be warm and sunny for us.

While you are warming up the bredband waiting for that other Superprestige, why not read about today's Introcross and Göteborgs Superprestige. It was nice to see some new faces but quite a few others were missing. I hope that my post did not discourage anyone. I was just pointing out how cold it was. And tomorrow in GP you will probably be able to read skiers complaining about reckless and crazy cyclists...that was us. =)

I did take my Ridley and for the hundreds of you visiting this page via searches for Ridley X-Ride I can add this little review...it is fantastic in the snow! So much more stable than my MTB in fact. Today's warmup was to ride through the deepest part (15cm) and see how far we could go. It was like sand yet somehow I could make it through this with some skillful steering and solid pedalling. The two with MTBs certainly had trouble there. But still my smygträning in snow has paid off a bit.

The lap for the big race was a bit shorter but Lasse added a part where we had to climb over 5 little sand hills and then run through the sand...seriously fun. While we were preparing for this, Karlsson provided some entertainment while practicing falling in snow corners.

My start was fine and the two on the MTB were behind me and Patrik was just in front. Everyone was taking it a bit easy on the first lap since there were no real grooves to drive in but I was having no trouble with grip yet. I caught up in the long grusväg part and had a fairly comfortable gap back but it was growing in front of me. The part around the field was not really working for me and I was sliding so my speed was lost. I saw Patrik pass Mattias who had some chain trouble but after that sand section they really took off.

Lap 2 was pretty much the same and I could see that he was gaining in that part around the field and the trail/hill after the sand but I could open up the gap in any of the technical parts. By Lap 3 I was pretty tired and he was basically på rulle by the end so I calmed down a bit to save some energy for the spurt. He didn't try to pass on the long grusväg section and not at the löphinder either since there were a few corners. He didn't even try on my weakest part around the field and I was really sliding since I was stressed. Over the hills and sand and I was a bit ahead so that he didn't try and pass on the hill. I was doing well this time. But in the last straight section he made his move and I tried to answer but he had about 10m on me by the time the snow/grass started. I kept up well but a slight slip meant I was just a bit far away to answer.

Nope, no little win for Chris Cross but this is still the most fun I have had on this bike. In a normal situation that guy on the MTB would have been way ahead of me but my CX experience meant that I could stay in the race. But I really need to work on the general speed. TC is probably the only answer...

Grattis to Söderköpings SK for making a World Cup course. There were 3 löphinder including one about 10m from a staircase, a small sand section directly after a corner and a phenomenal 6 hills of which I could only ride up 2. So I was off and on the bike 8 times per lap. And to top it all off, the rest was muddy grass that sucked the hell out of any speed you may have had.

The start was like slow motion as everyone sank and I actually ran into someone at the sand. So for once I managed a good start! But by the hill in the corner my dreams of a podium finish were gone again, just in time for the bridge and the zigzag grass part which was fun when we did this kind of thing at Hondacrossen but just pure pain today.

The 30s headstart for the women's class did not last long so then things were back to 'normal' except today was comical. Mirella was about 50m behind Lisa and Carina was 50m behind Mirella. And I was 50m behind Carina. This is how it stayed for the entire first lap and part of the 2nd when 'dagens star' Carina made an attack and passed Mirella so that now the order was Lisa, Carina, Mirella and me, again all about 50m apart. It much have been very funny to watch. Except Chris Cross was not smiling so much today.

I could not find one part of this course where I was faster or fast at all except maybe the fun and seriously steep hill after a hell of a gåbacke (springbacke it wasn't). With 2 laps to go I was just ready to die. This was like a TC-pass since I was pedalling but not going anywhere. Fy fan this killed me.

Since I was lapped and it took me so long to get around, I didn't have to do my 4th lap. But it was good enough for 27th place ahead of one DNF which will do nicely for cup points. I may be slow but by doing all the races I can finish well in the cup.

This gem of a pic is my clothes after these two races. Into the bucket with these since this much mud will break the washer. What a fantastic CX weekend!

I discovered that my vevlager was the thing stopping the pedals from turning but with a bit of encouraging, it loosened up and was fine. But when I get home tomorrow I will need to take things apart and grease it again.

Right, so now to Kumla. It was pretty much the same course as last year with a few nice changes. The Veteran start was okay until the first corner. I wanted to go faster there but then everyone stopped and I thought, okay, what idiot needs to learn to ride. But it was actually Tomas who fell and had to fiddle with his chain before catching up to me again. By the time we reached the hill (which was not as big as I seem to remember), I was already quite far behind and that was about it.

