Home > 2014 Canadian Cyclocross Championships

2013 Canadian U23 champ Michael van den Ham ready for elite race at Winnipeg cyclocross nationals

October 18, 2014
Share on SMS

Current Canadian men’s under-23 and new Alberta provincial cyclocross champion, Michael van den Ham is moving up to the elite category this season after two years of contesting the worlds espoirs category. He has also switched to a new team in 2014 while continuing to study at King’s University College in Edmonton. Canadian Cycling Magazine spoke with van den Ham as he prepares to head back to his home province for the Canadian national championships at The Forks in Winnipeg on Oct. 25.

On stepping up to elite Honestly, it’s a change I’m excited about. Anything can happen on race day, and I certainly faced some strong competition while winning last year’s under-23 title, but I’m relishing the opportunity to be coming into this nationals as a dark horse, rather than a favourite. Nobody, including myself, really has that good of an idea where my form is at. I’m not expecting a great result, but hoping for one. It’s a bit of a different dynamic because, if I do get a result, it’s going to come as real thrill.

It was tough going into last year with the goal of winning because if I came away with anything less than that, even if I had a great race, it was going to be a bit of a disappointment. For this year, I definitely don’t want to rule out the chance of winning, but I’m more concerned with how well I race. If I can come in, ride smart, ride strong, stay on my bike, and give my fellow Manitobans something to cheer about, than I’ll be happy with that.

What has the transfer from Cycle-Smart to Red Truck-Trek been like? I had the opportunity to move on from the Cycle-Smart team to Trek Red Truck this year and, with the full blessing of my Cycle-Smart coaches, decided to take it. I’m still very much associated with Cycle-Smart. Adam Myerson [Cycle-Smart owner] and my coach, Shaun Adamson [Cycle-Smart employee] have been a huge help to me this season, as with seasons past; I simply wouldn’t be here without them.

That said, I’m very excited to be involved with Trek Red Truck’s first real foray into supported cyclocrossers. Steve Engh was extremely flexible with Craig [Richey, new B.C. champion] and me. We’ve been able to both take advantage of all the existing relationships that Trek Red Truck has with their many great sponsors and fill in some of the gaps with our personal sponsors with cyclocross specific stuff. You’ll notice that Craig and I are both riding Clement tubulars for the season and that I’ve kept Mavic footwear and Revolution Wheelworks on board.

Last year you rode your beloved, hand-built Van Dessel Aloominator and this year switched to the Trek Boone. What are the differences? It’s tough to compare those two bikes. I went from the Aloominator, a hand-built aluminum bike with cantilevers, which I loved, to the Boone, a high-tech carbon bike with hydraulic discs, which I also love. The biggest change is really going to discs; it took a little bit to get used to the stopping power, but now that I have them, I think it would be pretty tough to ever go back.

What have been 2014’s highlights and lowlights? After a big start with CrossVegas and the Boulder UCI races, my season has been significantly more low-key than last year. I’ve been sticking around Alberta, doing the local series here, and plugging away at my degree. Interestingly, the highlight and the lowlight of the season probably came within four days of each other: the lowlight being CrossVegas and the highlight the U.S. Open of Cyclocross. CrossVegas was just an off day on the bike and, after a tough race, I lowered my expectation for the following weekend in Boulder. Much to my surprise, I rode what was probably one the best races of my career to finish eighth that Saturday in the U.S. Open of Cyclocross. I’m looking forward to travelling to Jingle Cross, CXLA and the Deschutes Brewery Cup later this year.

What conditions are you hoping for at The Forks? I seem to ride best in the either heavy or slippery conditions—must be something about hating turbo trainers just enough to ride outdoors in the snow all winter long—so while I don’t have much preference as to weather it’s snow or mud, I’m hoping it’s something more than just dry.