Photo by cyclephotos.co.uk.
The biggest weekend in European cyclocross is here! Ellen Noble and Scott Smith will be racing at the Cyclocross World Championships in Heusden-Zolder, Belgium this weekend in front of an estimated 50,000 screaming spectators. Noble will represent Team USA as the reigning U23 U.S. Cyclocross National Champion in her race on Saturday at 8:00 a.m. Eastern Time.
Smith will also be wearing red, white and blue (although mostly red and blue) in the U23 men's race on Sunday at 6:00 a.m. ET. It will be the first time either of them have raced in the World Championships, but Noble has already earned her chops in Europe, racing in five World Cups this season including last week's mudfest in Hoogerheide, Netherlands. Smith made his Euro World Cup debut at Hoogerheide and is ready to tackle some more mud in Zolder, where the forecast is calling for rain. Bring it on.
Scott Smith racing in his first-ever European World Cup, dredges through the mud of Hoogerheide, Netherlands on Jan. 24. Photo by Fabienne Vanheste.
In addition to Noble and Smith, the USA's World Team has 29 other racers including our JAM Fund co-founder and four-time U.S. Cyclocross National Champion Jeremy Powers (Aspire) and JAM alumni Stephen Hyde (Cannondale/Cyclocrossworld.com), Jeremy Durrin (Neon Velo) and Anthony Clark (Squid Bikes).
All Saturday and Sunday races will be live online, but watching will be tricky for those of us in the U.S. In order to see it, you'll need to use something like Hola or Tunnelbear.
Ride along with Powers and the guys from Global Cycling Network as they review the World Championship course.
See more photos from Friday's pre-ride in Zolder as seen through the lens of Matthew Lasala.