The grass/mud/snow part was absolute hell but I had actually caught up to someone from Almby IK. I thought he had some teknisk problem but he didn't stop in the pit. He was fairly close behind so I decided to start racing and took off in the long downhill with the sideways-banked mud part that was pretty exciting.

This year I actually did make it up the hills fine and ran a lot less. So I am actually improving since I can compare from last year. There was supposed to be 2 laps left so I thought I would try and pick up the tempo a bit even though my body was more thinking about falling over. Then in the short downhill after the pit and down towards the beach I made a hell of a slide and was sideways. By some miracle (or decent MTB technique) I stayed upright and could finish my lap with some style. And that was all I did since they stopped me.

21st place it would have been if I did the last lap but in the official results I seem to just be listed as +1 varv. Whatever.

I remember why I voted for Kumlacrossen as the best of last year. It was still a wonderful CX course even if this year there are ones even better. Excellent choice for SM!

During the day I also heard about Söderköping tomorrow...snow snow and more snow. Wet snow...

At 09.30 things were looking quite bad and a lot of the track was not marked yet. But things came together so I could go and help with the pile of efteranmälningar which came right around 10.30 when things were starting. Many were in Superklass so I thought that just maybe they could 'get lost' on the way to the målbilen but I decided to behave.

Things were stressy and finally I got to change and take a test lap. I didn't really have time to warm up so soon the start went and I was completely cold in the fine November sun. I stayed with everyone for basically the whole first lap which is a nice change. Yet somewhere in the long straight and the MTB part I lost contact. It was really slippery in the forest section I called Chris Cross the other day. After that came the stairs and every time I was greeted with a flood of cheering which felt just great! But that downhill after was nasty and not once did I have my feet clipped in.
Tack Joakim Skretting for this. See more here.

So the second lap I was on my own enjoying the lovely curves on the two grusplan and everything else which was pure CX-glädje. Now the rest of this is going to sound iskall but I did not know that Dam Prestige started a minute before Super Speczial klass. I was slowly catching up to Carina Börjesson and was på rulle at the end of the start stretch. Knowing that I sucked in the MTB part I stayed behind to slide around undisturbed. I braked hard on the hill and she took off a bit but on the tung grass straight I passed and tried to open up a comfortable gap. Then I was on my own again for a bit while I started to get lapped.

People were finishing and I had one lap to go and Carina was not that far back so I pushed on. Again I could see Lisa not so far ahead but she was already at the MTB section so I was not expecting to catch up. Apparently she took a flygtur over the handlebars on that downhill that lap while I managed to do that perfectly for once. She was at the end of the grass straight while I was entering so I decided to try even if this would probably end in humiliation.

The gap was shrinking but only because I was taking every chance I could. By the grass corners out near the highway I was close but not quite there so I decided to stand up and try and nail the last grass part. For once this worked and I was flying. Gap of 25m out on the flat grus section before the long road finish stretch. Up to stora klingan and get ready for my humiliation. But instead I could have some glory and went sailing passed for a lovely finish. Again, I did not know that they started a minute ahead.

Despite all this I ended up 45th which was last except for a DNF but I was much closer to those in front of me. Slowly but surely I am getting the hang of this.

Lasse and Karlsson made us a wonderful CX track and I hope that everyone enjoyed it as much as I did. Welcome back to sunny Göteborg next year!

So it was time again to head off to a sunny Borås (seriously) for some serious CX. After my test lap I declared this course to be worse than a kick in the balls and decided to just ride to finish. But the more I raced the more I started to like it.

The start was on their infamous slow uphill and I actually managed a great start and was beside Patrik and Roberto at the springbacke. Things were going well but some point in the muddy corner they took off and I was left behind a familiar sight from Falu CK. Since this is not the time to be losing a job, it was time to be a proper racerapportör.

Coming down the grass hill I was på rulle and managed a beautiful late breaking to slide passed Lisa on the corner. Excellent. What I was not expecting was for her to come flying passed me in such a way that made me feel like I should actually be in Dam Prestige. This was in the little grus section and I was obviously eager to answer that move. But then Carina Börjesson politely told me to get out of the way and I had to let her and Mirella Ehrin pass. It would not be polite to interfere with their battle for 3rd.

Lisa had opened up a nice lead at this point and Carina and Mirella were seriously determined so I ended up sitting for almost a lap watching them fight. At some point Mirella dropped a bit so I passed and I hope that Carina realized that it was me behind and not anyone else. Things were pretty stable with 3 laps to go and it was somewhere here that I started getting lapped. Hearing how hard they were breathing made me feel like I should push more too. Which was fine since I was starting to really enjoy the track at this point.

