In the latest episode of the cyclocross social podcast, Noah sits down with Filip Bezdek. Filip is a photographer and social media creator for the Czech federation. Together, they discuss the current state of Czech cyclocross, covering the racing scene and the most prominent talents.
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Cyclocross Social is the home of Cyclocross. Every week we discuss cyclocross on our podcast. Besides that we try to upload some fun clips straight from the cyclocross field!
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Hello everyone and welcome back to the Cyclacross Social podcast. Today we’re going to be making a very special episode covering the Czech cyclaccross program and with me to that is Philip Bezdc. He is a photographer and he is involved with the Czech cycling federation. Philillip, we met of course this winter. Thank you so much for being here. Hi. Hi. Thank you for the for the invitation. We spoke a number of times this season. You have been my primary source of intel for the Czech cyclross scene, which has really helped me stay up to date and provide some extra context to our listeners who are very engaged. Could you maybe shortly introduce yourself to the people who aren’t as familiar with you yet? Uh yeah. Yeah, no problem. I working mainly with the Chick Cycling Federation as a photographer and content creator. Also I’m doing something like a social media manager with some other guys. I started in the winter and mainly working with the cyclcross cyclross national team under the guidance of ML Bnat and Pett Blask and I working with them very very closely on the on the race program you know and some other stuff you need to know for the social media and for some other stuff and yeah I did uh a lot of races with them uh in the Czech Republic and also the World Cups world champs and the cooperation will be in the next year also. I think that’s a key differentiation between how the Belgian and Dutch federation work with their photographers. They just hire somebody that’s always there whereas in many other countries you see that the people doing media are much more closely involved because the resources are a bit more limited. So let’s start by covering a bit how the current racing scene is the Czech in the Czech Republic. We had for a long time the Toy Cup which has been having a new title sponsor in the HASF system cup that has a number of rounds I think from the top of my head eight and then there’s a few non-affiliated races. How would you say that the national racing scene in the Czech Republic is? How strong is the HAF system cup? The scene were much stronger stronger in the in some uh last years you know because we have a lot of uh good riders as Dask Bina Shimun. Yeah, it was a much uh much better racing but now it’s going to be better and better because I think the better and Ben doing very good work. they working with the with the young talents a lot. We know that we don’t have a muchu guys in the elite category. You know, there’s only Boro, Sham Manova. The young and promising cyclists will be there. Also, it’s a lot of uh guys doing also the the mountain bikes or road cycling. I think in the youth categories it’s very important to to combine the disciplines and and to be prepared for everything you know because from the bikes you can have some new abilities to to the cycle cross or uh from the road cycling the endurance it’s also good to to improve in uh in a bunch of disciplines. Who is behind the Hazf System Cup? Is that an independent organization or does the federation also have a guiding role in setting out that schedule? The SF system cup it’s under the cycling agency which is held in in a tabore. They doing also the world cup and they did also the the world championships. They’re doing also the the cycling team the chest cycle team tabore. They’re under the the Czech cycling federation, but the federation doesn’t have much to do in there because uh this agency is doing a lot by themselves and they doing a lot for the for the cycle, you know, because I think from all of the disciplines, the the road cycling and the cycle are uh on the best level in the Czech Republic. uh in all of the disciplines in a cycling. You mentioned that the organizers of the Tabor World Cup are also behind the Hazf System Cup. Tabor is a longstanding venue. It’s the together with Hog, the venue that has hosted the most world championships. I believe the world championships there in 2024 were great success, great atmosphere, and now it’s returning to the World Cup. It will be the first round of the World Cup. How important is it that there is a World Cup in the Czech Republic, especially for the youth categories? Because Tabour is a race that as long as I remember has always hosted a full World Cup weekend with juniors, with U23s, everyone. Yeah. Yeah. It’s uh it’s very important I think for the riders and uh for the fans also because the the cycling it’s a very popular sport in the Czech Republic. You could see on on a venues like uh mountain bike world cup in the November or some other races as amateur races like Lab or something like that. It’s yeah it’s very important. It’s a lot of people going there and I think it will be again important to to to have more spectators than the last years. The world champs it’s uh the biggest uh amount of people but I think the the World Cup could be also also good and you know that they’re doing for doing that for a lot of years and they have a lot of practice in it. I think it will be again a very very nice World Cup and hope one of the best uh in the calendar but it’s uh it’s hard to beat uh the Belgium once or the Netherland ones. Those are different types of races with different types of atmosphere and courses. But yeah, for sure in Tabore, I’ve been there twice now. And obviously for people from