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Chocolate, Waffles and ‘Cross - A chat with Kashi
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It is Christmas evening here in Belgium and we are just about to sit down to dinner, but I thought I’d give you a quick report. On Christmas Eve, my girlfriend Heather arrived by train from London, after spending some time there with her family. It is great to have her here. Anyone who would want to travel through Belgium with her boyfriend while he is racing in the winter must be quite special, or nuts, but I think the former. We had a delicious five-course meal that had my stomach bulging at the seams, although I still managed to find some room for a few Belgian chocolates at the very end.
On Christmas morning Heather and I drove to the Brussels airport to pick up Canadian 'cross superstar Lyne Bessette (Cyclocrossworld.com-Louis Garneau) who is here to race in a few World Cups and prepare for the upcoming cyclo-cross World Championships. She arrived, but her bikes did not. Lyne plans on racing tomorrow, so I hope her bikes arrive in time. If not, she may have to race on mine. Maybe it will make them faster!
This afternoon we drove to the Hoofstade World Cup course because it was open for practice from 3:00 to 4:00pm. The course weaves along a beautiful lake and is very flat. It is not technical at all, but there is one problem. Sand. Lots of sand. The kind of long stretches of soft sand that suck strength out of your legs like a Hoover. Some of the guys riding today seemed to float over it, while others struggled. I found it tough at the start, but seemed to get easier each lap. We’ll see how it goes tomorrow.
There is a whole circus atmosphere set up around the course. There are huge tents in place, food stands everywhere and plenty of beer tents, too. At registration they had two course maps, one for racers that showed the start/finish line, the pit area, etc. The other map was for the fans and it showed spectators where they could get beer! There are five, count ‘em, five beer tents scattered around the course. It should be quite a rowdy crowd.
Since he’s here and I’ve got the time, I thought I might do quick Q&A with New Zealand mountain biker Kashi Leuchs. Here we go…
BD: Why are you in Belgium racing cyclo-cross?
KL: I’m here because it’s an adventure, I guess. And, I felt like being part of this big cross trend that everyone seems to be getting involved in. It’s a lot of fun. Plus, Michel is a great friend of mine and it’s nice to get back here and visit with his family and be a part of their Belgian Christmas. It’s very nice.
BD: Next year, you will be riding for Cannondale again. What is the one thing you are looking forward to the most?
KL: Cannondale has a special feeling to me because their attitude towards racing is pretty unique. The company is very involved and dedicated to providing the best product for the racers so that they can develop and refine them for customers.
BD: What will you be doing after racing cross in Belgium?
KL: I’m off to New Zealand for a few months to race the national mountain bike series. I think I’ll end up doing four of the six races. The Commonwealth Games in Melbourne, which take place in March, are a big goal. It’s important for my country and me.
BD: How does racing cross in Europe differ from racing on a mountain bike?
KL: Cross is more intense and hardcore. They seem to revel in the bad conditions and enjoy suffering a bit more. You certainly feel a great sense of an accomplishment when you finish at nasty race. At least after you shower and warm-up.
BD: Thanks Kashi.
Tomorrow we will head to Hoofstade in the morning because Lyne races earlier in the day. It will be fun to walk around and check out the scene and pretend I’m a Belgian super fan for a bit. Too bad I can’t drink the beer until after my race!
Joyeux Noel!
Did you know?
Did you know that chocolate is prepared from the seeds, commonly referred to as “beans,” of the cocoa tree which bears large seeds. After harvesting, the cocoa beans are dried and sent to chocolate manufacturers. Here the beans are roasted and crushed into cocoa powder. Mixing cocoa powder with various combinations of butter, sugar and milk powder creates the final product. The darkest chocolate can contain more than 70 percent cocoa, while milk chocolate contains more milk powder. White chocolate is made from cocoa butter, sugar and milk and contains no actual cocoa, beyond what's in the cocoa butter. Beats me why anyone would want white chocolate.
Brandon Dwight lives in Boulder, Colorado and is part owner of Boulder Cycle Sport as well as a member of the TIAA-CREF/Clif Bar Cyclocross Team.He is also the founder of Doperssuck.com.