With 2 laps remaining I was side by side with Carina on the finish hill but she seemed to slow down at this point so it was okay for me to continue. And with a bit of effort (note the blue smoke above) I opened up a gap there and could run my own race now. I could see Mattias and Petter a couple corners ahead but we all know that in CX a couple of corners is an eternity.

Last lap and I had some pretty good flow in my riding so I did speed up when I could. I did manage to close some of the gap up to Lisa but I see that I was still back by 22 seconds.

I ended my race with a lovely spurt up the hill and was welcomed by cheers from MCK which felt just perfect! So this was good for a 34th place finish which was ahead of Mattias and Petter who did not do the last lap. So in a sneaky way I was not last. =)

Welcome tomorrow for some more proper CX.

After 2 test laps my fork came loose yet again but CC Lasse fixed the problem right and it stayed the whole race. Like I said, today would be all about technique in the corner and smart racing...things which pass me well. There were over 60 starting in Super Speczial Klass and also D Prestige so I decided to chicken out a bit and start at the back. Big mistake. After the start it rolled along VERY SLOWLY and I even had to get off my bike in the hill since I was racing as Fixie Chris and not changing gears at all. Stora klingan (50) the whole way made riding a dream. With the tubulars, the bike is 8.5 kg and the Merida was over 10 kg.

So the start was crap and I was at the end in a klungan of around 5 riders. We all sort of followed but I could see that some were slow so I passed a few in corners. I made a mess of the stairs and actually hit myself in the face. I suspect the 5 photographers there got that one. After this I started following a guy in a blue jacket with no club shirt so I have no clue who he was. But he was pretty good. I tended to be cautious in the gravel but I caught up in the straights.

Together we passed I think two more riders and it seemed like everyone was slowing down. But I was full of energy so at the corner before the finish line I shoved my way into the inside corner and took off and flew up the hill and around to the fountain part. But there was still 2 with me and blue jacket guy passed me while I messed up yet another remount after the stairs and sand. So I sat på rulle and noticed that he unclipped on basically every corner but I just coasted and never really lost any time. This other guy had passed but was just getting in the way so I passed again quickly. This was all with 2 laps to go.

Heading into the finish area again just starting the last lap I decided to make another attack but with all I had left. Fan this was amazing! And it was successful. I had a good 25 m on him and for once managed to nail the stairs/sand/stairs remount, well, sort of.

I could see Jonas not too far ahead which is strange since I am normally never anywhere near anyone else. The final gap was only 10 seconds. Then I also saw Mirella Ehrin so I decided that if I passed her, the guy behind me would have no chance. So I passed in a corner and could relax a bit. That didn't stop me from flying across the finish line anyway...just for effect.

So Lisa Ström stayed ahead of me this time so I can't report on her race. But if I had had an extra lap, maybe I could have found her. In summary, my bike stayed together, I was not last, I passed people in race situations and my tires did not fall off. The Results are here. I finished 56th, was ahead of 3 others plus 8 DNFs.

What a brilliant race! And what a great ad for Mölndals CK which had strong riders in almost every class. Yes, we are cross.

And so it was time for CX Cupen race #2 and Ludvika Crossen was the kind of track I love. In fact, this reminded me a lot of the track in Borlänge two years ago. Tons of corners, grass and right in the centre. What a race! To make a long story short, I finished 31st in SuperSpeczialKlass which was last as usual but I was not so far behind.

Let's just pretend for a moment that I was actually racing in Dam Prestige instead. Not that I am considering any changes. But, how manly can you feel after just putting on our supercool new CX tempodräkt which was VERY tight? =) Anyway, the women started at the same time and this gave me some people to race.

The start went towards a small grass hill which some got stuck in and that caused a minor bit of chaos. But once 'corner hell' started, things were already spread out. The results list is a bit strange because I know that I passed another woman in a bit of a 'ful kurva' Sorry for that. I took the corner quite wide and cut back in which is the way to do things but perhaps not to someone in a different class.

Anyway, I had power on the small uphill with MCKs cheering section and in the grass so I was able to catch up to Mirella Ehrin of Team CykelCity who I was på rulle with for maybe a third of a lap. Now to the hill near the playground...focus of everything. I had decided to jump off early and run and Mirella didn't so we were side by side at the top. And in a moment that was very unlike me, I actually went down the hill side-by-side completely out of the groove and pulled away.

