Dee-hehm

Can’t seem to avoid entitling these posts with attempted phonetics. I guess it’s my subconscious trying to “bring it” to those of you reading from someplace other than Flanders. If you’d a been there last night, you’d a thought there was no place else to be.

A seriously solid attempt at “avondcross” or “eveningcross” by VT4 (with 80 television personnel on hand), Nissan, and the host of other Super Prestige sponsors, despite the post race comments from guys like Sven Vantourenhout who felt like the scene was more spectacle than sport. “Clowns in a circus” was the soundbyte I saw in the newspaper. Probably more a factor of where he finished (24th) than anything to do with the venue or the controversy surrounding the bad lighting in spots (Simunek crashed out of the break with Sven in a dark corner). Certainly, the ambiance was electric and plenty of smack going down during the course of the hour-long elite men’s race. Enough to fill a book. Maybe.

Earlier in the day, Jaime Driscoll made us all proud with an absolutely stellar ride, again moving up through the field after a mediocre start, to finish 12th in the U-23 race. Nick Weighall again pouring on the coals for 25th. For some past-historical-camp-Diegem-espoirs-context, Bjorn Selander was 11th last year in his first year as an espoir, Jeremy Powers was 21st in 2004, and Troy Wells 23rd in 2005. Buildin’ the bridge baby. Buildin’ the bridge.

Our juniors keep on taking things in. The Diegem circuit is totally different than the Baal parcours they’ll see tomorrow. Diegem is almost 50-50 asphalt to grass, with a little sand, hard-packed cinder path, and dirt in the woods to make it interesting. That’s a lot of pavement! Some of the guys had power for the paved hill better than others, but I just keep telling them, my goal for them for this camp is that they have one race where they feel all chambers are firing, one race where they have “good legs”, one race where their mistakes are minimal. The outcome goals can come later.

A few guys in the sick bay (Trebon, Schouten and Fisher); frustrating, but Treviso is still four Sundays away. Happy New Year!

**Watch the video of the Superprestige in Diegem here on Sport.be

Electrico (Pit 1; Diegem 2007)