The Yuletide festivities of December mean one thing for cyclo-cross enthusiasts and racers - Kerstperiode - a Dutch/Flemish term used to describe the cluster of 'cross races that take place between Christmas and New Year's Day. Most of the races are in Belgium and that is where 14 young US athletes will train and race for two weeks with the EuroCrossAcademy.
This group was exclusively for 17-18 year olds, something the ECA and founder Geoff Proctor have done for more than 20 years; the 15-16 block for ECA took place in November. Among the pinnacles of racing in Europe was a chance to ride the sand of Belgium. And not just any sand, but the celebrated sand of Antwerp, where Mathieu van der Poel excelled eight times, and the "terrifying" deep sand at Zolder.
On a day after the first race of the block in Belgium, at Antwerp, the teenagers took part in a recon ride in Hofstade, a course used for X2O Trophee series, with French Technical Coach and former junior and U23 cyclo-cross world champion Arnaud Jouffroy. The junior men then competed in back-to-back races at Plage Cross and Heusden-Zolder while the junior women raced at Zolder only.
Hadley Molnar, a 17-year-old from Cary, North Carolina, just outside Raleigh, won three women's junior 'cross races this season, including both days at Charm City Cross in Maryland. In her first race overseas, she finished 11th at Cyclocross Antwerp, with the world's best elite racers taking the same course in the afternoon for the fifth round of the World Cup series.
In the men's junior race at Antwerp, 16-year-old Jacob Hines of Baltimore, Maryland finished 19th. Then two days later at Plage Cross in Hofstade, Belgium, part of the X2O Trofee series for junior men, Hines was the top US rider in sixth place. He had participated in the ECA European block of racing last year with a group of 15-16-year olds, so was one of the 'veterans'.
The primary goals for young athletes with ECA are to experience different cultures, gain cyclo-cross skills and develop personally, and the racing was actually a way to incorporate all these learnings on legendary courses. These two US riders came into the first week of the trip with general goals - Molnar wanted to build race confidence and Hines wanted to develop mental toughness to earn a top 10.
The duo described for Cyclingnews in the latest ECA journal how they reached these goals. See the full roster below.
Hadley Molnar - Learning to race bikes and to 'race'
The tactics and skills I am learning while racing with ECA here in Belgium are very valuable, but I am also learning a lot of valuable things about myself. I tend to doubt myself a lot. But with these races, there's no time to have doubt. Every moment when you think about anything other than the next turn or the next feature is a moment gone, and you have already lost.
I rode through the hole shot at the back of 40-plus riders [at Heusden-Zolder]. I didn’t think I could make it in that big of a field. I got to the tricky turn of course. I ran up the first few laps because I wasn’t sure if I would be able to ride it.
When you think you can’t do it, you can’t.
The sandy downhills were absolutely terrifying. I didn't know if I would make it down to them. I was doubting myself and my capabilities.
What was I holding back for? Fear? No. This is cyclo-cross. This is where I want to be. I remember watching this exact race, Zolder, on the TV as I rode on my trainer pretending I was racing along with the pros. And now I am here, actually on the course. This is more than just a race. The value of each pedal stroke is more than just to make it to the finish.
Lap three I came up to the same tricky turn that I had run before. I am going to ride this, I can ride this, you can race this. “Look up, look up” Arnaud [Jouffroy, our ECA Technical Coach] said.
I made it. And I made it again on the fourth lap. What makes this time so different than the other laps? As I approached this feature, I thought in my head that I can do it. I never knew how much of a difference that makes until this moment.
I have already made a lot of mistakes. I used to think that was embarrassing or something to be ashamed of, but I understand now that when you try something new or different, mistakes are how you learn. This may be repeated a lot, but I didn’t realize until I got here that failing is what drives you to learn. And how losing can drive you to win.
I am trying to embrace the drive. The drive to learn and the drive to win. If I don’t believe I can make it, then I can’t. I remember what was said to me while I was warming up for our first race at Antwerp, “Take every opportunity, this is the moment.” This is the moment, this is the time and I am going to take aim.