over here, going to other races far away is always a bit of a nice experience, which makes you a bit biased because it’s a nice trip. But I do feel like the event is very well organized. The grand stands that they built at the World Championships there really added atmosphere. The fans there came in big numbers and they create good atmosphere. But what I’m wondering is how big is cycling in general as a sport in Czech Republic? And what about cyclcross in the winter? You mentioned Nova, mountain bike. I know bialon is quite popular. They had the world championships there as well. And I saw many, many, many, many people there on the grand stands. What are the biggest sports in the Czech Republic and how does that compare to cycling and cyclross? In Czech Republic, the biggest sport is football and ice. Ice is very popular. You know, we have a lot of world champion titles. But uh yeah, the cycling I think could be also in a top 10 sports in the in the Czech Republic because a lot of people doing this sport here. Uh I saw a lot of uh new hobby hobby cyclists you know it’s the the boom it’s in uh whole Europe you know and the whole world a lot of people want to to do road cycling or gravel cycling it’s uh it’s very good and uh I think we could see more and more people doing this sport and I hope more young talents to do this but yeah the football is uh number one also the ice hockey and some other sport like athletics. Yeah, you you mentioned bialon that’s very popular sport here because we had a lot of like medals from the Olympic games or world championships you know the people following that sports more closely because of the of the achievements of uh the athletes. Back to Tabore then how is the future of this race? When we were there for the world championships, the UCI was super complimentary of the event and they were praising the longevity of Tabour being such a reliable robust partner in the World Cup. The World Cup has become more expensive in the past few years. In Tabour, we see that they have a lot of different sponsors advertised. We see Scoda, of course, Czech company that is involved there as well in the sponsorship. How stable is this race? Of course, it makes sense that they take one year off after the World Championships because it’s a big financial effort, but also for all the volunteers, lots of extra time going in. Where does the race stand now? It’s returning to the World Cup. Is it stable? Yeah. Yeah, I think uh I think it’s stable same as high system cup. It’s, you know, the the whole program is really stable, but it’s true that uh to find the resources, it’s not easy in these days. Everything it’s much more pricey, you know, and you you need to think about that. I think the the venue is stable, but the the one-year gap was very welcomed. I think Tabor is just a place which perhaps symbolizes the Czech cyclross scene for many people over here. I wonder one thing because while Tabour has a great course and I think it’s really worthy of the place in the World Cup in recent years we have seen a new race in Ostraa around an old mine which has really seemed to be investing in its course. It was part of the UAC European Cup for a while. Do you know if this race has any ambitions to grow higher as well? Because in the past there was Tabour but there was also Pilzen there was also a race in Prague which has been on the highest level. Is there any ambition in Ostraa because that is also a very very great course. Yeah, the in Austraa the the ambition to to have a world cup there it’s uh it’s very big because uh the owners of high SF system of the company they are from from Australa and they really want to to have uh this venue in that uh area you know which is very very special because there’s a lot of sporting venues there’s in a program there during the year as a beach volleyball or some cross country skiing uh springs or something like that. And uh yeah, it’s a it’s a very nice place. a lot of people going there like for for tourism and stuff this year or in the 26 like this season will be there the national check national championship and yeah I think it’s a nice plan to to changing in the future the the venues one year in the Tabor and the next year in the Australa I think that would be a more than worthy World Cup course this year I watched the race on CT Sport the Czech broadcaster and it was a exciting race with the rain early in the season which I didn’t necessarily already expect. First Cyclacross race I watched on TV and immediately mud, slippery, lots of ups and downs, very beautiful venue with the factory. So it definitely has a lot of potential and I think it would be a good addition. rotation with Tabour could be nice and maybe one year we will have two Czech World Cups if the Fllanders Classic starts seeing and tapping into some more potential but who knows what will happen there that’s in terms of races earlier you already alluded to some of the talents that there are and that it’s growing what is the role and structure of the Federation in the Czech Republic Republic. In Belgium and the Netherlands, you see that a lot of riders race for teams and then they only go with the national team for the race weekend. But it appears in the Czech Republic, the Federation has a bigger role in developing its talents. And you already mentioned that cyclcross seems to be part of a plan to help these riders become very good overall cyclists not just only for cyclross but also for the road and or the mountain bike. in the Czech cycling federation the the biggest uh position in the world award in the developing the talents in the in the cycle cross mainly is a better dilaski and mikl bn they doing as I said the very good work to to working with the with the young riders they collaborate a lot with barar the national team training camp in the independent bar last year last