Team rider Finley Aspholm rode the Koppenbergcross Elite women’s race as part of EuroCross Academy. She writes about the experience:
Every muscle in my body shakes with nerves, as I anticipate the blow of the whistle. The high pitched sound sends all of us off, surprisingly, in one of the safest starts I have experienced. It is full gas all the way up to the top of the Koppenberg. I can hear loud thuds in the distance, from fans pounding their fists onto the barriers that outline the very top of the legendary climb. Riders yell at each other left and right as they rub wheels and arms, determined to stay clipped into their pedals. I try to weave my way around others, to be in a good position at the first turn onto the field.