Costa

Cameron Beard loved everything about his first cyclocross racing experience in Europe — professional-level courses, the world-class competition, the historic venues.

But nothing held a candle to the energy and the craziness of competing in front of 50,000 cyclocross fanatics.

“Here, you show up to a race and there’s maybe 100 people watching, and that’s a good race,” says Beard, a 16-year-old sophomore at Bend’s Summit High, who spent 13 days racing in Belgium last month. “But over there, we did a race in Koksijde (a town of about 21,000 located on the south shore North Sea) on a pretty famous circuit that had 50,000 to 60,000 people there.

“You feed off that,” Beard adds. “You get pretty pumped on the start line, with everyone going crazy and flags flying everywhere. It’s a pretty cool feeling.”

Beard and Summit classmate Lance Haidet are headed back across the pond this week as part of USA Cycling’s EuroCrossCamp, a developmental program for the nation’s top junior, under-23 cyclocross and young elite riders. The two Bend racers are among nine cyclists taking part in this year’s December camp, an invite-only program that is partially funded by USA Cycling. They expect to compete in four events over two weeks in Europe, including two prestigious UCI World Cup races.

“Pretty much the whole point of going over there is to get the experience of racing the fastest guys in the world,” says Haidet, 16, who will be participating in his third EuroCrossCamp. “You hear all the stuff about how tough everything is, but you go over there and it’s just crazy. Guys are so fast and the courses are way gnarlier than they look on TV. It’s totally eye-opening.”

Now in its 12th season, EuroCrossCamp is the brainchild of former USA team cyclocross racer Geoff Proctor. Looking to bridge the gap between U.S. cross nationals in December — they have since been moved to early January — and the world championships in late January, Proctor and USA Cycling began inviting some of the top junior cyclocross racers in the country to train and compete in and around Belgium for two weeks over the Christmas holiday.

EuroCrossCamp’s alumni list boasts some of the top riders in the country: Ryan Trebon and Barry Wicks — both of Bend — as well as Jeremy Powers, Troy Wells and Danny Summerhill.

The experience has proved successful enough that this year the camp expanded to include three sessions. Both Beard and Haidet have already raced in Europe this year as part of the extended program. Haidet also spent last Christmas in Europe as part of the 2013-14 EuroCrossCamp.

“Coming back (to Bend), he was a lot more organized and just a lot more focused,” says Sean Haidet, Lance’s dad. “Whether it was warming up on the trainer or previewing the course, his whole approach was just a lot more focused and serious.

“He came back with sharper elbows, literally,” adds Sean Haidet, who is also an accomplished cross racer. “Over there, you don’t let people get by you and you use any means possible. It’s a different level.”

“We’re getting faster and faster,” adds Beard, who with Haidet — once they return from Europe — will head almost immediately to Austin, Texas, for the 2015 USA Cycling Cyclocross Nationals, which will run Jan. 7-11.

“Before, if an American finished in the top 20 in the world championships, that would be huge, it’d be insane,” Beard continues. “Now we’ve got kids in the top 12. … It feels like we’re raising the bar over here. Kids are coming back, learning certain skills, and we’re seeing that pay off.”

—Reporter: 541-383-0305; beastes@bendbulletin.com.