Houffalize World Cup Day 2 - Pre-ride day

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By the time I finally cracked open my eyes at 10am, Luke was rearing to go and demolished the largest bowl of Shreddies I have ever seen. Europe had better watch out, this boy could eat them out of food.

As I’m entering the Open race on Saturday I thought I should get a practice lap in. The course runs past the front door of our campsite so I have no real excuses.

I case say lots about the course, but one word really sums it up “sweet”. Houffalize has a reputation for taking no prisoners and is the one all riders love. The course winds it’s way through the town and up and down the hill surrounding it. The crowds come in their thousands and can be 10 deep on the climbs. My pre-ride went well, I only crashed on one decent (in front of the crowds) and that was an easy one. The decents are technical and the climbs even more so. Imagine the Pipeline at Newnham, but rutted with roots and turns and that’s your typical decent.

The lap took me a slow 45min to complete. The big boys could be lapping me on lap 2 with a time like that. Fingers crossed the speed will pick up when the pressure is on.

Finishing my lap I headed up into the main pits and hooked up with Matt, fellow 29er crew member and spanner for the Gary Fisher-Suburu team. Chatting with him it looks like I’m the only one running a 29er this weekend. JHK and Sam are sticking with their 26ers. Just like Luke, Matt is ready for his European tour but was complaining that he was missing his bike and the chance of riding the course. I guess Trek/Gary Fisher UK are getting ready for the new G2 Revolver series at Sherwood Pines so cant spare one for him.

The afternoon was spent strolling round the pits checking out what was going on. The number of teams here is incredible, the team area stretches from the center of the town down to our campsite. That’s about 1-2 Km of tech areas.

The town is starting to pick up with a great vibe. The locals are knocking off early and the town is starting to fill up. Today is only a warm up day, the main racing starts tomorrow. This town is set to explode as the racing starts. Everyone is getting to the spirit. The boys who own the campsite have set up a bar on the road and the beer is looking more and more appealing. I think I might be chomping down on a big German Sausage (that’s a Bratwurzt to you and me) for tea.

Bye for now, more tomorrow when the racing starts!

Missed Day 1? Check it out HERE