Belgian 'cross team takes mid-season break in Spain
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Sunweb-Napoleon Games' star riders Klaas Vantornout and Kevin Pauwels enjoy some training time in Spain(Image credit: Photopress.be)
Belgium's 'cross champion Klaas Vantornout enjoys a moment of downtime at the Sunweb-Napoleon Games training camp in Calpe, Spain(Image credit: Photopress.be)
Belgian 'cross champion Klaas Vantornout is easy to pick out amongst his Sunweb-Napoleon Games teammates(Image credit: Photopress.be)
Sunweb-Napoleon Games riders are in Calpe, Spain for 10 days as part of a mid-season training camp.(Image credit: Photopress.be)
Dominique Cornu, left, will trade in his Topsport Vlaanderen kit for that of Sunweb-Napoleon Games on January 1.(Image credit: Photopress.be)
Current and future members of Sunweb-Napoleon Games put in the miles at a training camp in Calpe, Spain(Image credit: Photopress.be)
With a brief lull on the cyclo-cross calendar, Sunweb-Napoleon Games headed to Calpe, Spain for a 10-day training camp(Image credit: Photopress.be)
Sunweb-Napoleon Games team members are logging plenty of road miles at their Calpe, Spain training camp(Image credit: Photopress.be)
Dieter and Michael Vanthourenhout will don Sunweb-Napoleon Games kit on January 1 when they officially join the team, but for now they're in the kit of current team BKCP-Powerplus(Image credit: Photopress.be)
Kevin Pauwels (Sunweb-Napoleon Games) enjoys sunshine and balmier weather in Calpe, Spain as his team conducts a mid-season training camp(Image credit: Photopress.be)
Kevin Pauwels puts in some time on the 'cross bike with his Sunweb-Napoleon Games teammates at a mid-season training camp in Spain(Image credit: Photopress.be)
Belgian 'cross champion Klaas Vantornout welcomed the break from competition as his team trains in Spain for 10 days(Image credit: Photopress.be)
Yorben Van Tichelt hams it up during a cyclo-cross session at the Sunweb-Napoleon Games camp in Calpe, Spain(Image credit: Photopress.be)
Belgian 'cross champion Klaas Vantornout leads his Sunweb-Napoleon Games teammates on a 'cross workout at the team's training camp in Calpe, Spain(Image credit: Photopress.be)
The Sunweb-Napoleon Games 'cross team travelled to Calpe, Spain for a mid-season camp encompassing both road and 'cross workouts.(Image credit: Photopress.be)
Klaas Vantornout, resplendent in his Belgian champion's kit, leads his teammates through a 'cross workout in Calpe, Spain(Image credit: Photopress.be)
Time to clean up after a 'cross session at the Sunweb-Napoleon Games training camp(Image credit: Photopress.be)
Kevin Pauwels in action during the Sunweb-Napoleon Games training camp in Spain(Image credit: Photopress.be)
Team manager Mario De Clercq gives instructions to current and future Sunweb-Napoleon Games team members at the squad's mid-season camp in Calpe, Spain(Image credit: Photopress.be)
Dieter Vanthourenhout, currently of BKCP-Powerplus, will move to the Sunweb-Napoleon Games on January 1.(Image credit: Photopress.be)
Jim Aernouts, left, and Dieter Vanthourenhout get in come off-road training at the Sunweb-Napoleon Games camp in Calpe, Spain.(Image credit: Photopress.be)
Jim Aernouts, Klaas Vantornout and Angelo De Clercq (L-R) in the midst of a cyclo-cross session at the Sunweb-Napeleon Games training camp(Image credit: Photopress.be)
Belgian 'cross champion Klaas Vantornout conducts an interview while at his team's training camp in Calpe, Spain(Image credit: Photopress.be)
With no cyclo-cross races in Belgium or the Netherlands this coming weekend, the stars of the European cyclo-cross circuit have opted to head south to warmer climes for training camps commencing earlier this week and running through the latter portion of next week. While the Telenet-Fidea squad opted for the Mediterranean island of Mallorca, rival team Sunweb-Napoleon Games chose the coastal city of Calpe, Spain as their destination for a mid-season break.
"This is mostly a program of long-distance training on the road, but I will also include a few sessions in the woods," said Subweb-Napoleon Games team manager Mario De Clercq.
"This break comes just in time for many of our riders. Klaas Vantornout was looking forward to it, he even left a day earlier for Calpe. For Kevin Pauwels it is good that he can go someplace away from the stress. Gianni Vermeersch has been missing his explosiveness in recent 'cross races while Jim Aernouts still needs to build his base after his broken leg."
In addition to current team members, three of the squad's new signees for 2014 are also in attendance at the camp: Michael and Dieter Vanthourenhout plus Dominique Cornu.
The team will spend 10 days in Calpe, Spain and return home to Belgium next Thursday. Sunweb-Napoleon Games riders return to racing on Saturday, December 7, at the C1-rated Scheldecross race in Antwerp, Belgium.
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Based in the southeastern United States, Peter produces race coverage for all disciplines, edits news and writes features. The New Jersey native has 30 years of road racing and cyclo-cross experience, starting in the early 1980s as a Junior in the days of toe clips and leather hairnets. Over the years he's had the good fortune to race throughout the United States and has competed in national championships for both road and 'cross in the Junior and Masters categories. The passion for cycling started young, as before he switched to the road Peter's mission in life was catching big air on his BMX bike.
