In second place Klaus Vesterlund….. Klaus…? (picture Daniel Rahbeak)

Hi there
Sunday the 24th of January I headed for Varde’s Wintercup final in Blåbjerg. Storming and freezing temperatures of -7 degrees. The destination must be on every Danish mountain bikers mind as the sandy and very nice track hosts the Danish nationals this summer. This Sunday we didn’t see much of the track as it was covered in 30 cm of snow.
The race followed the “White track” (o: in Blåbjerg. It’s a popular place to go so the track was acceptable to ride. The single tracks got a 30-40 cm wide firm decent track in the snow where you could ride. A singletrack in the singletrack.  If you left the track this would happen: Your bike went in one direction and your body in another. It was extremely difficult to ride. If you wanted to overtake a rider, you had to do a Carl Lewis sprint in 30cm of powder snow beside your opponent in cyclocross style or you could wait for the 2 km of wide road on each 12 km lap. Not shit. It was just impossible. Of the 3 laps to go the first was the easiest. After that the “singletrack²” was totally messed up by riders who had left the track. That surprised me and short into the second lap I crashed hard. Chain of, awry handlebar, gloves of, multitool. DAMN! I was pursuing local hero Christian Sloth and was 30 sec down. The crash didn’t change the fact that CS was by far the strongest and best bike handler this Sunday. He put 4 minutes into me on the 2 last laps. Nice going CS!
What’s left for me here is to apologize to organizers for not showing up at the award ceremony. Sorry. I was in a pretty bad condition due to the crash.
/Klaus Vesterlund

“use the force my young apprentice”...we got it in 2002 and still do

Actually I’ve just spend 5 minutes trying to figure out how to combine the three words in the headline. Anyways, Thomas Bonne and I took the glory in the Wintercup in Aarhus and The Slush Cup in Copenhagen. It was winter, we caused havoc in the peloton and we sure as hell are old.

I felt old for sure. From the gun I just had to let go of my Idol Allan Bachmann, crazy Erik Skovgaard, and always Junior Simon Qvortrup. I felt like my heart just couldn’t follow the pace. It hurt and I started to get dizzy…(!) Well after spending the last part of the first lap taking it easy I was back on track. The trio was just 30 sec away and I felt I had the advantage on the very icy and tricky course. One lap later I found myself forming a quartet with the guys. And from there on everything went as usual: Bachmann rarely let go of the front and you could open a gap on him after every corner, Simon crashed on a defect bike and Erik slowly had to let go of his non human pace. That left the old diesel Viking in front and I slowly pulled away with 2 laps to go.
Thomas Bonne also managed to show the Danish elite how to handle in icy conditions and took a noticeable scalp at the Urban Slush cup as he beat Henrik Andersen, Tommy Nielsen, and the rest of riders in red. I think you could call it the Danish winter XCO championships.

We are not in April but I think this weekend showed that Team Rivette is alive and kicking!

Kristian fighting hard for his bronze medal. Photo: mbaek.dk

This weekend it was time to find out who is the best cyclecross rider in Denmark. The national championships were held in Århus, on the old velodrome and the nearby horse track.
My start was scheduled to go at 13.00 alongside the womens field. I had a very good start and got through the first couple of turns in a good position on the very technical course.
Jonas Pedersen was extremely strong and just rode away from the rest of us. The excitement in the junior ranks was then about second place. I was fighting throughout the race with Emil Arvid Olsen for that silver medal, and the battle ended up in a sprint at the finish line with Emil taking second place and me getting the last podium position.
As a big fan of cycle cross I also watched the rest of the European countries finding their respective champions. Especially Belgium had my attention as it would be very exciting to find out if it was going to be World Champion Niels Albert or another Belgian superstar Sven Nys who would claim the title.
It ended up being Nys who won because a member of Sven Nys’ fanclub pushed Albert of his bike resulting in a broken rib.
Now I am going to do the last couple of cross races before changing my focus on the coming mtb season.
Thanks to all the spectators who showed up in Århus and cheered for me.

