The title above should be no surprise considering I have kind of disappeared from everything and everywhere. I can start with a positive thing...my stress level is way way down now. But that little revelation meant that I almost immediately welcomed in a flu virus and have been crap ever since. I am almost through it now but tomorrow in Copenhagen is not going to work and I don't know about Sunday in Skatås. It so happens that another stupid thing happened because my boots fell apart and I kept wearing them so I have a massive blister on my foot. This has stayed sore because I have new boots which are not worked in yet. Not sure how my cycling shoes will feel but that I can find out soon.

But I have changed my mind about Vårgårda and it is a shame that so few have signed up yet. So, mostly to help out Vårgårda CK, I think a double weekend is in my future. And since all this sickness stuff has meant that I have managed to finish all those little things I had to do, the etapplopp I mentioned before in Denmark is a possibility. It is great that they contacted CX Sweden too. 4 races...2 days in 2 of the best possible locations in Copenhagen...how could it go wrong?

Pretty much everyone has a stressful job now and the only way to keep floating is to have a nice recovery period. For most that means the weekend. I am happy with my job and that I have just been extended. But I have learned that I also have limits in terms of just how much I can do. So taking on two extra things at work was certainly a recipe for disaster. You have already heard me complain about the course I am taking and the point of this was to increase my teaching competence. Instead it has just left me even more stressed and has taken all of my weekend time.

With 4 weekends left before Christmas there is even more reason to stress. But CX itself is also a source of stress, even if the race is here. We lose a day for every race no matter if it is a cup thing or training. So we stress our way through the week and then stress our way off to yet another weekend of CX races. It should be no surprise to anyone that I reached a limit sometime last weekend when even my 'CX-free weekend' became a 'catching up from the other weekends' stress.

I have given the impression that the grass is greener on the other side of Öresundsbron and in many ways that is true. Even though they have a ton of races, only 4 of them are in the national cup. Yes, 4. Not 11. People have other things to do so why attempt to have so many races? To take an example, Långloppscupen is not that many races and they are usually a couple of weeks apart. This is what I like about it and why so many motionär also join in. It is fun in a stress-free and licence-free way without overdoing it. And most people today that use sport as a way to recover from stress would never need more than that. Keep it simple and don't get out of hand with race numbers. That will bring in the people. There are tons of other sports with stress-free 'prova på' sessions so why would anyone choose complicated and expensive cycling over something simple?

I want to give priority to the second race in the Danish CX-Cup next weekend and in order to do that I have to cancel this weekend in Copenhagen. What happens after that I have no idea. But what I really need is a weekend without stress or expectation. I just need a nice long walk in the forest to calm down a lot.

Yes, now I will continue spreading info on Denmark to those of you in CX Sweden. But after reading Björn's latest inlägg it is clear that I am not the only one slightly losing it. Or maybe that was some Göteborg's humour which will be quickly followed up by a nice report from Belgium? We will see.

So here are some races to keep you busy down south.

24/11 Hjertestarter-cross
How can you not be interested with a name like this? The route is just south of Helsingör.

25/11 Copenhagen Cyclocross Grand Prix
Yes, another race with a big-sounding name that has been around for a few years now.

1/12 CX-Cup Afd 2 - Kongelunden på Amager 
This is the second of the series I started doing last weekend. Amager is just south of the airport in case you were wondering.

Of course I started reading the rules on SCF and realized that most are copied directly from UCI which makes sense because that would require the least amount of effort. But their rule about svarttävlingar seems to apply to those in other countries too so CX-Cup in Denmark is also a no no. Lovely. And what is this crap about 'utlandstillstånd'? I can't find any info on that. Obviously I haven't bothered with that neither now nor a couple years back when I started doing långlopp races in Norway. I have always had my own insurance so it doesn't matter to me.

And finally, I do cyclocross because I like it, not because I am training for next season. And I like the fact that the Danish races are technically simple and not trying to kill us.

Yes, since this is the internet I can use things like OMFG to describe how I feel right now. I have not felt this much träningsvärk since my two super races in Dalsland at the start of the season. I mean seriously this is some serious shite. We all know that cross is great training but after yesterday's technically quite simple lap I was not expecting this. So obviously I am satisfied.

One explanation could be in the results list...the chip registered 16 laps and a race time of 63 minutes. That means 15 times running up those stairs. 16 löphinder. 16 times gradually uphill through the forest and against the wind. And 31 dismounts plus 31 remounts. Plus I also did 4 practice laps. OMFG indeed.

So that gave me 17th position out of 21 in H Prestige. The one that passed during my semi-collapse moment only finished 20 seconds ahead and then there was another 5 s to the next guy. In fact there was only 2 minutes separating the 6 of us on that lap. So there is room for improvement.

Another thing I noticed is that this course allowed me to have more strategy and to do several 'mean' things to keep people behind. Like once at the top of the stairs there was a guy on my left so I remounted and headed straight towards the left side which of course meant he couldn't get through without hitting the track tape. And in the forest I was Chris Crossing back and forth to miss the tree roots...this must have been very annoying.

