While professional road teams are blowing the dust off their bikes and drowsily congregating for early-season training camps, the international cyclo-cross circuit is reaching its boiling point. With less than two weeks until the UCI world championships in Hooglede-Gits, Belgium, the pecking order in European ‘cross is in its final days of firming up, and North America’s top riders have taken different approaches to preparing for the final push.

Over the past several years the "Christmas ‘Cross" series from late December through early January has become something of a "must" race for all North American cyclo-cross racers hoping to get up to speed in time for world’s. Eight races in 12 days pack a month’s worth of European racing into less than two weeks, usually resulting in one of two outcomes: extreme fitness or illness.

Such was the case this year for North America’s top two elite men. Newly crowned U.S. national champion Ryan Trebon (Kona) struggled with illness during the Christmas series while three-time former U.S. champ Jonathan Page (Morgan Blue) clawed his way back into the upper echelon of the European scene after an injury destroyed his early season.

For Page, the intense dose of racing jump-started his fitness and racing form after a fall spent healing from major shoulder surgery. With a paucity of UCI points Page was forced to start every race well back in the field, further stimulating his already-aggressive racing style. And with a second place to Bart Wellens (Fidea) at the January 29 Azencross in Middelkerke, Belgium, Page confirmed that he was within striking distance of achieving the same form he enjoyed at the end of the 2005-06 season.

"It was not bad," said Page of his first races back from surgery. "The Christmas series was really good for me, then I had a week or so to come back down, and now I’m getting back into it. I found that during the Christmas series I’d have some good days and some not so good days, but I think the break in racing will smooth that out and give me more consistency."

Page finished 15th at the January 14 World Cup in France and plans to race the 11th World Cup on January 21 in Hoogerheide, Holland, before the world’s January 28.

The unusually warm and wet winter in the European lowlands has produced an exceptional number of muddy races, and Page says his time off the bike has made it tougher for him to flourish in the conditions he used to enjoy so much.

"I’m still lacking a bit of the raw power I’d accumulated from racing over here," said Page of his struggles in the mud this year. "But once I get to start closer to the front I don’t think that will be as big a deal. Bad starts have been a bigger problem than anything else and with the new UCI points coming out [after Nommay] I’ll be in better position."

Trebon’s Christmas series was very nearly a complete wash as he dealt with illness from the day he arrived in Belgium until the day he decided to head back to California for his world’s preparation. It meant a 12-hour flight each way, and adjusting to 80-degree training rides after racing in 40-degree rainstorms, but Trebon judged it his best choice.

"Training’s been really good, I’ve been training a lot," said Trebon from his home in Ventura, California. "I needed to get healthy more than anything else and I didn’t see how that was going to happen if I stayed in Europe. It’s always a gamble to do that much travel and not to race, but I think that’s what the races the weekend before world’s will be good for. I’m not worried about it."

On the elite women’s side, only the Belgium-based Christine Vardaros (Les Pruneaux D'Agen) has raced a full schedule of European ‘cross. Vardaros was joined by fellow American elites Deidre Winfield (Velo Bella) and Rhonda Mazza (S&M-Vanilla) at the Nommay World Cup with the trio finishing together at the tail end of the top 20. U.S. champion Katie Compton (Spike) is scheduled to racer her first-ever European ‘cross race at Hoogerheide.