autumn and I I think it’s a very good preparation for the for the riders. Uh they you know they see how the denk works in in a past and how what he doing now and I think it’s for them it’s a big motivation to to keep working and uh doing the cycling at the highest level. You mentioned Betnar and Lask as the driving forces of the national team. They had a training camp at thear pension. What does the program of the national team look like for the season or what did it look like for the previous season? Perhaps that’s the most concrete example you can give. They have uh some uh training camps also in the summer. They have a training camp on the on the road bikes. They also doing something like a technique and on the on the cycle bikes and uh trying to build the endurance and uh also the skills during that time and uh the program starting with the high system cup there’s uh the the riders are there under the under the clubs and then trying to to compete uh as best as possible to to join the national team in the in the autumn. I think there’s a there’s a one one training camp also like as you mentioned in the in the uh recommendation of the of the Zen Tibar. Then they’re going for the first world cup that will be Tabour uh this year and then I think uh they’re going for uh two races in Belgium uh before the before the Christmas. uh the last year was uh who stand the tonhovven and uh it will be really similar this year and they’re going um a lot of venues after the Christmas I think it’s a it’s a hoger high the bason it was last year uh also the Benadorm and then the the world champs also doing the the European champs in the in the autumn so it really centers on the World Cups. Do Betnar and Lask also guide the first year juniors who are not that experienced in how many races they should do over the season? Like how how do they decide which races in the Czech Republic they do? Are there like races where everybody comes and then others are less attended? Do pretty much everyone conform to the Hazf System Cup? How does that function? Yeah. Yeah. the the Heisa system cup is a is a main part because the uh Ben national also and also following the guys uh to picking up them from the clubs to the to the national team they want uh from them to to be still in the shape and doing the the races you see in the in a in a Belgium that the calendar it’s uh every weekend two races some races are in the middle of the week it’s a lot of high system cup races is doing the races on their own, you know, like Michael Boros does doing with the the races with the Elk of Casper team and um yeah, he he has everything he needs for for the race. So, these Hazf system cup races kind of act like selection events because many are there. It’s the best opportunity for the coaches to scout and make their selections. Then you see in terms of race numbers that most of the Czech riders were between 15 and 20 races throughout the season, which is a normal number for a junior. As you say, if there’s a race every day at Christmas for juniors, it’s probably not so smart to do all of them to keep their form good for the World Championships. How is it for the Federation? Because the Czech Republic is of course quite far east in Europe. The Christmas trip when we first met was in Holst and we spoke each other in Zonhova. That was pretty doable because you come over here there’s a couple of races to do but it’s not always been as easy because you have Benorm which is quite hard to get to. You have Dublin which is not on the calendar anymore this year but they’ve had Junior World Cups there two seasons in a in a row. How is that for the Czech Federation to deal with? Because those are quite expensive undertakings for any federation, but especially if you need to travel more than a thousand kilometers before you even reach it over here. Yeah. Yeah. As you said, it’s it’s hard to know the mainly to to find the resources to find the money to to do this stuff. The Czech Republic is quite quite eastern than some other western countries, you know, as Belgium, Netherlands, France, something like that. For us, it’s it’s normal to go uh 8 hours to to Belgium to to the races. For the federation, it’s not easy because they need to to find the the money for the road cycling or track cycling. And you know in these other disciplines uh you have um venues all around the world you know that we will have uh the world championships in a road cycling in Rwanda you know and the three days in the next three days will be European championship in in France and it’s it’s it’s not easy and I think to to deal with that it’s about a lot of compromises in the budget and sometimes you you know you can’t go for a whole Christmas uh tour of the cyclcross races because uh you don’t have a resources for that and that’s the reason why the our national team is going uh only for the world cups and not going for super prestige or some other series in Belgium. Do your athletes fly to the races or do they mostly drive with the bikes and the fans? Uh they they mostly they mostly drive but uh you know if you have a venues like a Dublin or Benadorm or Ponte Vadra something like that you you must fly there and it’s uh only like uh one or two cars with the bikes going there by the road. It’s very hard for the for the stuff you know for the mechanics because you are two days uh on the road and it’s it’s not easy that uh you pack the things going for two days by car then unpacked during the races and after the races going back home. It’s it’s very hard and it’s hard to find the people to to work in this industry. Must be people who want who loves the sport and want to want to do it. Shifting gears here a little bit. A few years ago, we interviewed Peter Daskque on the podcast. He was laying out his vision for a renewed Czech cyclross program. He said that he started building