Next race is 1 dec. You can also sign up for 1 race at a time for 100DKK and then the chip (which you keep and can use again) is another 100DKK. It is pretty close to Kastrup and would be a good way to keep up some form for Tångacrossen. Yes, try that one with a non-Swedish keyboard.

Again I will start this entry in an unusual way with a picture. This is from the very top of the stairs from today's race. It just screams mjölksyra eller hur? So today I made my debut at racing in Denmark and that makes this the 3rd country I have raced in this season. And this also was my debut in H Prestige because they only had a choice between H and H40 but it didn't matter because everyone would race 60 min + finish the lap they were on. No worries for lapped riders. You just do as many laps as you can.

The start was not very dramatic and the whole thing was kind of like Introcross except with chip timing. The course was marked with arrows but there was plenty of chances for corner cutting. I took it easy and just watched where everyone was going so I could follow the same line in later laps. My speed was fine and the Tufos at 2.5 bar were perfect today. My race plan was simple...just keep a steady pace until I meet Mr. Wall. And again the first two laps I was just trying to see where I could rest and where I could gain ground. There was no time for rest anywhere.

This was the lap...the long straight was slightly downhill and everyone was flying so I had to shift down and fly too. At the end of that down near the water it turned left onto a trail but most stayed high and went along the grass. This was a good place to gain time because most coasted here and I did the coasting in the next part, the left turn followed by a sharp right into the forest. This was a tricky part with stones and loose mud and was a place where a couple of guys had bike problems. So here I took it easy and that was a perfect strategy because I did the whole thing without flaw. In the forest it was kind of fun except for the fact that it was slowly uphill the whole time. But I kept at it and this also became a good spot for opening gaps. The next part was a rough grass field over to a right turn, after which was a gradual climb with the wind against you. Fan this hurt. Or, well, it hurt because this is precisely where I made my attack in every lap. That would pay later on. After that was a little 2m drop with a pile of mud at the bottom which became more slippery each lap. But I managed just fine. Then it was time for a double löphinder, again just after an uphill so I was basically stopped. After this we crossed the chip line and then head for the stairs. If you check the picture above you will see a very large brick circle and because I feared pedal vurpor and massive carnage I was already off the bike in the grass and was lifting it up over my shoulder while running up to the hill. This was pretty good. And then taking the stairs 2 at a time meant that this was another spot where I could open up gaps. At the top after I usually messed up my remount it was a slow downhill back to the start which was yet another good spot to attack.

So back to the race. Around Lap 3 my consistency strategy started to pay off because I could see someone 50m ahead and could close the gap and pass. I did this 3 times over the next few laps and felt like things were going great. Of course I was already lapped but I didn't care so much about that. Around 30 min in I could see a few cyclists that had given up so I would not be last even if Mr. Wall came for a visit. Those in front of me were getting more difficult and at least one was på rulle (like 10 m back) for at least a lap. Not so much was happening at this point because the next guy in front was very consistent.

I had no clue how much time has passed so stupidly I asked how much time was left (10 minutes) and this gave away my weakness so the guy I had passed beautifully with an attack in the wind part could sneak by on the stairs. That was my worst stairs of the day. So I figured 2 laps and tried to keep going but my body was weak. I think that was a slow lap because the guy in front of me was getting farther ahead. So then I heard last lap and pulled out all the energy I could find and it was perfect. Where did that energy come from??? So I made up some time and crossed the line and found the nearest muddy grass patch to collapse in. Fy fan. 60 minutes is da shit. And now I am a stiff MF indeed.

It was not exactly a folkfest but there were enough there to make it pretty good. And hearing Danes yell loudly when their bike falls apart is also fun. I think there will be a few pics of me too because one seemed to always be there with her camera on every part of the lap. The results are supposed to appear on Facebook and then on their website. I was not expecting much so we will see what happens. I did pass a few people and I even lapped a couple so that has to be good.

It seems like SCF is getting slightly annoyed and is laying on the penalties. Good thing my 'skita i Sthlm' attitude has taken me here to Roskilde in Denmark. Most of you will associate this lovely old city with a very muddy music festival so it seems right that the Danish CX-Cup should start here. Naturally the first place I had to visit was Roskilde Folkepark, the site of tomorrow's race. You can see the route here. And now for a change, here are some pictures.

The park starts here with some lovely autumn leaves and nice little hard packed dirt paths. These are the kinds of trails that leave the bike and the cyclists with a nice sandy coating after awhile. Lovely.
 

And then we get to what should be somewhere around the start area according to the map. The trained CX eye will see many signs of smygträning and what will probably be a couple of lovely curves.


And then the pièce de resistance, the amphitheatre! The track comes in from the right and goes straight up the stairs in the middle. And let me tell you...those are some serious stairs!


To the right of the theatre there is this grass hill and the track somehow comes passed here and around. The grass felt kind of wet but pretty stable.


