Looking out the window today it appeared like an unpleasant autumn day. Overcast, damp and altogether Belgium-like. The weathermen said today would be dry however so I decided to get a ride in and when I stepped outside to decide what to wear the temperature was surprisingly warm. Maybe in the mid-60's with high humidity. Right on the edge of short sleeve weather. I was on the bike by 9:30 and headed toward Lone Elk Park. The leaves are nearing their peak color and make for a scenic ride.

I rode at a hard tempo. Seventeen minutes gone and I was in Old Town Fenton and about to ride along the Meramec. Part of my reason for taking this route was to see the leaves on the Meramec at I-44. For my money this is probably the finest patch of fall color every year. Reds, Oranges, Yellows and Greens are always in full abundance at this spot.



Onward to Lone Elk along the outer road. As the name implies, I was lucky enough to see a couple Elk along the road. It's mating season so I did not get too close but its still a sight to see their large horns.


Total elapsed time was two hours but about 20 minutes was spent taking pictures and watching the elk. It was a good ride with some good effort for this time of year. I still have a good deal of doubt about how next week's cyclocross race will go. That full out explosive effort from the gun will be a shock to the system. I should probably do some intervals this week in preparation. It will be good to be racing in a new venue. I checked out Faust Park a couple years as a possible race site and it has potential as a very good race.

News of the Day

Three-time World Cyclo-cross Champion Mario de Clercq (MrBookmaker.com) could also be facing disciplinary action by the Belgian cycling federation, after Het Nieuwsblad reported that the growth hormone Somatropin was found in a search of his house last year. De Clercq's house was one of 21 cyclists' houses searched by police on September 4, 2003, in what marked the start of the Jose Landuyt/Herman Versele doping affair. However, De Clercq's name has been largely kept out of the investigation which has mainly focused on Johan Museeuw, Chris Peers and Jo Planckaert. Yesterday, those three riders were given two year suspensions by the Belgian cycling federation.

According to HNB, analysis of certain vials that were seized from De Clercq's house revealed that they contained the growth hormone Somatropin, a banned substance. The police also found a leaflet with information about Aranesp, an improved form of EPO. De Clercq's team manager Charles Palmans explained that he merely took it for information. "Mario was given the leaflet by someone," said Palmans. "He read it out of interest, to see exactly what the product does. As racers, you have to be interested in a lot of things, but Mario has never used the product."

Also seized were De Clercq's training diaries from 2001 and 2002, which contained training plans, results and prize money, along with details of haematocrit levels in connection with the taking of unspecified products. De Clercq told the investigators that he planned to write a novel, and the markings in his diary were fictitious.

De Clercq will now be questioned again by the investigating magistrate in Kortrijk as a witness in the Landuyt/Versele case, but - like the other riders - he is not one of the accused. It will be up to the Belgian cycling federation to determine whether a sporting sanction is warranted. The prosecutor's office in Kortrijk has only confirmed that the case around De Clercq has not yet concluded, but declined to give details. Similarly, De Clercq's lawyer said that he hadn't seen the results of the analyses of the vials, but does know that De Clercq has been summonsed again.

The news broke on the day before the first Cyclo-cross World Cup of the season, which will be held in Mario De Clercq's home town of Wortegem-Petegem, where he will certainly race.

Viewpoint: De Clercq, nonetheless, has been one of the best CX'ers in the last 7-9 years and again it hurts to see that the success he had may have been the result of drugs. I never did much care for Mario De Clercq. He stole a World Championship from his teammate Erwin Vervecken a few years back when Vervecken had a big lead. De Clercq chased him down and won in that last 1/4 mile or so. Then a year later he was mad at Sven Nys, when Nys did not chase his Rabobank teammate Richard Groenendal very hard. Nys was in the wrong but no more than De Clercq the year before. After the World Championship that Nys did not work, De Clercq was on the podium in tears. Tough luck, crybaby.