In my eagerness to get away I was taking lots of risks and this meant I was catching up to Lisa Ström from Falu CK. Funny enough, in her blog she has a picture of her blistered palm. I have one too. Aj. Somewhere in the middle of the race I had closed the gap to about 20m but on the road part at the start/finish she would open up a gap but then in the grass and corners I closed it again.

With 2 laps to go and a hell of an effort I was på rulle with Lisa and instead of just passing and trying to take off I followed her for most of the 2nd last lap. Again at that same hill she got stuck halfway up and I passed. It was not quite so easy to take off but gradually I had a gap. In the other grass hill just after the start/finish I made a mistake and she almost caught me so I had to ride at max to get a gap again.

As far as I know, I finished before her yet in the results list it says I finished 0.2 seconds after her? If that was the case, she made a hell of a spurt which was so fast that I didn't even see her. In reality, they probably didn't see my number or just forgot that I was still racing. Yes, and that is how I finished 6th place in Dam Prestige. =)

After a tough start yesterday, this made it all worth it. I pushed on for the entire race and only felt dead on the last lap. After the race I wanted to vomit but that is a good sign. I need someone in front of me to chase.

Today was the start of Introcross with the all important träningstävling. Those of you reading this last year know just what a big deal these races became. But this year I would not say that it is the same yet, probably because there are so many CX Cupen races so the thought of a race every weekend until Christmas is a bit much. But CX is life for me so let's race.

I rode today with 2.5 bar in my tires and that felt perfect most times. It was pretty dry but still the grass had some water leftover for wheel sucking. We practiced starts around a goal post and it was fun to see that glidtackling work well in cycling too.

The race was supposed to be 30 min but CC Lasse's course was a good one so we covered all the usual CX things and didn't have much time for resting. At the start and for the first 100m my body was not really convinced that this was a race. But it was not my worst start because I was able to pass Ted just after the sand. Passing Ted is getting harder and harder. The field was not so spread out and I kept fairly close to Per in the grass sections. But the drop through the mud and then the road bit were enough for him to leave me way behind. Of course I had one of those Merida slides coming off the gravel from 8:an and this understeering is the main reason I wanted a Ridley.

Anyway, I was on my own and when this happens I get tempted to just relax and take it easy. But I could still see the group in front of me so I tried to keep at it. The group was quite spread out at this point but I could see Mattias was closest in front of me but pretty far for me to make any attack. I could also see Tomas and co approaching behind me which was a good thing. With 2 laps to go I gave it everything I had just to avoid being lapped. Taking the sand with speed was a good idea. The grass hurt but even the mud hole went more smoothly with less braking and more pedalling. So by the time I had made it to the slalom part at the start area and then the running hill, it was clear that no one would lap me. Success!

With one lap to go I just decided to keep up the speed for the training value and it was good. I had maybe gained a little bit on Mattias but certainly not enough to pass. But I am satisfied with my performance today.

Finally, a true sign that CX season is approaching fast. Falu CK has just posted their invitation here. Naturally, the fun begins at Lugnet...mecca of all sport.

I am also very pleased to see that the värvning rule does not apply for gubbklass. Falun here we come! But first a couple trips to Skatås for training sand and stairs.

After a rainy drive and a foggy Skövde, the weather got better as I pulled into Tidan. Better means grey but not raining. I rushed out to take a test lap before Sportklass and thought the track was quick fun. But when I took another lap just before the start, the first thing I did was slide massively in the first corner. Hmm.

The start went well and I was keeping up for quite awhile. Everyone in front of me slowed down at the little MTB section through the forest which was fun. The guy directly in front of me got stuck in the little ditch and took a rather spectacular vurpa into the bushes so I passed him. Then it came to the little grass valley/hill thing which I decided to try and ride. It started well and I was almost up the hill but I slipped and fell over landing in some plant that burns like hell. By the time I had come back around to that section, my leg was on fire. And it still is now. Only I could manage this. Just like in Farrisrundan when I fell into an electric cow fence.

After that it was going well and I was trying to catch the next guy up. On Lap 2 I slid pretty bad in both of the grusväg corners and at the forest part I took the root section on a bad angle and almost hit the tree. But it was still going fast. Coming up to the jump section I caught up to Mattias and I could hear the punka on his back wheel. He said 'I'll catch up to you later.' and I took off. Of course at this moment I was passed by the guy who fell in the first lap. So now it was chase time.