And this is what you see from the top of the stairs. The track goes down this gradual hill off to the right in what looked like a path that was made especially for cross. And off in the distance is the water which makes this one of the finest settings for cross I have ever seen. You will also note that there are no crazy drops. Just grass, mud and stairs.

Of course when I went into one cycling shop I was surprised to hear that they did not know about the race. Now they know. And there is a bigger store that was closed when I got there so tomorrow I will drop by and let them know too. A folkfest in Folkepark tomorrow would be a dream! Almost as good as this Tuborg I am drinking.

I noticed from CX Sweden that others are not very amused with the current CX situation either. And obviously I think it is important to be critical or I wouldn't have bothered with my boycott. But we have to take these complaints and make them into something good. It was also mentioned that my boycott seems to be over. I have never been against cyclocross in general, I am just fed up with SCF. And that boycott is on until we can get some progress here.

Like I said yesterday I think it is time to see how things are going in Denmark. And what I found was CX-Cup, a little series of 5 races around Copenhagen. Unlike SCF, the Danish equivalent DCU does not force beginners to have a licence to try out the sport. And the CX-Cup I found is a set of 5 independent races which in this country would be called svarttävlingar. And I think it is positive for the sport to have some competition from smaller cups because then it means DCU can't get lazy and arrange a half-assed race. We could use the same thing here.

They have enough sponsors to keep the thing floating and will even use the Lapio electronic chip timers so there will be less argument over results lists. In fact, the whole website is automated so you can register, pay by credit card and then get your results direct to your iPhone or Facebook. And just for this alone I think it is worth the trip just to see how this all works.

The first race is this Saturday, November 10 in Roskilde, also known for a muddy music event. The setting is in Folkepark which is right in the middle of the city so this will certainly create some local interest. And a start time of 14.00 means no conflict with things like shopping.

Everyone starts at once and there are no rules about getting lapped. You just do as many laps as you can in an hour. Can it get any better than this? So far 34 people have signed up and they have a max limit set at 100. So all of you CX-tokig down in Skåne or southern Sweden still have a chance to join in the fun.

I personally have always chosen CPH over Sthlm...

Yesterday I had what I call the CM or Chris mästerskap in cyclocross because lately it has been a miracle that I have any time to get near a bike. So when I finally do it should be rewarded. And, unlike other M races, at the CM I get a nice medal-shaped object (pizza) for my efforts. The problem is my assignment for that course I wrote about before. This report is a neverending battle and is eating up all of my free time and even some work time. But after working on this the last 3 days it is kind of starting to take shape. So happily I could get out on my bike yesterday.

For those of you away from Göteborg, it has been raining all weekend. Yes, surprise surprise. But yesterday wasn't so one could get the idea that it would be nice and dry out. Nej nej. I have never seen the grass this wet over at my Sävecrossen spot. But with my taped Tufos and a pressure of between 2.4 and 2.5 bar things were actually pretty good. So it was time for the CM to start.

Over at Skatås there was something resembling a track on one of the fields so no one should complain about what we do to the grass. Still, Hästhagen was calling and there I could see evidence of tjuvträning for future GöteborgsSuperprestige races, several dogs and even a horse. My speed was good and the mud was clearing from my tires nicely. But I still slid massively in one corner and other grass/mud bits were pretty slippery in general so I now have to admit that I will slide no matter what tire I have. But yesterday I found a great balance between speed and grip and could feel the crossglädje coming back.

So after a bike wash I thought I would add a nice loop in around Delsjön and 8:an which led to Mr.Wall towards the end, a dirty bike yet again and a whole pile of muddy clothes. A good CM indeed!

This week will bring some late nights to get rid of this stupid assignment because next weekend it is time for Chris Cross to invade Denmark. More on that later...

I realize I said I would shut up until after SM in Sunne but my feeling is that this is not the forum to bring up these issues. There is no discussion and based on Google Analytics I can see that I am only really talking to the people that usually read this page. So I will now make my final point and then let my boycott speak for itself.

We can see that out in the big big world the aftermath of Circus Lance is having the expected effect. Most attention is around Hein Verbruggen and whether he was covering up for doping. But here in Sweden everything seems to have blown over and nothing has happened at all. Why? I have the answer.

After some searching on SCFs website one can find this document on Antidoping information. And many parts of this are in fact good but my problem is the contradiction that spoils the whole thing.

Under 'Vem är ansvarig?' you can read this:
Enligt dopinglagen är alltid idrottsutövaren själv ansvarig för vad han/hon stoppar i sig. Det åligger således honom/henne att förvissa sig om huruvida ett preparat han/hon intar är dopingklassat eller inte.
Även den som hjälper en idrottsutövare att dopa sig, kan bestraffas. Att hantera förbjudna
preparat är dessutom enligt svensk lag förbjudet och kan leda till fängelsestraff.

