This is my sixth winter living in Belgium.
It definitely was not the plan to spend so many seasons here! Even I’m not certain how I got here. One season at a time?
Of one thing, I am certain, I’ve had ample opportunity to discover the pros and cons of being a Belgium-based American cyclo-crosser.
- It’s the Motherland (Pro)
In the U.S., explaining my esoteric sport to a non-cyclist is painful: “I race off-road and yes, the tires are knobby, but no, it’s not a mountain bike. It’s a bike more suited for the road, but I race it in the mud, and there are these barriers…..”
In Belgium, on a training ride, I once had an elderly woman scream, “Veldrijden, veldrijden!” at me. (Dutch lesson one: “veldrijden” is cyclo-cross in Dutch.) This captures the difference in “cyclo-cross fluency” between America and Belgium!
Of course, the courses are, to overuse a term, iconic. Nothing compares to dropping into de kuil at Zonhoven, selecting lines at slippery, technical Namur with its Citadel backdrop, or finishing the Koppenberg as fans bang the boards.
- It’s Convenient and Affordable (Pro)
I know, I’ve totally lost you here.
Consider: for a single very long plane ride, I can base myself within a two hours drive of the most demanding, prestigious, cyclo-cross courses in the world. Several years ago, my mechanics and I stayed in a family home the night before Koksijde, in part because of the “long” 90-minute drive.
I build my bikes once and leave them built for three months…convenience.
The cost of living in Belgium is reasonable. Luxury items: bikes, bike parts, computers, packaged foods, razors, and dental floss are expensive. However, essentials: basic healthy food, soap, tampons, and health care are cheap, or “goedkoop” in Dutch.
And did I mention that there are no entry fees? In fact, sometimes I even get a start contract, although those have been less common since COVID.
Fellow American riders are often surprised to learn that race entries are free, but it’s a very different revenue structure. General admission gate fees run €12 to 20 (depending on the event’s prestige) with VIP tickets in the hundreds. Fans also spend on concessions! The quantity of beer, frites, burgers, AND MORE BEER is astonishing, as demonstrated by the empty cups and inebriated fans. Even in the COVID years without a live audience, television revenues helped keep races afloat.
We don’t pay to race because we are the entertainment.
- We are the Entertainment…
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