during COVID, figuring out how come that we are not performing at the same level as we were five or 10 years ago. Since then, the Czech Republic has won medals at every single World Championships. It’s three world championships in a row that they have won medals. In Tabour, I believe it was two medals, a silver with Zeanova and the bronze medal with Pazant. How do you define the current state of the Czech national program? Because it appears that there’s quite a lot of talent coming through in the last 5 years with the Patreas goes uh higher. the the mainly you could see on the medals that now the the Mikl BNA they’re very nice work and uh I uh I saw from my position a lot of positive wipes in the team you know and they working really good with the with the young talents you know as as you mentioned uh Bajant or Bukovska also the Zmanovites very young yeah I think they’re building the squad uh very Well, you have a problems everywhere, you know, but uh you must to deal with that. And they’re doing really really good, really nice work. And I think the the the main part in that is the cycle cross agency you know from Tabour and they working under the under the agency which is under the under the federation and yeah I think the whole whole concept uh it’s working could be better in some ways but uh I think it’s still uh still improving and still is doing uh quite good work. Let’s go over some of the riders that we have seen from the Czech Republic. Zema Nova, four-time national champion this season. She won the national title, but she really struggled with long co. I read a long interview with her on CT Sport around the national championships. How is she doing now? Yeah, now uh she she starts riding in a road cycling team. It’s called with cycling team. It’s a new uh formed uh formed team. The team uh it’s owned by uh by guy who’s uh who’s selling the sunglasses, you know, and it’s whole new brand. and yeah she’s she’s doing quite well but they have in the first season of the existence uh mainly races in the Czech Republic and around they were also in a Croatia also in the Austrian cup Polish cup and yeah I think for for her it’s uh it’s very nice to to gain the experience on the road also and she could put some endurance into the into the psycho cross and she will compete uh under this team also in the in the cycle crosses and I hope she will be good and she will be also in the international team. I think the Christina will also ride some gravel races. I think that for cycle riders the the gravel it’s a nice new opportunity to to race somewhere. Hopefully she’s able and it does sound like her health is steadily improving and a bigger road program will for sure help her. It helps get some endurance as you say, it helped get some speed and then in combination with some gravel events, European gravel is not that bad to do for cycllo cross riders. The American gravel, I’ve heard some mixed stories because the races are 300 km and it makes you quite slow because it requires such a big endurance base. Some really mixed stories. Some people say it’s worked wonders for them. Others have been a bit more critical about the effects that has had. But in Europe, less of a problem. The gravel races are more like road races. There’s a lot more road in it. Anyway, so one remaining question about Zamanova, she raced for Breon before and there was a story that after the silver medal at the World Championships in Tabour, there were few Belgian teams interested in her, but ultimately they didn’t really come forward with any good offers. What of that should we take for truth and what should we take for some speculation? She she has some offers after the tabore or some other races where she uh writes quite well. she picked to to stay in the Czech Republic. And I think this um it could be, you know, after next season she could have some more offers to to go abroad. You know, it’s I think it’s still possible. It’s always difficult for non-Dutch Belgian riders to find a home in one of the biggest teams because most of those teams are Belgium and they are not that interested. My understanding was also that Proximus was one of the teams that came forward, but that they offered her even worse conditions than Breil and that then she decided to just stay with a team that provided her with more support, which is completely understandable because she was at that point one of the top talents. So she should also be treated as one and not sign a very bad deal just because it’s with a Belgian team because the support from the Bridon team where she’s been is not bad at all and the federation is there to help out. So that makes sense. Another rider that has been doing well in the U23 category on the woman’s side in the absence of Zeanova is Simona Spzna. I must say I was a little bit surprised to see her finish in the top 10 of the world championships this year. She’s a mountain bike rider I discovered. Could you fill us in on a bit more about who she is? Yeah, the the Simona is doing the mainly the mountain bikes now. She is in a in a massive factory team. She’s a Spanish mountain bike team. And uh I think it’s it’s very good that she could uh be in this uh in this big team. you know, in the past she was in a in a Brunex mountain bike team and that’s Swiss, I think. And yeah, she’s uh she’s doing uh the mainly mountain bikes but sometimes also the the cycle cross for preparation uh for the mountain bike season and yeah she did uh very well in in Leavan for for her the mainly the uh the course was her was her for her because uh it was very slippery very muddy and for mountain bikers is quite quite good I think. Would you say that a rider like this that that is important for the federation that cyclacross kind of serves as a platform to develop riders and help them through the winter for their mountain bike campaign and