In Lap 3 the prestige guys started lapping me and I was starting to slide everywhere. I was losing pace compared to the guy in front so I just started getting cautious hoping they would get tired. I took the löphinder with quite the jump but my stupid pedals were full of mud so I could not get clipped in. That happened for each of the remaining laps. The section with the rock band at the finish line also had a nice little jump and mud hill so when I get pictures I will post them.

Right, so then what about Mattias. Apparently while I was cautious he was slowly gaining on me. He passed me at the finish line and suddenly I was awake again. I was on his tail through the nasty grus corners and up until the MTB section but he was superior in the grass section and I was done again.

By this point there were 2 laps left but by pure luck the prestige group lapped me again at the grass section. I need to work on riding in muddy grass. So I sped up and did my best since, as expected, I didn't have to do the last lap.

And this was good enough for 9th place of 12 in veteranklass! Even if the others were DNF, it still felt good. But what have I learned today? Do NOT fall in bushes. Do NOT relax in the middle of the race. And, most importantly, Tufo Prestige 30 tires are absolutely useless in wet conditions.

After, they opened up the Cykeldistribution warehouse which was full of many fine bikes from Focus. Finally they have started following colour trends because they had some very cool designs. I had to leave before the urges of 'Oooh...me want buy NOW!' took over.

So, CX season is officially started and Chris Cross wants more!

For lack of something better to write about, I can just direct your view to the link list on the right for the cross season schedule. Yes, thats one long list of races. Me like...

Even though I still haven't been paid, there is some positive news to report. Several sources have hinted that CX Cupen this year will have 14 races plus 1 SM! That is fantastic news!

So now I hope that one of those top-secret CX Sverige members will leak the list soon. October 16th in Falun is already public and so is SM on November 13th, probably in Kumla. Other locations are certainly Stockholm, Göteborg, Norberg and Borås but the rest are a mystery.

And so ends a weekend of top quality cyclocross from Tabor. The Mens Elite race went as I expected with a Stybar taking the title in grand style. Here is a crappy quality clip to encourage you to pay for a cycling.tv membership like I did.


I still can't believe that Sven Nys managed to take 3rd place after falling on the stairs, in a corner and over the first plank. Amazing finish! The Womens Elite was less dramatic with Vos winning by a lot. At least Van den Brand pulled off a 3rd place despite looking quite sick.

And over to Sweden, Nilsson finished an excellent 30th place in U23. Darvell was less fortunate in Elite with a flat tire, a fight with a Spaniard and a vurpa or two. Still, it is great to see them down there trying. I can think of many other top quality cross cyclists in Sweden who are not down there trying.

Thanks to Björn for hosting what was supposed to be a CX Sweden meeting. The coffee was excellent!

The first race of the weekend was the Juniors and at the moment every corner is full of ice and snow. So for those of you who appreciate a nice crash, you will not be disappointed. The best chance for crashing is after the bridge where they have a hell of a speed. And as anyone who has ridden in snow knows, after awhile you have no brakes. The race was won by Paprstka from the Czech Republic...could this be the start of a trend this weekend?

It is finally time to turn our attention to a snowy Tabor for the cyclocross worlds. I vote for Stybar in the Mens and Van den Brand on the Womens side.

For you patriotic types that may be currently placing all of your money on our two Swedish favourites, you might want to check these two videos from Team Kalas. First we have Mattias Nilsson showing how to change bikes...

And then we have Magnus Darvell showing us how to make it up snow covered hills...


And now that I have stopped laughing, I can be serious and wish Mattias a lycka till tomorrow and Magnus one for Sunday. It is great for Swedish cross that someone is out there fighting with the big Belgians.

Sunday is also time for the CX Sweden fan club annual meeting. =)

With a name as fun to say as Hoogerheide, you know that you are in for a great race. As usual, cycling.tv covered the womens and mens races. Both were quite similar with the world champ (Vos or Albert) taking the win but losing the World Cup series.

Van den Brand took some help from a teammate to keep close enough to Vos to take the overall title. And in the interview after she said it was not her best race...plus a bunch of other stuff in Dutch.

Stybar was in fairly good shape but somehow Albert managed to catch up after a start as bad as I normally do. With help of a teammate, Stybar managed to keep up in second after a slip cost him the lead over Albert after shoving his way passed in a beautiful corner (around 2:00 in the clip)

You can tell that World Champs are next week because everything about today stunk of psychology. Sven Nys, for example, was way off. And Stybar has another 'bad day'. Pure sports psychology from the lot of them.