Thomas in muddy conditions. Picture from a previous race

With training races on each side of New Years it would pay off to keep the wheels spinning through Christmas. I tried my best but honestly felt I could’ve done better. The results weren’t too bad though. With a third and first place I feel a bit more relaxed about my training effort but are still alarmingly aware that a lot of work lies ahead in order to keep up the pace in the spring.
The third round of the cx-cup took place on New Years Eve on a fast rock-frozen course. My closest rivals from the second round, Henrik Andersen and Jonas Pedersen both from HMTBK, were at the start line including favorite for next week’s nationals in Århus, Tommy Nielsen. Right from the gun all three pushed hard to get to the front before the only but tricky downhill. Henrik Andersen got caught by some gnarly frozen tire-tracks and bruised his knee pretty bad. That same knee was in for some more punishment three days later (see below). Out on the 2 km long pavement section, Tommy Nielsen showed his favorite status and made a significant gap to everybody but Jonas. However, the youngster had to pay for his effort to stay on Tommy’s wheel and I was able to reel him in a couple of laps later. We kind of had a tag-team race from there on, taking turns to pull at the front, dropping our chains and chasing down Tommy. We got to within a dozen seconds but never caught him. I messed up on the descent on the penultimate lap and simply hadn’t the strength to close the gap on Jonas who took second. Henrik A and his swollen knee finished in fourth. The event finished in style with champagne and marzipan ring cake for everybody. All races should be like that!
Three days later the fourth round of the Slush Cup went down near Elsinore. Unbelievable but true, it was even colder with temperatures down to -4C°.  I suddenly recalled the joys of being a competitive cyclo-cross competitor. Anyway, with no cross races on that particular day the starting list included not only the usual suspects but also aforementioned Tommy Nielsen and Henrik Andersen. The course was relatively flat, but ice and frozen wheel-tracks made it a technical and bumpy experience. Actually I had anticipated to see a glimpse of four-time worldchampion (3xMTB, 1XCyclo-cross) Henrik Djernis, who was at the starting gate. An early puncture put him out of the race ahead of time but I’m sure he’ll make it to the super-final for the next round of the Urban Slush. The icy course had its first victim on the start-loop whenRasmus Jessing crashed hard. Luckily he seemed all good afterwards and had even picked up my timing-chip after a close encounter with his bike. Early on I got away with the thin-wheel-specialists Henrik and Tommy. We must have made a pretty odd looking trio. Me on a fully, Henrik on a hard-tail and Tommy on a cross-bike. That Tommy is one crazy son of a b… I had small advantage on him at the most tricky sections be threw that bike around like there was no tomorrow. It was good racing however, and we slowly distanced the others. Two thirds into lap two of three the skinny tires slid away under him and my luck saw Henrik A do just the same a second later. Another blow to his already banged up knee. Was I to ride fair and wait or go full gas? Henrik closed back up to me and that kind of settled things. Full gas! The last lap was pretty gnarly with a lot of overtaking on the icy course. The last 300 meters from the finish was one the more technical sections and I decide to go full out and try to take advantage of my fully. It was a successful move that almost backfired. I could’ve gone out on one more lap with two seconds remaining. Fortunately, Henrik didn’t seem eager to contest another lap either, so we both pulled the brakes and settled for three laps.
Next round of the Slush Cup will be the Urban Slush. Rumor has it that it will yet again be a real urban-mtb-course suiting the technical riders. It’s right in my back yard at the old Burmeister & Wain shipyard. And I will be bringing my crew along. Get ready for the blue armarda!

Breakfast of champions

The third round of the Slush Cup has come and gone. It was a somewhat mediocre performance on my behalf. I actually had higher hopes before the weekend, since this time around there was no Christmas party to attend the evening before. Let’s just pretend that Friday night out was to blame.

Training is going ok I guess. Some weeks I’m able to put in more hours than others, but I usually manage to sneak in the HIT (high intensity training) every week. That’s exactly why I expected a somewhat better performance, but maybe it just wasn’t my day, or maybe I still need to learn how to adjust rest and HIT. I must admit that in my day I used a “as long and hard as you can” approach to training. The plan was to do just that this Sunday with a 1,5 hour warm-up ride, all-out Slush Cup and a 1,5 hour cool-down ride home. Within 30 minutes of the warm-up I sensed a dull sluggishness from my legs, and as the actual competition began I had to succumb to what felt like a sub race-pace. In front Benji Justesen did his thing and was never threatened. S. Tarp took second with my personal favorite of Mr. Perfect aka Saltoft, returning to the podium with a 3rd place. Trailing somewhat behind I managed a 4th, but almost got beaten by old-timer Bødker. I think he was kind enough to let me go in the last few kilometers, as he knew I would resume my depressive competition attitude if he beat me.