road campaign or develop skills for those disciplines which are Olympic and potentially provide more funding for the federation. Yeah. Yeah. Absolutely. you could uh you could see on a lot of cyclists uh in the Czech Republic in the in the young age they doing also the cycle crosses because uh for preparation for road season or for mountain bike season it’s it’s super good uh but uh yeah the cycle cross needs to uh I think it’s not a check problem it’s a global problem you know that you need to needs to uh to to the people to stay in the cycle you know for elite categories as we see in a Belgium or in a Netherlands, but uh yeah, in the some other countries it’s a it’s a problem. But I think it’s not not only the the problem in the Czech Republic, but yeah, you could see it’s it’s possible that the talents like uh Bukovska Bant will will go to to the mountain bikes mainly. But uh yeah, you could see Zamanova, it’s mainly the cycle rider and it depends on the people, you know, who wants to do this or that. But yeah, the for for federation, the cycle is very important because uh they’re developing the talents and as we have a lot of a lot of races, it’s small small series also uh the kids uh have a lot of a lot of program during the autumn and the winter. You’re completely right. It’s not a check issue. It’s an issue everywhere outside of Belgium that the riders that are good in cross go to the road. And it’s partly because also mountain bike, by the way, but it’s because there’s more teams there that have more money. So, if you’re good in cross and mountain bike as a Czech rider, you’re most likely to be signed by a mountain bike team. We just covered what happened to Zeanova. We see that many riders that have good results even as a U23 don’t get signed by one of the bigger teams. And if you get offered more money or any money at all to race on the road or mountain bike, it makes sense that your priority is drawn there. And it is vital for Cyclacross if it wants to stay in life that more and more of these riders are able to stay within Cyclacross. And in that sense, it was optimistic that Stfano Vieti, the Italian junior world champion of Davour was signed by Alpasin and is being provided with a pathway, but we can only hope that that happens for more riders so they can stay within the sport. One rider who that might be a bit difficult for now is Bazant. He was very good as a first year junior. I’m still extremely high on his talent because early this season he was really good in Rudderford and Essa. In ESSA he started all the way at the back moved straight through the field take takes the win. He took the win in Ruddford. He finished on the podium of the world championships in tower as a first year junior but he’s been sick a lot this winter and therefore wasn’t able to perform at the best of his ability. How do you think that will impact his career? Because how important is it for a Czech rider your years as a junior maybe more than as a Belgian? Oh, I think it’s uh it’s similar, you know, in junior categories in the in these uh countries, you know. you know, it’s not easy to to have these issues in the middle of the the main uh cycler season, you know, but uh I think uh he could be back also next year and as you said uh in Essen he won like uh dominantly you know and it was also the the same in the Czech Republic at the start of the season but uh it’s the same with the with the Zmanu but the health issues you if you have a bad health, you know, you can’t compete on the highest level. He could perform really good in the next years. And uh he’s doing uh really well also on the on the mountain bikes. So I think we’ve had enough of the illnesses and the bit unfortunate stories because there was still success for the Czech Republic this Cyclacross season. there was a really strong generation of junior women. Before we maybe go into the specifics about Pikovska and Gova, how is it that the Czech Republic appears to have for quite a few years now really consistent talent on the woman’s side? No, it’s a it’s a good question, but uh I think uh sometimes it happened, you know, that you have a strong uh like five, six athletes that could compete together. I think they they are all friends, you know, and uh they’re going uh to the races and enjoy the the fun mainly and that’s a big part of the game because they could enjoy the time together, training together and also compete together on the races and for for young people as they are, it’s uh it’s very important. Yeah, you could see on the check cups also on the world cups uh their their ability to to have a good results. It’s very similar. You know the book of sky it’s the the best one looks looks best one but uh the other girls are not so behind. No, Bukovski is a special special talent and if you look at this season the performances she’s been able to deliver second place at the European Championships just lost the title to Ana Gman. Then Dublin World Cup was maybe not super special but then at Christmas we saw a number of times in Hol she didn’t have a good start but fought her way to the front take second place. The next day in Zonhova, her start was even more unfortunate. It was a bit of an incident which held her up. But then after the second lap, she completely moved forward, made a push, finished third. And that was kind of the story of the season where you saw that the start was not that good. Then she made a push to the front and managed to come back. And in Hog, that was even with a crash at the end of the first lap and the crash at the start of the first lap. knee was wounded, but she comes home to take the win at the World Championships. The start was probably the best of the season. Wasn’t amazing, but she was in the top 10. Push forward. You get the story by now. It’s a rider who didn’t have great starts, but has great power. Her