Joe Dombrowski's Euro Cross Camp Diary: Socratic Seminars and Deep Fields

Something new to this year's camp has been post-dinner Socratic seminars based around various cycling-related topics on non-race days. Camp alums Jeremy Powers, and Jamey Driscoll, were in attendance at our latest discussion. The topic was motorpacing, and its use for 'cross training; however, the discussion eventually drifted towards the time both of those guys have invested racing in Europe, and the differences that racing here presents.

Jamey brought up an interesting point in that, the racing here is much deeper. In MABRA 'cross races, I can look across the start line and pretty accurately guess who is going to make the lead group for the day. Here, the fields are so deep, and everyone races at such a high level, that no one really settles into "their group." I raced the GVA in Loenhout yesterday, a closer look at the results from the U-23 field demonstrates just how "deep" the fields are here. Of the top twenty guys in the race, any of them could have been on the podium that day, and most of those top twenty guys have stood on a World Cup or World Championship podium at some point in their lives. Pretty amazing stuff.

It really dawned on me yesterday as I was taking corners rather gingerly because of my dysfunctional brakes. It brought meaning to Jamey's comment about the racing being "deep;" playing it safe through corners could cost you a few spots, letting up for a minute could cost you ten spots on the results. It's nose to the grindstone the whole race if you want a result.

My race went pretty well, I would guess that I was rolling in about 70th into the first corner. I worked my way up into the forties, but with two laps to go was pretty toasted. I ended up finishing 51st. Nothing stellar, but a solid ride. It felt good to go out and ride hard the whole race, no flats, no broken derailluers, and good legs.

Here is the last lap of yesterday's race:

In other news, I have a couple days off here before the final three races of the camp. I went to spin out the legs on the canal, fun to see all the different types of bikes you see whizzing past on a warm day. I also went to the local grocery store, as I was picking up waffles, speculoos, and cakes, I met Els. I had to explain to her that I was getting stuff to take home, and they were not for my own consumption.

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Joe Dombrowski (Haymarket / Homevisit) is at Euro Cross Camp for the second year in a row in 2009. You can follow all of his entries beginning last season here. Leave him a comment on GamJams - he'd love to hear from you.

Comments

[David Henrickson]

I bet Joe D. $20 and the pair of GamJams socks in the picture that he couldn't lap the Juniors 17-18 field at one our 540Cycling Development Series events last summer. He took off from the gun and never looked back. I thought he had gone out too hard, but he held up and caught the field with a lap to go.

Needless to say, he got the socks and the cash! The kid is fast!

[Simeon Green]

Joe, those socks are not pro...
Sim ;-)

[Mike May]

Sim's right - those are the Extra Pro. The Pro are an inch shorter. You can tell the difference because the Extra Pro has 4 GJ logos running up. The Pro has only 3.

[Simeon Green]

NICE! Good come-back!
Sim