I had originally planned to race the national cross championship but must admit I’m having second thoughts. I don’t know – maybe I shouldn’t think so much and just do it. At the end of the day the old saying “no matter what you do on the bike it’s never a waste of time”. Wise words from a wise man called Allan Carlsen. Indeed I got something out yesterdays riding then.
Before signing out I got a small Christmas tip for y’all. Everybody knows the holiday’s gonna be a frenzy of calories. Why not get it out of the way in single meal instead and then continue down the healthy path. Make yourself this cheese and bacon sandwich I found on mtbr.

Happy holiday!

This is what his rivals saw of Kristian in todays race. Foto:mbaek.dk

Like I wrote in the last post, Kristian Axelsen is not wasting his time on the couch. Actually he uses every opportunity he gets to race his bike. This weekend was no exception.
The cross riders usually compete both Saturday and Sunday. A concept that might be suited for mountain bike events, but that’s another discussion. Kristian was the runner up in the junior category in the first race in Hammel. According to Kristian, the conditions were extremely muddy due to the huge amounts of rain lately. He was beaten by Emil Arvid Olsen by 20 seconds. In my book that’s almost the same, but in a cyclecross race that’s apparently a huge difference. What do I know!

I talked to Kristian in the evening after the race, where he actually was wasting time on the couch. He was satisfied with his performance and could go to bed without any pressure because he already had a good result under his belt.

Sunday’s venue was in the lesser know town of Nr. Søby, close to Skive. Despite that it was a more prestigious race. 3rdround of the national Post Cup.
Kristian didn’t seem to care about what kind of race it was. He just took off, never looked back and rode away with the victory. The time on the couch was obviously well spent.
With the national championships only 4 weeks away I’m starting to get really excited for our two cycle cross aces. I really hope that Bonne and Kristian will time their progression for that event and show the rest of the fat tire community how it’s done.

There are still a few hard core mountain bikers around, in whose dictionary the term” off season” doesn’t occur.
They have opted to spend the winter break racing, where most of their summer rivals recover from some hard months on the mountain bike.
Two of these energizer bunnies who just can’t get enough, happen to be members of Team Rivette.
Thomas Bonne and Kristian Axelsen are riding the cycle cross races across the country in preparation for the national championships in the beginning of January.
This weekend they rode the district championships in Zealand.
Especially Kristian was determined to do a good performance. He lives in Jutland but the team is registered in DMK and that makes him a Zealander. He got aware of the license situation a few weeks ago when he won the junior ranks in the district championships of Jutland but couldn’t go to the podium according to the regulations.
To that he simply replied:”then I just have to win the championships in Zealand”
To find out if he could live up to this statement, read here in his own words how it unfolded:

This weekend I travelled to Copenhagen to do two cyclecross races. I stayed with Thomas Bonne during my trip.
The first one was with JC cykelklub. The course was not like an MTB course. It was only 2,5 km long, and it wasn’t difficult to ride. But with 25 km pr. hour, it is. I only ride for 45 minutes, so I don’t need anybody to hand out bottles. Mountain bike races can sometimes be confusing for the helpers if the rider wants different bottles on different laps.
I got a good start and fought my way forward. Then I could feel that my energy levels started to drop. I gave it everything I had and finished in 3rd place.
Next day was the cycle cross races in Helsingør, I was feeling better.
The course was much more my kind of style. It was a little like a mountain bike course. It had some sections with stairs you had to run, and some obstacles you could bunny jump (if you were good).
The juniors started 1 minute after the elite field. When we came to the stairs on the first lap, I fell on them, so I got blue all over my body. After that I jumped on the bike again.
5 laps into the race the problem came. “How many laps to go ???” I couldn’t remember how many laps I had ridden and how many that were left. How can you keep track on the laps, when you are racing on a bike.
I finished the race in 39 minutes as number 2.
Thomas Bonne finished 4th in the elite field.
After the race I drove home with Anders Bystrup. We were having a nice trip home with Cross World Cup on my PC, but the batteries only lasted half the race.

Kristian unfortunately couldn’t fulfill his dreams about claiming the gold medal. He got a silver medal instead but also a lot of valuable experiences he can benefit from later in the season.
And of course, not to forget, he also got the lovely red pig in the picture. Great prize!