This we already know. But by placing all responsibility on the cyclist it means that SCF has nothing to lose if someone is doping. That is why they can sit there passively and why Ulf Näslund can call us all cheaters in DN. And that leads to the contradiction. The document starts with Dopingens 3 punkter, of which #3 is:

FÖRSTÖR
Doping skadar idrottsrörelsens trovärdighet och utgör därigenom ett allvarligt hot mot
idrotten som ungdomsorganisation och folkrörelse.

This we also already know. Cycling has a horrible reputation out there in the general public and any cyclist that has encountered an angry motorist or pedestrian knows that this is not getting any better. But this also means that we can't get any sponsors for our local clubs and that it becomes harder and harder to arrange races. Göteborgsgirot is going to have quite the battle on its hands, for example.

There has to be some responsibility or penalty for the club or team too because as things are now everyone can just look the other way and ignore the problem. This is precisely the same thing that happens for alcoholics. Many still say that it is their fault that they became an addict. And the fact that only 7% of those with alcohol problems in this country ever receive any care or ward for their problem is again a problem of responsibility. Although in the case of alcoholism I know that things are slowly changing for the better.

Maybe no one cares but for those of you that do I suggest starting locally. If a club or group can come up with a better way to deal with the doping issue or is willing to take responsibility for the actions of their cyclists then the idea might just spread.

My view on the issue will be represented by my DNS on Saturday.

And with this now said I can now return to the joys of cyclocross...

A visit to the CX Sweden website will tell you that cyclocross in this country is on the verge of greatness. CX was brought here by dedicated people with a passion for this wonderful sport and their continued effort really deserves some praise. Now people all over the country have taken their valuable time to arrange CX race series which manage to attract 40 or more cyclists. And the key to success is simple...exactly, keep it simple. A single start for everyone so that you can battle it out with your equal no matter what their age, gender, wallet size or licence status. This is cyclocross at its purist and I love every minute of it. And I look forward to the day when this spreads to MTB.

But wait. These races have results lists and some even have prizes. Uh oh. Svarttävling? I doubt that SCF has sanctioned these wonderful events. So that means most of the cyclists racing CX in this country should be fined för brott mot SCF:s tävlingsregler 1.2.019. Or does this only apply to races in Malmö? Or are these races actually träningstävlingar which are okay? I think my point is clear. If there is a way to sneak around a rule I see little point in having the rule at all. Svarttävling means no fee to SCF. I like.

So now I will keep quiet for a few days and let you all write about your preparations for SM in Sunne and your subtle ways to try and psyche out your competitors. And maybe the results list will be more accurate than the rest of the races this year.

My plans are to check out this Wåffelcrossen everyone is talking about. And next week I will boycott Sthlm and head to a true Danish classic in Kalundborg.

And so we enter Day 2 of my boycott of SCF and Dagens Nyheter has decided to continue their journalistic attacks on cycling with this article. How can you not react to an article that starts with the line 'Cykelsporten, där alla alltid bedyrar att de aldrig har dopat sig'??? How can SCF continue to not bother defending our beloved sport? Do they realize what it is like to have to defend cycling at work fika or any other place we go?

The only one who has said anything at all in defence of cycling is Jens Westergren. His comment is this...
Lämpligt att nämna cykelsporten i rubriken för att sedan sammanfatta dopingens historik i alla idrotter... Den som tror att det inte sett likadant ut i alla andra idrotter är naiv. Doping inom en idrott är direkt relaterat till idrottens omsättning, så där kan man ju se hur cykelsporten ligger till i den rankingen...

Extremely well put. If only SCF would make more of an effort...

I was not the first to start on this question. Andreas Lindén did a fine job with pointing out that doping may even exist in Sweden. But now it seems like all is well and back to normal on the SCF website. Ulf Näslund is happy with the apology from DN and another media storm is avoided. Do we really want a cycling union that covers up everything and hides from debate? I don't. Enough is enough.

What we want:
A cycling union should represent views of the cyclists. We do not need a group of politicians running SCF so it is time for some fresh faces and new ideas. If a cyclist points out an issue, SCF should respond. But, more importantly, they should take it seriously and be dynamic enough to adapt to the changing needs of cycling. And now is a good time to start this process.

The boycott:
The only way to get any change is to boycott SCF. Cutting off the money sends a clear message that we want change. Here are some ways to make this happen now:
1. I personally will not participate in any SCF-sanctioned races until something is done. Unfortunately that means missing CX in Sunne but I am not going to back down now that things are going...unless #3 happens.
2. Do not pay your licensavgift for next year. This is the most obvious source of income for SCF.
3. If you are a race organizer, do not pay SCF their portion of the race fee. Of all the options this is the best one because then the cyclists are not punished.

If you support me or want to leave a comment, do so below. Or you can email me if you want to be anonymous. Du kan skriver på svenska om du vill. I am not hiding from any discussion here. In fact, the more specific we can be with our demands the more likely a change will occur.

