Comments on: Kermesse – Crits the Belgian way

By: oldtrackie

oldtrackie — Wed, 07 Mar 2012 19:31:43 +0000

@Antieuro Nothing like a seven-kilometer circuit that included a short hill, very narrow roads, corn fields, cows, sheep and, of course, spectators drinking beer. Race registration is nearly always in a pub, making the local after-the-race recovery beverage easy to find.

I am returning in 2012. Join me:
http://www.immersioncycling.com
http://www.facebook.com/RaceBelgium

Rick Adams

By: Touriste Routier

Touriste Routier — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 15:04:37 +0000

Many of the Kermesse Festivals have carnivals and are held on the day of the Patron Saint in the particular host town. An important element not mentioned is the overt presence of bookies who post odds and take bets. With the Amateur events, sometimes you show up to the cafe where registration is, and nothing is going on, but by the time you emerge from the changing room, barricades are in place, sound systems are going, and a crowd has gathered- like it all fell out of the sky during the 15 minutes you were inside! The photo for this article is great, but unfortunately it is from cyclocross and not a Kermesse, but of course cross is essentially a Kermesse on unpaved surfaces with obstacles!

By: Antieuro

Antieuro — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 02:16:22 +0000

Cool, article. I only race crits in the US, but am keen on seeing how they do it Europe.