Cyclists selected for national cyclocross team camp in Belgium
Two young cyclists who got their start in Juneau are heading to Belgium this weekend to attend the inaugural U.S. European Cyclocross Racing Camp.
Tucker Thomas and David Fleischhauer, who both now live in Olympia, Wash., will depart Seattle on Friday for the camp and they will compete in their first race on Sunday. Both cyclists compete for the Rad Racing Northwest Junior Developmental Team of Washington.
The camp takes place in Izegem, Belgium, and riders will compete in seven races over two weeks, including a World Cup and a Super Prestige race. The camp is hosted by Noelle Dejonckheere, who is the director for the USA Cycling U-23 program in Europe.
Cyclocross races combine elements of mountain bike races with road races. A hybrid bike with drop handlebars and narrow, knobby tires is used. The races may feature long stretches along gravel roads, followed by some trail riding and a section where riders are forced to dismount so they can run with their bikes over obstacles.
Thomas, 17, finished second overall in the male 17-18 age division at the U.S. Cyclocross National Championships last weekend during heavy rain in Portland, Ore.
That second-place finish, which came despite a flat tire, gave Thomas an automatic spot on the U.S. Junior National Team for the Cyclocross World Championships that take place Jan. 31-Feb. 1 in Pont-Chateau, France.
Fleischhauer, 18, finished fifth overall in the Espoir (U-23) division after being the race's early aggressor. Fleischhauer's finish didn't earn him an automatic spot to the World Championships, but he still can win a spot on the national team when it's finalized on Jan. 7.
Thomas is the son of former Juneau Empire reporters Ralph and Margaret Thomas, and he still lists Juneau as his hometown on his biography posted on the Rad Racing NW Web site.
Fleischhauer was born in Juneau and still has several family members in town. Both riders have competed in events sponsored by the Juneau Freewheelers cycling club as recently as the 2000 summer.