Wannabe Bike Girl

Video of the race and Francis winning.

Much to my delight, Francis Mourey won his fifth French cyclocross tittle. I know other people might care that it was Francis again, but as a huge fan of his, I don’t care. I’m extremely pleased and proud of him. It seems, from what I can tell, that he had to overcome some sort of mechanical problem, a puncture it seems (haven’t found an English report of the race yet). And then he had to outsprint Steve Chainel for the win. But seriously, I’m so happy for him. Five wins! I love seeing him race cyclocross in the France team kit. It makes me really happy and it’s easy to spot him.

There an interview with Francis in French here and final results listed here.

Cyclocross GP De Ster Sint-Niklaas 2010

Because I should be cleaning obviously am not (fail!), I’m going to post a few pictures of some cyclists I like. I know this is not really content, because I’m not actually going to talk about them, but this is something I like to do occasionally. Also, if you happen to see a picture posted that’s yours and that I didn’t properly credit, please leave me a comment (even though it’s moderated, I do get all the comments, though sadly they are mostly spam). Anyway, let’s get started.

Sylvain Chavanel (unknown)

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Omloop het volk 2008 – Philippe Gilbert
Originally uploaded by KarolusLinus

Hey look! Someone I like actually won a race. I know, it’s hard to believe. Especially after Francis Mourey’s disaster of a cyclo-cross season. I didn’t get to watch the race (I was at work, as usual), but I’m actually okay with this. Really, the only race I need to see fully is the TdF, because I blog that. But otherwise, the summaries on CN and other sites do just fine.

Anyway, Philippe Gilbert won the Het Volk and I am extremely pleased. Here’s the top ten:

63rd Omloop Het Volk

1 Philippe Gilbert (Bel) Française des Jeux 4.55.25 (40.417 km/h)
2 Nick Nuyens (Bel) Cofidis 0.58
3 Thor Hushovd (Nor) Crédit Agricole 1.06
4 Yuriy Krivtsov (Ukr) Ag2r-La Mondiale
5 Aleksandr Kuschynski (Blr) Liquigas 1.12
6 Nicolas Jalabert (Fra) Agritubel 1.13
7 Leif Hoste (Bel) Silence-Lotto
8 Allan Johansen (Den) Team CSC 1.16
9 Jan Kuyckx (Bel) Landbouwkrediet-Tönissteiner 1.53

Hopefully this bodes well for the rest of the season. Not just for Gilbert, but for the others I like as well.

I’m still here, alive and kicking as it were.

Let’s see, Francis failed to win any major race he was in (aside from the French Nats for cyclo-cross). First it was a crash, then mechanical failure, and then another crash. I’m not sure about the World Champs, but the other two World Cup races he could have won — and was in the position to win — but something managed to go wrong and he didn’t. I certainly hope his road season is better. And, hey, at least he wasn’t a DNS at the World Champs, just a DNF.

Am I bitter? Hell yes. But that’s the way sports works. Either you win or you lose, although in cycling, things are a little bit murky after second place.

Francis Mourey in Switzerland (12/09/07),
originally uploaded by singlestoph.

My favorite cyclocross rider proved himself tough competition again. After ruining his chances at the World Cup race in Milan, he came back with a win in Switzerland. Mourey beat the mud and 27 other riders to take the win at the GP Wetzikon.

Francis Mourey at the 2006 Cyclo-cross
World Cup in Igorre, Spain,
originally uploaded by itxaspe.

Tomorrow, Francis and the rest of the elite cyclo-cross riders will face off in Igorre, Spain. I’m excited, though I haven’t decided if I’m going to pay to watch it or just sleep in and wait for the results.

More info here.