I think I owe you riders and readers to explain why I have been seen back in the classic blue Rivette jersey.  Well, like a number of other persons in Denmark right now I’m unemployed due to the financial situation in the country, and my team affiliation in 2009 was closely linked to my job situation. Furthermore maybe for the same reasons my 2009 team has decided to close down its activities in Denmark. I have no hard feelings worth mentioning and I wish them the best of luck!

And wasn’t I supposed to quit racing anyways? Sure I was, but right now after many deep thoughts I’ve reckoned that it’s not an option.
The only comfort I have right now is my family and my bike. My dear wife and kids make me think of the things that really matters in life, and I guess the rides on my bike gives me the opportunity to get rid of anger and disappointments and surely have a good impact on my general mood. So in these days I experience a blooming in my private life and I really enjoy riding my bike. On the bike I often join Peter Bech who has got the title of Rivette team manager. Peter very early offered me to rejoin the blue guard. So there you have it..
The last ride I did back on the 2008 Team Rivette on my H6 bike was the incredible nice Invita race in Varde in late October. Funny thing about this is the fact that exactly one year later I was reunited with the same untouched H6 bike to the 2009 edition of the same race. I didn’t exactly repeat my 2008 win but struggled to stay in top twenty. Not a very good performance for an elite racer. I have improved my form since that, earning a fourth and a first place in the first couple of rounds of the annual winter mtb cup.

If my job situation allows me to ride my bike, you will see me turn out for the 2010 Team Rivette. And I can assure you that we will make a great impact on the 2010 scene, being present at the 12- and 24 hrs races and of cause the Superliga. I know Peter soon is ready to present the 2010 team. Look forward to some surprises!
See you at the road and at the winter cup in Viborg and Varde.

”The cow” participates every year and makes some cool helmet-cam videos. See video here

From the 6th to the 12th of July the cycling-event of the year took place. No, it was not the Tour, not the Nationals, not the Worlds. I am of course talking about the Megavalanche. I had been biggin’ it up in advance and let me tell you – it was all that and more. I owe ya’ll a report and think it will be a way to kick a bit of life into this site again.

Only four men had the guts to take on the challenge: P.R. Andersen, Flemming Tanghus, Jesper S.L. and yours truly. As previously mentioned, Flemming was the only one with international palmares on fat knobby tires. The rest of us was (not are) pure hardcore wannabies. Some styling it up more gracefully than others, dare I say, but everybody were high as a group of stockbrokers on coke before the financial crisis, as we drove up Alpe d’Huez. Jesper S.L. had booked a nice little ski apartment which was soon to be filled with body-armour, fullface helmets and fork oil.

The event itself boasts a qualifying race held the Friday before Sunday’s main race. Approximately 2000 riders enter the event and only 500 of those will qualify for the main final. Those not eligible for a start in the main race either compete in the b-final or in a timed open race down the course meaning there’s no mass start but you’ll get a registered time down the mountain. The qualification and final-course are different from each other, which is pretty cool as you get to race on two different tracks. Qualification takes roughly 30 minutes to do, whereas the main race is at least double that (depending on your ability stay upright).

With 2000 riders in qualifying, Friday is a busy day at the lift. With a previous result or early registration you’ll get a seeding in qualifying but make sure to leave for the start in time. I had a fairly good starting position but it took me nearly two hours to get to the start. The day before I spend 30 minutes on that same trip.
The week of training went good and bad. The first day out, we managed to get separated on our first ride down the slopes. Trails are abundant and emerging everywhere.

Somewhere in all the dust we got split into two groups. It didn’t do much damage to the riding though, as you just jump on the nearest lift and go back up for another ride. Day two saw P.R. Andersen tear his fork apart. That cost him about 600 € and most of the day in the pits. All in all we spend quite some time getting acquainted with the local bike shop. Largely thanks to P.R.  but by the end of the week the bikes were smoking.

By the third day we were starting to get comfortable on the slopes. Especially the two family-guys (Flemming and Jesper) dusted of their racing skills in a frenzy-like manner. One of the last rides down to Alpe d’Huez they left me substantially behind. Dust-clouds were all I could see as they skid around every corner. Suddenly a much larger dust-cloud exploded ahead of me. Yup, it was man-made and resulted in a broken shoulder and exit Mr. Tanghus. Well, he didn’t exit till Thursday after realizing it was to hard riding down the finale-course starting at the glacier at Pic Blanc. Tough guy!

