By Joshua Stevens
Louisville, Ky., hosted the master’s and elite cyclocross world championships in February. The last time I was so excited about seeing a sporting event, I think it was Duke playing Kentucky in the East Regional final with that last-second buzzer-beater by Christian Laettner that lifted Duke into the Final Four and ultimately a national championship. I was giddy. Suffice it to say, it’s been awhile since I’ve had such childlike enthusiasm for a sporting event.
I’m not writing a play-by-play of what happened in the cyclocross races, because I realize that likely would be boring to everyone but me. Worthy of reporting, however, is that we had one American woman on the podium with a silver medal in the elite race, Katie Compton. The Dutch dominated the rest of the races, winning the juniors and under-23 titles along with a shocking third place (by 21-year-old Lars Van Der Haar) in the men’s elite race, which was expected to be ruled by the Belgians (last year the Belgian men held the top seven places). Surprisingly, it was the old men of the sport who went first (36-year-old Sven Nys), second (30-year-old Klas Vantournout) and fourth (34-year-old Bart Wellens).
My sister and I arrived days earlier so she could mark off the bucket list her participation in the master’s world cyclocross championships, which was held at a venue near the elite world’s race. I was working the pits for three other racers throughout the day of finals, including my sister, who placed 12th in her division. Working the pits equals cleaning frozen mud off the bikes for the racers. Riders may switch to a clean bike as often as they like each lap, especially in the muddy and frozen conditions they were haunted by that day.
Despite the crescendo of doping scandals in cycling, it was inspiring to see the enthusiasm that we Americans still have for it. The scene in Louisville for the elite race was perfection. There were 10,000 spectators standing in the cold, muddy, snowy outdoors in a Kentucky February to witness the first cyclocross world championships to take place outside of Europe. The noise was constant as the racers flew past. This was unusual because European race fans cheer only for their guys or gals. When I say this I mean they have ONE racer they cheer for. This is the Euro ‘Cross Scene. You never cheer for the other guy.
We Americans were so stoked that we just let it all hang out and cheered for every rider. Even the last place New Zealander who finished four laps down on the leaders got thundering applause at every turn (or maybe it was his handlebar mustache we all liked). In our increasingly impersonal society full of terror threats, germ-a-phobias and social anxieties, it was warming to see everyone having a great time together in the cold, the snow, and the mud while screaming our brains out for racers from all over the world.
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Joshua Stevens, D.C., is a holistic chiropractor in Chapel Hill and Durham where he utilizes chiropractic, acupuncture, detoxification, nutrition, and cold laser therapy with patients. A two-time Ironman finisher, he focuses on racing cyclocross and mountain bikes … much easier!