skill level is quite solid as well and has been in play as a first year and finished second at the World Championships. Was a really good season for her. Yeah. Yeah. as you said uh I think uh she has some problems with the stars you know and she needs to improve that but I think it’s it’s normal in the junior category to to have some good and also the the bad sides you know you need to to improve all these things to be like a complex complex athlete and yeah it’s I think it’s quite normal how do you reflect upon her season with silver medal at the World Championships. Um third place in the World Cup, one World Cup win. The for the Czech psychos it was uh really important you know because as a small sport as a psychos uh is in the compared to to others or other disciplines you need to to to gain the the medals and the good results. uh you know in the federation there you have a better better position and I think in the future there could be psych course on the Olympic games you will have a better position in the whole check sport you know if you have a medals I think that we are very happy from the from the book of ska and some other juniors like goa or walder bajant also they’re doing quite well and I think for it’s the the best uh best thing for the for the chick cycling. Of course, at the World Championships, Pakovska was very close to the world title. She celebrated one lap too early. I mean, we covered it back then and what we said then I discussed this with Isan before. It still stands for us. The amount of reactions that that caused for a super young girl was definitely out of proportions. How how was she after the race? How has it affected her that much? The number of reactions that she’s gotten from in and outside the Czech Republic. She wasn’t affected by that, you know, because uh sometimes this could happen to we could see the case of Adam Chupalik, you know, that was a it was a worseer, I think, than this, but uh Bar was uh really happy with the bronze medal. uh some people in the Czech Republic uh have a lot of uh comments to to the national team to the federation you know that uh we should uh tell her you know but you know that uh you can’t tell to to the riders um anything during the race because there’s a 15 or 20,000 spectators and they are in some like a tunnel vision you know you know it could happen it could happen to the to the best rider there is on the world and she’s 16, you know. It’s it was like aicoric race for her because she pointing to that race because uh it’s it was a goal of the season and if if you went in the hoger high week before the world championship, you you have in head that you are one of the biggest favorites of the race. Obviously, it’s always unfortunate when when things like that happen, right? But you’re right, there’s many spectators there. It’s hard to communicate. Ultimately, the rider themselves is also responsible of keeping track of the lap count and it is easy to be confused, especially with so many different things going on. And the the announcer was announcing in several different languages. And in French he was saying dire tour but then sometimes he said le tour which means the two final laps. But if you’re racing and you only hear final lap then things can get confusing quite quickly especially with so many fans at the start finish line with bells. You don’t really know when it’s the finish bell or the spectator bell or whatever. So there’s a lot of different things going in there. You also mentioned Grova also a top 10 finisher. She finished eighth also a first year. So that leaves two medal contenders for next year when the world championships will be held in holst European championships will be in Belgium in middle Kaka. Exciting times perhaps my final question is um regarding the relay. We’ve seen Czech Republic race the relay at the world championships number of time. What’s the role of the relay in such a world championships weekend for the Czech Republic? Yeah, I think for us the the relay it’s much more than for the Belgiums on the or the the Netherlands, you know, because they are really focused uh on the on the races uh itself in the Saturday and the Sunday. But for uh for check riders, it’s uh good that you have some race tempo. You know, you could uh you could race one one more day and you could uh some for some people could be a good preparation for the for the main races. And for us it’s important you know because uh we could um have some good achievements there and also as I said more good results it’s more more points in the federation you know like for in the in the battle with other other disciplines and yeah it’s uh really important and I think in Leavan you could uh you could see that the very young relay could compete with countries like uh Belgium, France and um yeah it was on a very high level I think. Then the final question we ask all of our guests to list a song which for them represent Cyclacross to create a playlist. What is the sound of cyclross for you? Oh, I think uh the for me it’s some of the techno songs, you know, from the from the Belgium races, you know. I think the some of the average rock songs, you know, it’s very good that I could pick one of them and send you uh later. Perfect. We will add it to the playlist and for our listeners, they can find it in the description. We will also link Philip’s Instagram page there so you can see some check cycling pictures on there if you are interested as well. Thank you so much for your time. Thank you so much. Thank you. That will conclude this episode of the Cyclacross Social podcast. Thanks everyone so much for listening. We will be bringing a number of interviews over the summer as we start building towards the cyclross season and we will of course resume our road racing coverage as well. Thanks for listening and see you guys soon. Goodbye.