Other than that we kept shredding the trails and spending money at the bike shop. Come Friday the excitement level was at an all time high. I barely missed my start. I put on my gear in the last gondola to the start and entered the start box as the gun went off. The day before had been used to check out which lines to take in the first kilometers. I think I did pretty well, but hadn’t really any idea of my position. The qualifying race is almost entirely downhill and after one third my arms felt like an eight year old Chinese gymnasts at a training camp.

The last 5-7 minutes that same Chinese could have flicked-flacked the course faster than me. At the line I came in as 15th. P.R. did the same in his race and Jesper was 18th in his. We were all within 40 seconds of each other. To much regret however, S.L. went on the rampage at the start and crashed with an injured wrist as the result. He managed to get down with honors but the main-race was out the question. Two down, two to go I guess.

As kind of a reserve we had Thomas Riis to come stay with us from Friday. We couldn’t persuade him to take Jesper’s spot in the final, but he went thrashing with the two finalists on Saturday and acted as an excellent helper (as always) Sunday morning at the mountain-top. I’ll be surprised if his not competing next year though.
The start for Sunday’s race was at 9.00 am. We had been given lift time at 6.10 am. Not the favorite time of day for P.R. Well, not for me either in what is supposed to be a fun/vacation trip. Weather was good though, and seeing the sun rise at 3200 meters as we stood atop Pic Blanc 7.00 am. was incredible.

The two hours before the start was spend checking out the very steep starting section, and waiting in line for the toilet. Standing in the middle of 500 crazy riders about to descend a glacier on mountainbikes made me kind of nervous. Even if I managed to stay upright I would have no control of the others. And if you haven’t figured it out already, people were crashing left and right. As the gun went off, everything turned into chaos.

I didn’t avoid crashing and kind of half-stumbled-ran-rode the first section. Once on the snow it went pretty well till some British bloke decided to tackle a downhill snow-section on his a.. just in front of me. A close encounter was unavoidable, but I guess it was the same for most people. I could spend pages writing about the race, but all I will say is that it’s much harder than I anticipated. P.R. finished just within top 100 after an hour and 10 minutes, and snug in at 170th place six minutes later. It definitely ranks in my top three of best cycling experiences and I’m surely returning next year. 

Peter Bech on the podium with his shiny new medal.

Updated with new pictures.

Well, in all honesty maybe it should have been the Danish National Championship since Denmark was the only nationality represented in the elite class. Nevertheless, it felt a bit international since the race was held “abroad” on the island of Bornholm.

Old dog Klaus Vesterlund came out on top as winner and can now add Scandinavian champion to his palmares.  Skinny man Jessing took second, while our very own Bech Peters was showing form in third place. Yours truly was the first man off the podium with M. Laustsen trailing in fifth spot. Let me give you a short recap of how things went down.

The course was somewhat more demanding in terms of technical skills than your average Danish xc-course. A climb of at least five minutes, with the finish line half way up made sure to take out any strength not lost in the technical parts. Particularly one descent was nasty. It started with a fast section of small drops and football size rocks here and there. Then came a long steep wooden stair with steps so far apart it would make the rear end kick sideways like an angry bull. The only thing sensible to do was to release the brakes and keep a firm grip on the saddle with the thighs. Once down the stairs, a rocky section would test balance and stamina. I don’t think anyone stayed on the bike all the way through that part. The organizers certainly delivered a decent piece of race course.

The riders that chose to make their way to Bornholm did their part too, I think. At least I tried. The first lap felt good and I got away with Jessing and junior rider Jonas P. It was my first race in a while and I honestly thought things were going great. At the start of the long climb, Vesterlund and Bech had closed the gap while I struggled with a chain suck. I quickly bridged back to Vesterlund and Bech and we chased after the two T-bikes in front. At the wooden stair we had almost closed the gap but wasn’t quite able to get those last meters. Well, in the third of six laps Vesterlund closed by himself and I was suffering to stay with Bech. He would put small time gaps into me on the climbs which I closed on the long descent, but in the fourth lap even that came to an end. Up front, Vesterlund said goodbye to Jessing and we were racing in that order to the finish-line. Simon Tarp was the unlucky guy of the day. While leading the race on the first lap a crash forced him to change wheels in the tech-zone and came in sixth after Morten Laustsen. With the nationals three weeks away the podium all showed that they are medal-contenders. Vesterlund has got the diesel engine running, Jessing keeps improving and the serious off-season training and race participation this year, has made Bech possibly stronger than ever. I find myself with a bit of work to do. Throw in a week of Megavalanche and I am myself starting to doubt that I will peak in three weeks time. I think the roadbike will be brought along to Alpe d’Huez.