As you have already read this morning, DN has decided once again to diss cycling. And this time they used SCF's anti-doping representative Ulf Näslund to confirm their story. I could have just left this issue at that. Media always wants to focus on dirty stories. But when Ulf Näslund posted this response on the SCF website I lost it.

Yes, Ulf said that it was wrong to connect him with the amphetamine comment. But if he read the article he would see that that particular comment was connected to Fausto Coppi. Apparently Ulf does stand behind everything else in the article which essentially said that cyclists have spent the last 60 years trying to cheat and stay ahead of the doping tests. I said in my last post that I wonder just how many cyclists are cheating. But Ulf knows the answer to that. We all are. Yes, you. And me too.

We can't have a person like this in charge of anti-doping at SCF. Assuming everyone is guilty is the wrong strategy and I am not at all pleased that my 700kr licence fee and a part of every race fee goes to an organization like this. Enough is enough!

So, now to time to put my research knowledge to use. Let's address this amphetamine issue. Amphetamine is one of several drugs in the family called psychostimulants because they act on the brain and they increase your activity. Staying alert meant that it became popular among university students who needed to study a lot but discoveries that it also led to weight loss made it a favourite for those Stureplan celebrity types. But amphetamine produces one of the strongest addictions possible and it is extremely toxic to your brain so I can see why Ulf did not want that connected to him.

Chemists have given us many other drugs that are like amphetamine but not as strong. An example of this is methylphenidate or Ritalin if you prefer the brand name. If someone has ADHD they often have trouble concentrating or focusing on their work. The strange reality is that if a person with ADHD takes Ritalin they actually become calm and can focus and perform normally...in other words the complete opposite of the expected effect. The problem here is that psychiatrists may not bother to correctly diagnose the person with ADHD. The old saying went 'Are you giving my kid Ritalin because they are a pain in the ass or are they actually sick?' Because giving someone without ADHD a dose of Ritalin will lead to stimulance and probably dependence.

So probably there are cyclists that have been prescribed Ritalin and are taking it. The question is whether they really have ADHD.

I have never really liked Dagens Nyheter and their article Den besudlade cykelsporten certainly hasn't changed that view.

Do you think Ulf Näslund, SCFs anti-doping person, really intended to give the view he did? What is the strategic point in confirming DN's view that doping has been a part of cycling for 60 years??? What's more worrying is when things like Dopingtråden appear on motionär forums like HappyMTB. So now journalists have SCF's view that all professional cyclists use some kind of doping and then HappyMTB gives the proof that hobby cyclists are also cheating. How does this help anyone's image of cycling?

I only use energy gels containing sugar. I am one of the slowest cyclists in every race. One has to wonder about the rest of the field.

If SCF wants to do something useful it should somehow reward cyclists for staying clean or reward clubs or trainers for promoting clean cycling right from the start. Having us do an online test is not going to help.

We had some visitors from Norway at work this week and we started talking about dialects. Then one mentioned this lovely clip from their TV show Uti Vår Hage. The first Dane has a punka on his bike and needs to fix it. So he heads into a shop but can't remember the word for cykelslang. So he tries a few words but the shop owner doesn't understand either. So the obvious moral of this story is that Danish cyclists should use tubular tires so they won't get a flat...

It seems like a helmet cam is 'Årets tidig julklapp' among Göteborg cyclists as you have seen from the CX Sweden page. But this one below from Björn F is beautiful!



Why? Well it is video proof that I managed to have a great start for once in my life. At 0:15 you can see I am på rulle with Laila who had a perfect start. By 0:29 I had made my attack in the tree allé. At 0:37 I am 3rd around the corner. And this whole sequence is great while I closed the gap in the grass. From 1:20 you can see my careful ride through the mud corners. But then after 1:40 things became worse. I remember now that Cecilia had slipped and I stopped and had my foot down. Then the rest of this sequence shows my realization that it would be pointless to remount so close to the drop so you get to see me running down the hill. And by 1:59 I am no longer in the picture. Yes, staying in front of Mr. Startraket himself for 2 minutes is a major achievement!

Right, so now to the injury update. Yesterday at work I talked to our local ergonom. who happens to also be a secret supertalang in MTB, skiing, marathon running and now triathlon. Yes, Stefan is the obvious first choice before any programs at SportRehab or appointments with a painkiller-crazy doctor. He said that my finger should be fine in a couple of days and was just swollen and pulled a bit. But throughout the day I could feel that my infamous shoulder injury was returning yet again. I managed a whole 2 months without pain but now it is back again. Fan. And then there is my ankle which looks more like a bear attack than a cycling scratch. This lovely work of art is also making me limp a bit when I walk. Gorey pictures are available if anyone is that interested...

Somehow today was not raining although it was every other day this week. So when I arrived at Slottsskogsvallen for the next GöteborgsSuperprestige battle I knew this would be a tough day for me. Of course the track would include the steep drop before the stairs. And of course it would have all those muddy corners which killed my confidence back when we had started training here a couple months ago.