It is true when they say that it doesn’t matter if everyone else believes in you, if you don’t believe in yourself then it really isn’t possible to achieve anything. But this idea goes both ways. If you believe that you can do it, you have a real shot.
I am learning here both how to race bikes and how to really 'race'.
Jacob Hines - Mental toughness through mistakes
Racing cyclo-cross at the highest level in Europe has a way of magnifying every mistake. The races are short, intense and relentless. One little mistake can shuffle you back multiple positions and if you let it happen, that moment can instill a negative thought. The difference is whether you let them take over.
It’s effortless to take the easy way out and let the negatives drag you down. But I’ve learned that toughness isn’t about ignoring mistakes but rather refusing to let them define your whole race.
I came to this ECA trip with two European racing blocks under my belt already, the 2024 ECA 15/16 block and a November World Cup trip with USA Cycling. So, I had some understanding of European culture and the European way of racing.
Prior to this block, ECA Director Geoff Proctor asked all athletes to set goals for the block. My two major goals were, a top 10 finish in a European series race and to learn more about the European approach to racing.
The first race of our ECA block was in Antwerp. I was first call-up with big goals. It was a lower tier junior race at the Antwerp World Cup, so it felt that with a slightly less-competitive field compared to the World Cups earlier in the year, I could fight for a top 10 position. I had a good first lap but crashed in the first sand sector on lap two, immediately passed by five riders. I found my head filled with negative thoughts that probably stopped me from immediately making those spots back up.
Rather continuing to make more mistakes and lose more positions. This cost me the result I was looking for and I ended up finishing 19th. I wasn’t quite satisfied, but neither entirely disappointed. After the race, I had to reset and remind myself of the level of racing here.
After a rest day, we drove to the X20 Trofee Hofstade. We reconned the course with our French Technical Coach, Arnaud Jouffroy. I came into this race with a new mindset. I already had one more race under the belt and was ready to apply what I learned.
We started and I found myself racing in the top 10 after the first lap, eventually working my way up to fighting for fifth place. I then settled into a group of three fighting for sixth.
As we approached the final two laps, I heard Geoff [Proctor] yelling from the pit, “Win your group,” something he also told me before the start. This really stuck with me.
At the start of the final lap, I caught myself almost settling for eighth, but I stayed strong and fought it out to the end. I ended up riding one of the final sand sectors smoothly and applied pressure out of it, which let me slightly gap my group and hold it to the end.
I crossed the finish completely empty but incredibly proud. Finishing sixth at Hofstade meant a lot to me, not just because of the result, but because of the mental resilience it took to earn it. More than anything, that race reinforced what mental toughness truly means to me, staying present, refusing to settle, and continuing to fight until the very end.
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EuroCrossAcademy 17-18 December Euro Block 2025 roster
- Hadley Molnar — Cary, North Carolina (Blue Ridge Cross)
- Anna Olesen — Appleton, Wisconsin (Dirt Camp Racing)
- Annabelle Norris — Lebanon, New Hampshire (Bike Reg / Share Coffee)
- Stella Lehman — Littleton, Colorado (Donovan Racing Development)
- Dylan Reid — Golden, Colorado (Donovan Racing Development)
- Jack Billowitz — Bend, Oregon (Donovan Racing Development)
- Rylan Zacharek — Sheboygan, Wisconsin (Linear Sport Racing Team)
- Roman Lin — Concord, Massachusetts (New England Devo p/b Cadence Health)
- Kira Mullins — Littleton, Colorado (Bear National Team)
- Graden Daume — Missoula, Montana (Team Stampede)
- Tessa Beebe — Boise, Idaho (BYRDS Cycling)
- Noah Scholnick — Williamsport, Pennsylvania (FinKraft Junior Cycling Team)
- Jacob Hines — Baltimore, Maryland (FinKraft Junior Cycling Team)
- Matthew Crabbe — Buford, Georgia (FinKraft Junior Cycling Team)
- Note: four additional riders will be added for races from December 30-January 4