Racing on Saturday left us with a day of fun riding on Sunday since no ferries were departing on Saturday. The island has an enormous amount of quality terrain to offer and we made good use of it. The highlight of that day was a crash as a result of Peter Bech’s confidence in his abilities as a downhill-rider. Those drops that required a bit handlebar-control can be a real bitch.

Sam Hill’s downhill run from the 2008 World Championships inspires Peter Bech to try his hand at some DH action later on.

The weather was a bit gloomy in the morning, but cleared up nicely.

Peter Bech racing hard in Varde. Picture courtesy of Varde Cykel Klub.

Niklas from the Junior Team wrote in:

After a super trip to the mountains in Polen with 4 hard stages it was time for some XC-race in Varde near my hometown, Bramming. The track in Varde doesn’t have many altitude meters, but a lot of turns and small steep climbs, so it is draining your energy. After a crowded start we ended up a Rivette junior trio chasing the T-bikes junior duo. Kristian was clearly the strongest and made small gapes the whole time. He finally got away and I started chasing, but I never caught up.

At a time when I was about 10 secs behind Kristian, and we were going fast at a sandy road were riders meet on the track, two guys on the other side crashed and Kristian was nearly taken down by at back wheel, but luckily he managed to duck ☺ Our “teacher” Bech was long gone and took a fine 4th place in the elite class. Kristian was the strongest Rivette junior, and took 3. place on the podium after Frederik and Jonas. Now it is time to prepare for NM on Bornholm next weekend, where the good training in Polen hopefully will show.

/ Niklas

Niklas and Frederik on the podium in Poland.

After the debacle of stage 2 the Rivette Team was pretty fired up for the remaining 2 stages. Out of the overall, the hunt was on for a stage win.

Max came close on the 3rd stage, a 4-hour beast of a stage with a mountaintop finish. He was 2nd to Marek Galinski, the polish rider with quite a World Cup and Olympics palmares. Unfortunately Peter Bech crashed out pretty hard halfway through the stage while riding in the front group.

Stage 4 was less spectacular for Max and Peter, both of them being dropped from the front group and finishing a bit below par in 12th and 14th.

But the Juniors continued where they left off in stage 1. Frederik won stage 3 in front of Niklas and the last day Niklas reversed the result, winning in front of Frederik, both of them finishing the last stage with their best overall results - 16th and 19th respectively. Very good recovery, which is a good sign for the future.

The MTB Trophy is a hard, hard race - just finishing is a true test. The individual stages are monsters, and stringing 4 together without any mental, physical or technical breakdowns is quite a task. So Team Rivette will try to be back next year for the overall if possible.

Polish adventures over, the Team will look to the Scandinavian Championships in 14 days as the next race.

Well, everything started out really well - Peter and Max both made the selection for the first group, staying at the front for the first hour and a half. The everything went really pear-shaped.

The front group and around 50-75 riders behind them was mistakenly sent down a long decent. When they reached the bottom everyone realized that this was the wrong way, so they rode up again.

Allan Bachmann of the Webike team was the only other Dane in the front group, but others were picked up soon after, going in the wrong direction. All in all there were 9 Danes, and Team Rivettes Swede, Max sharing common language. No one could figure out where to go at the. So the Danes made a collective decision to head back to find the race course again. Groups of the locals went different directions.

After 30 minutes of searching the merry group found the race course again, and entered the race towards the very back of the field. At the first feeding station they found out that the local Polish riders had also found the race course again, but were now upwards of 45 minutes ahead.

So a decision was made to collectively abandon the stage. Everyone will start the race again tomorrow for the 3rd stage, but out of the overall ranking. For Team Rivette this is especially bitter for Peter who is going very well, and has now lost his chance of the final overall podium. And Niklas and Frederik were 20 minutes ahead after the first stage in the Junior category, so that looks like a pretty sure-fire overall victory lost for them.

But spirits are high at the hotel, so Max and Peter will try to make a good stage result in one of the last 2 stages.

Today’s stage was a real killer though. At the time of posting this, there are still riders out on the course - more than 11 hours after the start.

MTB Trophy Stage 1

The Polish MTB Trophy stage race started today. Team Rivette put Peter Bech into 6th overall and finished 1-2 in the Junior class with Niklas and Frederik.