We can skip over the intro part of Introcross since so much happened in the 4-lap race. I started in the 2nd group and had planned to follow Laila who was directly in front of me and then make a quick pass before the sharp corner. That strategy worked very well and after a perfect start Cecilia from Uddevalla was first, Laila second and me third at the corner and all down the allén part. I passed Laila somewhere here and entered the forest part for the first time and was already sliding all over. One of us fell already here and I know that my first time down the drop I could not turn at the bottom and ended up way off the track. People were starting to pass at this point but I was holding position quite well here. Then I missed in the second downhill and almost hit the statue. For those of you there you will certainly remember that the statue was nowhere near the track...

So now I was losing positions and Mike had flown passed but took a nasty fall on the left turn on the way into the grusplan. Over at the löphinder, which became a bunny hop because it was just a log, I made it up fine but slipped and fell in the corner and somehow I had managed to stick out my arm towards someone who was passing. I actually had my little finger wrapped around the spoke of his wheel and was lucky that I didn't lose a finger. Still, the pain was massive and I was slow for a few minutes after that...long enough to get back over to the forest again for Lap 2.

I fell quite a bit earlier this time in the slippery right turn but was back on the bike quick. The drop was fine this time although I was sliding everywhere. But I seem to remember falling somewhere up on the top part. To be honest I lost track of all the falls. I know I did better on the downhill this time but was still taking the 'statue line' way off the track. By Lap 3 I remembered that this was still a race and started to look around. I seemed to be leading a group of 3 of which the first passed on one of my mistakes. There was an MTB approaching (or UFO as CC Lasse calls them) and he was right behind me at the forest part and obviously had way more grip so he passed. I tried to do one of those cool CX tricks and ran down the drop and carried the bike and that kept me just behind the MTB. I  knew I could pass again after the forest if I could stay on my bike. Nej. Not today. I took the right line on the second downhill and managed for once to stay on the track but in the banked corner at the bottom I fell yet again and MTB was gone.

Three were close behind so I knew I needed to build up a gap in the fast grus parts. That I did quite well and by the time I was back to the forest I could be careful and concentrate. This was good. Finally I managed to stay on the bike for the whole first part and things were great until the second downhill again. I took the right line and made the banked turn but fell just after that anyway. Only I could manage a feat like this. I was pissed off now. So you can imagine I was even more pleased when I jumped on the bike and discovered my chain was off. Fan.

Someone passed me here. And Cecilia had apparently just went straight into the tree on the downhill and was later on the way to the hospital. And once I was on the bike and down on the grusplan I could here Laila shouting something like 'I am catching up!'. And she was. So I was keen on getting a lead again but obviously when in the last corner I could see Laila basically beside me, that was not going well either. The finish area was full so I had to actually go to the right side of the clock to avoid hitting people. This confusion meant that I just managed to beat Laila. But probably she would have won if we had had the space.

This was only the first race. And my confidence was zero so I decided to skita i the second race. Things would not have gotten better. So now I have managed to open up the sore on my leg from last week and add another couple next to it. But my finger is the problem. It is not broken but it feels like it has been pulled to the side and there is a constant dull pain. So that makes the '4 weeks 4 countries' decision easy. This may be the end of the season for Chris Cross.

To end this massive post I have to say that the Tufo mud tires are complete shite! Even if I still haven't found the right tire pressure they should not be this bad. Seriously. And the main design flaw was obvious after a few minutes in the grass/mud. The mud sticks to the side walls of the tires and is never cleared. So even if I had grip in the corners the mud stuck to the tires would have killed that anyway. This is something the Conti CycloXKings are great for. The mud clears directly so you always have grip. So no one should be surprised if I show up with clinchers again...

I have to sacrifice part of my weekend to finish an assignment for a pretty boring course I am taking at work. So, as you can expect, Spotify has been on all day, I have tackled my mountain of laundry and now I am writing this...

After more discussions about CX racing internationally I decided to search around to see how possible that actually was. And it would be surprisingly easy from Göteborg. Next weekend there is a race in Norway and the week after is SM in Sunne. And then off to Kalundborg in Denmark for a classic CX race course. And to round off the tour there is a race in Kiel, Germany the week after that. And once you are that far you can keep going with Denmark, Norway, Sweden and then Denmark again for a Lucia weekend.

My first response was 'COOOOOL! I have to do this!' But the realistic part of my brain that also makes me a slow cyclist soon pointed out all of those other things that need to be done before Christmas and just how much stress this would cause. But...but...Mr. Brain...this is cyclocross! You know that you like cyclocross as much as Mr. Liver appreciates a fine Belgian beer! You have to reconsider!

And with that internal conflict I should probably get back my my assignment.

I was happy about my picture the other day but now my smile is permanent. Erik Birgerson has taken a set of wonderful pics from Falun which you can see here. And despite clear instructions not to post separate pics I will anyway. To make up for this I nominate Erik for president.

