Lars van der Haar, the reigning European cyclocross champion, likes to plan out his best lines for races and his travel schedule. He started his 11th elite season in September, his first few weeks as a father. So this year, his new priority is to balance travel, competitions, and family with a set schedule.

He traveled to the U.S. as planned to begin his UCI Cyclocross World Cup campaign at the headquarters of his team, Baloise Trek Lions, in Wisconsin. However, for the first time in several years, three World Cups were to be held in the U.S. and the Iowa event was off the schedule, forcing Van der Haar to make the tough decision to forgo the World Cup and the C1 race in Fayetteville and return home early.

"I had just become a father and was already a little tired in the States. And I knew that coming home from Chicago [after the race in Waterloo] would be less jet-lagged than coming home from Fayetteville. And I didn't have to go straight to Tabor, and I had the European Championships in two weeks, so I thought it would be a little smarter to come home early, and the team gave me that opportunity," van der Haar explained to Cycling News. 5]

"So, we won at Tabor and the season I decided to try to get better at the end of the season."

"I was very happy with my performance," van der Haar said.

The Dutch champion led from the holeshot to the finish to win the C1 contest held Friday on the grounds of Trek Bicycles headquarters in Waterloo, Wisconsin. During this time, he fended off challenges from competitors from Belgium, Switzerland, France, and the United States, who will compete in the opening round of the World Cup on Sunday.

"I won't be playing next week (Fayetteville World Cup). I'm going home on Monday and I didn't want to leave my wife alone any more," van der Haar told Cycling News. Jet lag from Fayetteville is much harder than jet lag from Chicago."

Travel from northwest Arkansas to the Netherlands usually involves a plane change in Atlanta or Chicago. In addition, according to team representatives, the small jets departing from the Fayetteville airport are not large enough to transport all the equipment, so the bikes and equipment are moved by truck to larger airports and then across the Atlantic Ocean. Direct flights from major hub airports like Chicago, which is two hours from Waterloo, Wisconsin, eliminate many headaches.

Van der Haar said he hopes to ease the burden of the return trip to Europe by holding the triple-header of World Cup races in the U.S. and the finale in Waterloo.

"It could be three races, starting in Fayetteville, then Iowa, then Waterloo. Last year it was really sketchy, Waterloo, Fayetteville, and Iowa. It would be better to have a triangle and have the flying end in Waterloo," van der Haar suggested.

"There would be less travel and more training. So if you make a little calendar for the racers, it makes it a little easier. It's always a battle to get enough training or enough rest."

"Yeah, no, I'll take rest. But I'm not one of those guys who thinks it's a good idea to run 40 races, some guys would be better off doing 40, but I personally would rather do 35. So I know I have to find periods of rest during the season.

He also stated that he was unhappy that just a few weeks ago the UCI changed the World Cup schedule, changing two events to Belgium and adding an event in Dublin.

"The World Cup [organization] just announced a new race two weeks ago, and I was just about to book my plane ticket to England, and suddenly everything changed," Van der Haar said of the planned stopover in London for the World Cup that did not happen. Van der Haar said of his planned stopover in London for the World Cup that did not materialize. And now, all of a sudden, I have to go to Dublin and completely change my schedule."

Last season van der Haar won the overall in the Superprestige series. In two other series he was the top Dutch rider in the elite men's race, fourth overall in the X2O Badkamers Trophee and fifth overall in the UCI World Cup. This year, he will not focus on the World Cup title or any other overall class and will watch the progress of the season after returning home.

"I'm aiming for a win in the World Cup, but not in GC," he said. But you never know."