More from the American crossers in Belgium

US under-23 cyclo-crossers Morgan Schmitt and Adam McGrath are in Belgium preparing for the world championships, and posting diaries on the website of their sponsor Redline as they come to to terms with the reality of racing cross in cold, dark and wet European conditions. On Sunday, the duo lined up for the under-23 race at the Hofstade world cup.

"We arrived at the venue at 8:45, which so happened to be the time the sun came up enough to see the course (since Belgium is practically up near the North Pole)," writes Schmitt. "Our early arrival still didn't allow enough time for a good warm-up since we spent an hour or so listening to Flemish directions in our attempt to locate registration. It was raining on an off the whole morning and by the time we started, we could still see our breaths .. in other words, perfect Euro 'cross conditions!"

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