2008 Treviso Cyclo-cross Worlds Preview

As of Wednesday night, the Canadian team has all arrived and are staying in Treviso, Italy to begin final preparations for the '07/08 Cyclo-cross World Championships. The riders who have been here since the beginning of the week have seen the course take shape and Thursday had the entire course fenced off and most teams were seen checking out the course.
The course's primary features are wide sweeping turns, a long set of steps and a short climb that had many of the riders trying to figure out how to ride - something the Italian team seemed to have already figured out, as many of their riders had no problem. The 2 main portions of the course are separated by a road section and a double sided pit with drains installed to take the water away. Riders spent the afternoon starting to get a feel for the course, while tomorrow will likely be spent dialing in tire pressures. Many of the corners on the course were taped to prevent riders from creating ruts in the tacky mud that is goo-ing up the riders' tires. The weather was sunny, warming up from freezing overnight to nearly 10 degrees as it is forecasted to do for the next few days the hope is for the course to dry up.
Wendy Simms, the women's national champion, coming off back to back 5th place World Cup finishes is seeming confident and is Canada's best hope for a medal. Mike Garrigan, the men's national champ, has been trying to find his race legs after some time without races, but with 2 weeks in Europe, seems to be finding his legs. Many of the other riders have been in Europe for several weeks and have grown accustomed to the style of racing. It has been a long season for many of the riders, but the finish will be grand.
Vervecken, Boom and Wellens are the favorites for the race, but don't count out Sven Nys, who surely wants to wear the rainbow jersey. In the women's race Hanka Kupfernagel and last year's winner, Maryline Salvetat are the favorites, while Compton and Van den Brand and our own Wendy Simms should all be in the running.
Stay tuned for an exciting weekend of racing.