First we have this action shot from the top of the first of the steep drops and hairpin curves. Check out the concentration and focus in my look. Maybe I could see the grill from here. You will also note that this was from Sunday's race since my leg is bleeding less. Yes, a lovely ad for Falun Lugnet...


But then check out this masterpiece! Look at the speed and the more aggressive race position. And doesn't the Ridley X-Ride look fantastic here? Yes, this pic was beautiful. To again make up for the separating the pics from their original source here is the link to Erik Birgerson again, in case you missed it.

And now to one of those fine moments that make a rainy day more manageable. On my way home I jumped off at Grönsakstorget and was walking behind a pretty typical tant carrying a shopping bag. Or? She was pointing at the övergångs markings on the road and that is when I saw one of those ever-present commuter cyclists that just kept going without slowing down. According to the rules this cyclist should have stopped. Our shopping tant knew this and kept walking. The cyclist narrowly squeezed by without a crash and to my surprise the shopping tant lifted up her bag and WHACK...slammed the cyclist in the back. Excellent. What a great scene!

I leave you with this...

I was starting to wonder if I came up with some kind of stealth coating for my Ridley which made it impossible to take a picture of me. I have been very invisible lately.



Since changing to Göteborgs CK I have only seen one picture of me. This beauty from Farrisrunden is a good one and the fact that it is so blurry shows that I did not slow down to pose. But what about a nice CX picture. I know many have taken pictures of me but I have yet to see any posted. Is my 'race face' a bit too much for the internet?





And then this picture came along on Jonte Stark's blog and I was quite happy despite the vampire white skin. This was Lap 1 from my story before things started to fall apart. This was just after the top of segbacken when I was in pursuit of a J Lindeberg cyclist.


To be specific, this is the cyclist I was chasing. And this is precisely the kind of 'race face' I thought I had. =) Too bad I made so many mistakes and missed the chance to end this in a spurt. But there will be other chances. We will meet again...

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...

I was going to make this a nice little tail of courage and how I fought through the race in Falun today despite having a completely shite day. But then I saw the results on Oscar's blogg which listed me as DNS so now I have to be Mr. Surgubbe. I mean he even talked about me while I was passing once so obviously I was there. Even the women's list is wrong too so probably there are mistakes everywhere else too. How hard can it be to keep track of the race? Sorry but this should not happen. I hope everyone that reads this checks their own result because this kills my motivation to continue with CX Cupen at all.

Right, so what about that race which I officially did not even seem to start? Well, I took two practice laps and was using 2.6 bar instead of 2.7 but since there was a light rain the whole day my change seemed to have zero effect on my grip. I was sliding all over. So with SM in mind and trying out the first ever H30 championship I decided to take it easy.

I started in Led 3 again and had an okay start and was with everyone until the top of the start hill when someone fell in front of me and I had to swerve and go away from my perfect line. He was quick on his bike but this cost me about 10m behind. I could close the gap by the end of the straight and then it was time for the Chris Curve which I name after myself after yesterday's nasty crash. Things were slow through here but since everyone was bunched together I was still in the game. I was behind two from that J Lindeberg club and immediately thought how cool it would be if we had a guest designer for our GCK uniforms. But the classic Gbg brands like Elvine or Velour would probably put us in some kind of lumberjack shirt and boy would that lead to many Canadian jokes...

I didn't seem to have any energy in segbacken today and those in front were far more eager that I was. So things were looking bad for Chris Cross already. I had a hell of a time on the first corner after the uphill from the pit/sand and somewhere here Angelica passed followed by Åsa på rulle. And by the time I was at the start straight Lisa went flying passed also. So it was time to just concentrate on finishing and not breaking anything. That didn't go very well.

Second time down Mördarbacken I slid at the top but managed to put my foot down instead of falling. So I clipped in and slid the rest of the way down until the bottom when I turned and fell immediately. The mud was soft so this was nice. But back on the bike I realized that my chain was off so I had to put that back on. This went fine now that I removed that stupid chainguard thing. By the way, thanks for the cheers here. It helped.

So then I was passed by Ida and I actually think it may have been her I was battling positions with last Saturday in Kumla. This pass happened after the löphinder because I couldn't get my shoe into the pedal because it was now full of mud, sand and small stones. Things were looking shite this lap but I really tried to keep some kind of pace and accelerate along the long straights. By the next lap I had caught up to Ida again who seemed to be slowing down on the straights and resting. There were two laps to go but I could see that I would be lapped soon so now it was time to hold on as long as I could and make this a hell of a lap.

I had caught Ida in the start hill but didn't feel like passing on the fast downhill section so I planned my corner near the start area for maximum crowd pleasing effect. No one seemed to care but I thought it was lovely. I slowed down a bit more, took a different line, ended up on the inside of the corner and accelerated passed as fast as I could and had a decent gap by the time I reached the Chris Curve and the rest of the grass curves of death. Of course it also helps when you are racing against someone who is not racing you. I had a comfortable gap up segbacken which went brilliant except for the fact that I was lapped here.