Peter Bech rode a steady race to finish 6th for the day, apparently without digging too deep. Setting himself up nicely for the rest of the race. Niklas and Frederik - in that order - dominated the Junior category finishing 1-2 with nearly 20 minutes to spare on 3rd.

Team Rivettes Swede, Max Öste-Macdonald, was initially very, very strong according to Peter, but suffered from no less than 3 punctures and lost a significant amount of time today. Peter has wowed to make sure Max has some Pythons - also known as the best tire ever - mounted for tomorrow Needless to say Max will focus on stage results for the rest of the race.

Our old friend and former teammate Klaus Vesterlund, had a great race for Team Rivette last year in Poland. Not so much this year though as he also suffered from an early puncture, eventually ending the day in 16th.

Almost 60 Danish riders have made their way to Poland for the MTB Trophy - and no wonder. The race is easily accessible, starting from the some town every day. The organizers are super-friendly. The 4-day format is just right - not too little, not too much. The trails are great. And it is relatively inexpensive. Highly recommended!

Results here: http://sportchallenge.cz/extra09/mtbtrophy/vysledky.php?id_zavod=1

Race website here: http://www.mtbtrophy.com

Tomorrow’s stage is a monster - 95 K with almost 3000 meters of climbing. Good luck to everyone!

Cover-shot from Velonews after winning the Tour of Hawaii in 1996.

With very little racing action for Team Rivette last weekend we have to come up with something else to write about. The revival of the “Back to the future” series is now in effect. This time the target is a former Tour de France and European Champion. Ladies and gents… Lennie Kristensen!

In reality there won’t be much going back in time for this post. The aim is rather to show that it’s possible to experience a little piece of history if you happen to be in Copenhagen. The palmares of Lennie is far too extensive for me to dig into here. As most of you probably know (or should know) Lennie won the 1997 Mountainbike Tour de France (Tour VTT). In fact he won it a few weeks after becoming European Champion on home turf in Silkeborg on a course almost identical to the second round of the mtb-liga. Well, in 1997 the start/finish straight was almost a full kilometer followed by a gravel climb of nearly the same length. Being known for churning the biggest gear in the entire field during the late nineties, Lennie put it to good use and won an epic battle against Italian Luca Bramati, in a race plague by thunder-showers. It should also be noted that Rivette DS, Jesper Skriver, as well as myself, were racing in national colors in the espoir class☺. Lennie then went on to win the Tour VTT. Yours truly participated on a smaller Dutch team while Jesper Agergaard raced alongside Lennie on Team Giant. As the race progressed, Jesper told how the mechanics starting fearing snake bites would ruin Lennie’s winning chances so he practically won with the whole thing running road racing like tire pressure.

Although Lennie is probably best known for these two victories he was also the first official National Mountainbike Champion back in 1992. Despite being one of the dominating riders through the “big boom” of mountainbiking in the nineties, his career began on the road which almost had him signing a contract with TVM alongside Bo Hamburger. Well, he returned to his roots later in his career and raced for Team Fakta from the year 2000. Not only a good mountainbiker but an overall talented cyclist he came within inches of winning the Tour of Denmark, being robbed the leader’s jersey late in the race by Rolf Sørensen. After a few years with the smaller but infamous team of Kim Andersen, Lennie ended his career with almost winning the Tour Down Under for Team CSC.

Today, Lennie is running a bike shop in the center of Copenhagen called Da Vinci Cykler. If you ever have the time, stop by his shop for a history-lesson. Well, if not to meet the friendly and knowledgeable staff or check out the goods (although there is a surprisingly lack of Rivette bikes). There is at least one guy down there with more bikes than me (and a camera – thanks Claus). Memorabilia is all around this place and not long ago Lennie’s 1998 racing bike was displayed. It’s probably still around somewhere if you want to weigh a decade old racing mountainbike. As one of the friendliest laid back persons and pro-cyclist I’ve ever met, I’m sure he’ll dust it off if you ask. 

I wonder what Lennie’s VO2max is?

The man himself with the European Champ jersey and medal.

A huge poster capturing the action from Lennie’s battle with Luca Bramati decorates the back wall.

One of Djernis’ World Champ jerseys.

Mechanic Claus is truing his lightweight wheel? Notice the prices above Claus, Tour VTT and Tour of Denmark among others.

Other mechanic Jens with former Team-mates Fabian and Kurt.

Autograph card from Team CSC and delivering a custom-bike to the famous “bald chef”.