After a successful race campaign in Spain, where Luke could win two races and finished two races on the podium, it was time to race at the iconic Namur UCI World Cup. Namur was also the first appearance for Scope on the stage of the UCI Cyclocross World Cup Series.
Between team busses and mechanic trucks of other teams, the family project Luke Verburg found it’s place on the top of the hill at the Citadelle de Namur.
Luke is racing in whole Europe, but don’t need to be concerned to miss his family. Marcel Verburg, his father and mechanic is taking care of Luke’s bikes. His mother Margriet Verburg is his first person, when it comes to personal support and comfort. Both parents are always with their son and support him as best as they can.
“I always want the best for Luke in his race. He is probably less nervous before and in a race as that I am. His face expression and body language can tell me exactly how he feels in the race.”
– Margriet Verburg
Based on the technologies of our Race Series, we custom built wheelsets for the use of Cyclocross Racing. This sets were made with a tubular rim bed.
Finished with our custom decals, Luke was running a light and stiff option glued with Challenge tubular tires.
The U23 race with 55 competitors was set off at 12:00 am at the Citadelle. Namur, a course with a steep start, followed by many quick turns and a first descent into the crowd. Luke was positioned well and had contact to the kopgroep with Pim Ronhaar, Niels Vandeputte and the other top racers.
Cross running roots, the famous and very long off camber section and the high speed of the leading group put a distance between Luke and a possible podium, but with his attitude and will, he could stay in the first quarter of the race.
Until he crashed. Luke hit the deck very hard and bruised his knees. While getting back on his bike, Luke saw his ambitions passing him and left him behind in the pack. Due to his pain in both knees, he could not finish the race. This time, Namur was the winner, but Luke will be back next year to accept the challenge and show his best.
“After every race you need to evaluate the good and bad things from the race. Crashing is part of this sport, but you have to learn from your mistakes. If you have done that, you move on and work towards the next race or a bigger goal. No excuse.”
– Marcel Verburg