Top of the MollembergYesterday I took the plunge directly into racing with the Grote Prijs Affligem. All week I have been feeling a bit tired and the last few days have been struggling a bit with the sudden heat and some allegeries related to the large amount of pollen in the air in these parts.
I started the race feeling alright, nothing special and really not expecting much with my goal of the day to finish the 156 km race. This race is part of the national calender and included all the usual Continental squads from Belgium, Ireland, Bulgaria, France. The team of the day ended up being Unibet.com winning the race, the team competition and the king of the mountains. From the start I felt really at home in the 189 man peleton and within 5 km I found myself in the first break of the day. I had never intended to try to get in any breaks and especially not so early in the race, but I know that I needed to stay at the front for the first 15 km due to the high speeds and the cobbled section with a hill early on. As a result I rolled with some accelerations and before I knew it we had gap. It as far to early to try to go with 10 guys so after a few minutes and getting on the race radio (I could hear the guy on the moto announcing my number) I let up and dropped back the peleton. I felt really good on the cobbles which was fortunate as there were 6 sectors total on the day and the hills felt quite good as well. As with last year the speed is what got me, especially when we started hitting 60km/hr in single file on the open big roads at times. And as with last year I could hang in anymor eafter about 115 km on the local circuits. I got dropped at exactly the same place as last year which is not so odd being my first race of the year racing with guys who have raced since at least March, as well as racing in 27 degrees, riding a new bike etc. I feel strong and I know I have a bigger base to build on than last year. I am sure the results will start coming in the next few weeks once I have settled in to the racing agian.
My next race could be tomorow, I will make that call this evening. Otherwise I will race Kortenake-Stok on Thursday. This weekend the only races are provincial championships and not being Blegian means I get the weekend off, unless I want to do a VWF race which could happen. 
Peleton coming off the cobbles
After a good days work
This way to Painsville
1 comment:
Up the Mollemberg, nice job Per. Looks like a pasty Canuck who spent too much time on his trainer is racing against some very bronzed Euros. Keep it up dude. We are cheering for you on the cold side of the Atlantic.
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