Zach McDonald won the U23 Nationals this year in Madison. Then he finished 4th in the Elite race. He won the overall U23 in the U.S. this year as well. He also ended up on the podium at Zolder in Belgium in December. He has mad handling skills and a ton of talent. I provided the fine folks at Rapha with some photos of Zach for an interview they did with him. They also did a quick interview with me about my time over there.

I’m back from Belgium, and I’m tired.

Thousands of spectators, a fair amount of mud, lots of beer, and one streaker.

So I’m standing by the course as the Women’s race is ending in Loenhout and someone approaches me. He starts talking to me in Flemish, which is not unusual. Most times I’ll just shake my head and say “English.” But today, so many people had been approaching me that I would just smile and nod. But I did understand two words this gentlemen had to say…. “Cyclocross Streaker.” I looked over and there were a group of people in a circle and one guy in the middle who was taking his clothes off. Next thing I know, he jumps on the course and starts running and smiling and holding up one finger like he’s #1. He runs for a while then jumps back into the crowd. I never saw him again.

A gallery of images from the day.

Even before I really knew about the Zolder Cyclocross course, I knew I liked the sound of that word: Zolder. This was my second year shooting a World Cup at Zolder, and it was quite a bit different. It was warm, it was muddy, and there was no snow to be found (unlike last year). Shooting at a venue for the second time also has its advantages. Though, I still look to see where those Belgium photographers go and just follow them. For images, click on this WORD.

A small Christmas Day cross race near the village of Balegem, Belgium. Most times the smallest races yield the richest imagery.

There’s been a slight break in the racing the past few days which has allowed for some other activities. Most of the juniors had a pretty competitive bowling tournament one day. And on Wednesday they also had a training race to keep some speed in the legs. Held down by a canal outside of Izegem, it was authentically Belgium. Misty, muddy and saturated with water.

After cleaning up gear and clothing, all of the crew from the USA house, racers and staff, drove towards Gent to visit the BMC Service Course. The BMC road teams have their office there, along with where they store the team busses, cars, bikes, team kits and the rest of the gear. In the back, on a non-desrcript hook, we found Cadel Evan’s bike that he won the Tour de France on last year.

Often times when I’m driving to a race in Belgium, I have no idea where I’m going. This was especially true driving to Namur, in the French speaking Wallonne region of Belgium. I didn’t even have an actual address for my GPS navigation system and had to guess how to get there. I made it Namur, and felt I was in the neighborhood, when I started driving up a cobbled climb, taking switchback after switchback. I was pretty excited when I saw a barrier and guards there, I knew I was close to the press parking. I didn’t have a parking pass, but I did a pretty good job of playing “the dumb American with a press card” and was able to talk my way through.

When I made it up to the actual course, my jaw dropped. The race was taking place on the grounds of the Castle of Namur. A fortress originally from the Roman era, the castle sat upon a hill overlooking the town in all directions. As stunning as the venue was, the actual course that the riders would race on was equally as eye opening. Designed by multiple World Champoin Erwin Vervecken, the track had many steep climbs and descents. And give the rain the past few days, had turned into one big mud pit. This was going to be good. See for yourself.

In 2010 I went to Lichtervelde to shoot my first ever cross race in Belgium. It was an eye opener! There was snow everywhere, the ground was frozen, and there were cows, chickens, goats, ducks and horses scattered throughout the area. I couldn’t wait to get back there. This year was different, but in a way, just as interesting. There were all of those animals around, but instead of snow there was standing water and mud….thick, thick mud. As a bonus the sun was shining. See for yourself.