The UCI World Cup CX races in Roubaix did not disappoint with all that mud and technical downhills. And in grand fashion, Stybar crushed everyone and proved once again that Ridley is king of the mud. But the best part was the interview after where he said that he was having a bad day. Bad day? My VM pick is clear...if this is Stybar on a bad day he is unstoppable!



And on the women's side it was also all Czech with Nash far in front. Kupfernagel from Germany managed to pass Vos in the technical part by running. Yes, running. Can cross get any better than this?

And so it is time for 3 back-to-back weekends of cross. Today's race is in the classic city of Roubaix and you can watch it on Cycling.TV or check the free links on Öijer's page.

Will the newly-crowned Dutch champion Daphny Van den Brand continue her winning streak against Marianne Vos? In Sweden, home of Emma Johansson, we like these kind of results. =)

And will Czech champion Zdenek Stybar again show why we should all be buying a Ridley? Maybe.

Now seems to be the perfect time to look back on my bests and worsts of the 2009 cycling season.

MTB XC
Bäst Västgötacupen: Ymerracet Borås
Something was right on this day and I could control my sliding in a wet Borås. This was the first time of the year where I didn't finish last and I passed 4 people by running up a hill, a strategy I used many times in CX.

Sämst Västgötacupen: Dynamitracet Uddevalla
Wet course...fell three times and I only had to do two laps. Most of the problem was that I could not find the place so I was too late to try the course.

Improvements for 2010:
I will still see these races as teknikträning and I will probably move up to Senior class to avoid starting with 40 people in Sport.

MTB Marathon
Bäst långlopp: MTB SM/Bjursåsbiken Falun
For the first time I had a great start and was keeping up with many along the grusvägar. At the halfway point I was in the middle of the battle between the leaders of D30 class until I had to stop for a drink (they had people to hand them stuff). If only I hadn't run completely out of energy around 55km. Still, 68km is the right length for me and this race proved that I do have the potential.

Sämst långlopp: Långa Billingeracet and Grenserittet
Neither of these were really horrible but because of my revbensfraktur I could only do three races. Billingen was worst because I was simply not trained well enough for it. But I did have a great finish and was not last place in H30. And Grenserittet gave me a taste for more Norwegian MTB races and was my first attempt at starting fast. But a hell of a cramp in the middle meant that I had to slow down. I also did not realize that the last 20km were essentially flat so I could have went faster. My last 10 km was impressive.

Improvements for 2010:
More races and more Norway are key parts of my långlopp strategy next year. Better training will also help. I also need to spend more time adjusting my bike so I can be more stable in tougher terrain and on the grusväg downhills.

CX
Bäst CX Cupen: Valhallcrossen Stockholm
My worst race in 2008 was this one but 2009 it was my best by far. For the first time I had the energy for the 40 min and I could battle away with others at the back of the field. This was the first cross race of this year where I knew that this is my sport and this is what I will emphasize most 2010. That kind of feeling is priceless.

Sämst CX Cupen: Allecrossen
I was sick for this and probably never should have started. Things went much better on this course at CRC CX1 in my first cross race of the season.

Bäst Göteborgserien: CRC CX6
How could I possibly close that much of a gap up to Peter and then manage to build up an equal gap in front of him in only 4 laps? This was magical.

Improvements for 2010:
Start training cross sooner is a major improvement. By the time my shape was coming, CX Cupen was over. But the main improvement will be a Ridley X-Ride frame in combination with the components I want rather than what the stock bike has. My Merida can be my second bike.

Other cycling:
I did a bit of other cycling in Göteborgserien so I got to try a few things I would not normally try.

Bäst LVG moment: DM at Fjärås
Even if I was actually lapped, the GP-style course was a great one and gave me a nice sense of speed.

Sämst LVG moment: Orust Runt
I pretended to be a motionär for this race just to test the rumour that it is much easier to ride in a group. I found a group which planned to average 30km/h for 80km, something I could never manage on my own. In a group this was a joke. I was basically coasting around. It was only out of kindness that I didn't spurt away from them for the last 5km.

Surprising LVG moment: The three tempo races in GBGserien
The bergstempot at Brudaremossen basically gave me an asthma attack. The second in Kungälv actually proved that I could push myself through the pain and managed over 40km/h on my 10kg cross bike! And in Landvetter I also had a respectable performance. In fact, after these races I felt stronger and had more confidence. Yes, interval training can be useful.

Once I have thought a bit more, I will list out my goals for 2010. But 2009 was certainly a year of great improvements and I owe that all to a truly great cycling club...Mölndals CK.