Wannabe Bike Girl

Francis Mourey,
originally uploaded by Filip M.

Sometimes I get a little annoyed when a rider I like doesn’t ride one of the big races. Such was the case with Francis Mourey (who we all know I like). He tends to, for whatever reason, not race some of the bigger cyclo-cross races, which fine. But he’s being doing decent enough the in WC races and the Superprestige and so I was a little worried about what he was doing. I know, I’m an odd fan. And then I remembered that he’s, well, French. Why is that important? Because there’s a set of cyclo-cross races that take place in France.

Francis won the first of the Challenge de la France Cycliste earlier this fall, and on Sunday? He won the second one. All is forgiven (though it’s not like I could watch these anyway).

You know what really makes me like cyclo-cross? While road cycling, and some track, is focused on teams helping individuals, most cyclo-cross (especially in Francis’ case) is individual-based. Sure, Francis still rides for Française des Jeux (as in the picture to the above, which is from the TDF), and he rides for France, but he doesn’t have teammates protecting him or whatever. He’s fighting against everyone — and many times coming out on top.

I hope he keeps doing well.

Saul Raisin Racing – Things To Be Thankful For..

Mes rêves de pour faire le vélo professional sont morts. My dreams to be a professional cyclist are dead. I do not know where to begin. This is the hardest blog I have ever had to write. Yesterday, I was greeted by my Mom and Dad early in the morning in Salt Lake City. I was so surprised to see them but the fake smile on my Mom’s face revealed something was wrong. Roger Legeay had called them the day before to tell them that the French doctors would not release me to race. His voice cracked as he later told me the news and I tried hard to fight back the tears. I did very well on my neuro-psych tests but the doctors said it would be too dangerous if I were to crash and hit my head again.

Sometimes life just isn’t fair at all.

So, okay. Sven Nys won again, big deal. Well, yeah, people like it when Sven Nys wins, and I don’t really have a problem with it. He’s fun to watch and, well, good. But, man, it’s the guy in the second place spot that matters to me. After a couple of so-so cyclo-cross results at the end of October/beginning of November, Francis Mourey managed to do what I love and come in second (best is first, of course, but when you’re up against Nys …).

Elite (40 starters)
1 Sven Nys (Bel) Rabobank
2 Francis Mourey (Fra) Française des Jeux
3 Bart Wellens (Bel) Fidea Cycling Team
4 Klaas Vantornout (Bel) Fidea Cycling Team
5 Kevin Pauwels (Bel) Fidea Cycling Team
6 Erwin Vervecken (Bel) Fidea Cycling Team
7 Niels Albert (Bel) Palmans-Cras
8 Zdenek Stybar (Cze) Fidea Cycling Team
9 Richard Groenendaal (Ned) AA Sport Drinks
10 Enrico Franzoi (Ita) Lampre-Fondital

I’m pretty damn proud of him for that. I know, people will probably wonder why I’m so eager to accept a second place — because I know that Mourey is good and this proves it. He wins smaller races against pretty decent competition, and he can hold his own with the best of them. Bart Wellens was wiping the floor with Mourey a couple of years ago and now Mourey took second from him? Pretty awesome.

I didn’t get to watch it, but as always, cyclingnews has a decent race report.