So I played smart here and just concentrated on not messing up while also moving out of people's way. And naturally I could not get my shoe in the pedal yet again so I was happy to be almost done. I decided for fun to not let the last guy pass in the final straight and see if I could win a spurt. I didn't do too bad because he only did pass in the last couple of metres because I was being told to stop. Yes, you. You who told me to stop. You much have been keeping track if you knew that I was lapped. Why didn't I get my 40th place???

Well, the good news is that I can continue cycling because once again I did not manage to have a perfect race in Falun. But it wasn't my worst performance here so I am making some progress. Somehow I was given Startled 3 which means there were a lot of people behind me so in the start I was not instantly last. I was still in it by the end of the hill up to the pit but when I took the curve too wide I did end up last down out of the stadium area. Things became close again in the grass curvy part and I passed the guy from Ludvika right away this time and went after the next group that was still within reach by segbacken. That part was fine but my cautious descent in the muddy bottom part of Mördarbacken meant they could take off quite a bit. I was still battling down towards the sand and someone from CK Master missed on one of the fun little springbacke slalom things so I could pass and continue quite well.

Around this point the women had caught up and I guess I could have focused on my own race but I decided to be a gentleman and give Åsa lots of room in the start corner and then also let Angelica pass easily in another grass corner. It was a tough day for many because somewhere here Tomas went flying passed and then his bike fell apart. And there was someone lying in the muddy hill the first time I passed. But I was surprised when Lisa passed me on this same hill by taking the left line. You can't get any tougher than this. Get hit by a bus one week and jump on a cross soon after. Respect.

But I think I also deserve a bit of respect at this point because I was fast approaching someone from Borlänge. I was doing extremely well on the long straights and before I knew it I passed him. But he stayed with me for a bit until segbacken when I opened up a pretty nice lead. Excellent. So my confidence was massive and I was flying along the last straight out of the stadium and up to the grass. The first corner went fine but the next right didn't. Boom. Slipped and went crashing down on my right side. My first feeling was 'Holy fcuk what is under that grass...it is jävla hård assoshit'. And that feeling stayed as I cautiously went through the rest of the corners which, naturally, meant I was passed by the guy. I knew it was 2 laps to go and I tried to not fall apart completely. In the back of my mind I was wondering why no one had lapped me yet so perhaps that would happen soon. But after getting up segbacken and down muddy hill I was ignoring the pain and made a pretty good second half of the lap.

This is when I realized that for the first time in CX Cupen history I would not be lapped. In fact, I had at least 3 full straights to spare. Wow! That has to be a worthy goal. So to celebrate actually managing to do every lap of the race I decided to make the last one a good one. After a bit cautiously taking the grass corners I could see that the guy from Borlänge was having a tough time on segbacken. So by making an insane attack I could actually get within a possible distance of him. I tried to not lose so much time on the muddy hill and the downhill after but by the sand it was looking like the distance was too far. Still, I had to make a final sprint anyway just for my own sake. It was a beauty.

So what did I think about my Tufo Flexus Cubus? Well, the bike did feel lighter but I can't say the corner grip was any better that the Conti CycloXKings. Maybe it will take some time to wear them in a bit. But probably my pressure is still too high. I am sure I have written about pressure here before so maybe I was using less even with the tape. Either way, 2.7 bar was not right. Tomorrow I will try less.

Overall I was surprised that I enjoyed the track today. On the map it looks pretty boring with all those long straights. But what was between those was pretty fun and it seems like I needed the long straights.

Today's performance left me in 42nd place, ahead of two people who were lapped and then at least 3 DNFs. And I know that many people took pictures of me today so hopefully I can put them up here later. 

I am looking out the window here towards Lugnet getting psyched for start. I have said many times now that if I ever do well at a race in Falun I would retire from cycling because I would end on a high note. But luckily this never seems to happen. Maybe this is the weekend?

Race goals is maybe silly to say. Obviously I will go all in tomorrow and then crash and burn on Sunday. The track looks pretty much the same as what I did two years ago which probably means I will be left long behind by the time we hit segbacken the first time. But my tubdäck might just give me a better start. So that is really my only goal...to get a better start and try and be in the match for as long as I can.

Well, okay, maybe I can try for a bit more than that. This track looks a lot like our Introcross track with lots of fast parts so maybe I can make a few crowd-pleasing passes also. And I still have no pics of myself this season so that also has to change...

I think I have managed to take the term 'fusklim' to new levels because I just used the Tufo tape to glue my tubdäck. And after some stretching they went on without trouble. So this Thursday night was much nicer than my stressful Thursday last week when everything went wrong. I just had a quick test ride and it feels completely different but then again I did inflate to 3 bar just to be sure the glue sticks well at first. I also noticed that my gears seem to be adjusted perfectly for this wheelset so that solves last week's shifting crisis. Good thing because I remember 'segbacke' is just as bad as Mördarbacken.

Okay Falun...bring it on!!!