Bergen

View from the top of Ulriken

I am currently in Bergen Norway taking a few days off the bike and away from the cycling crazed land of Belgium. Iarrived yesterday afternoon and am staying with my sister who is studying medicine here. We have been on a couple of solid outings and the weather has been incredible. Check out the Flickr photoset link below to experience what I personally believe to be Norway's most beauiful city. Don't worry I will share my Sunday race experiences shortly. It was a very interesting day which requires some time to document well so be patient. In the meantime...

Bergen Flickr Photoset

Londerzeel

I am getting really far behind with the blogging, but like I said last time it is mainly due to the loss of my wireless conection at the house and also because I have been rather busy the last few days.
On the weekend I raced both days. Saturday we drove to the race in the pouring rain and hoped for the skies to clear up the entire way to Londerzeel. Once we arrived the weather did improve and I was pumped to race again after four whole days without competition. I started out really well position wise, going in the first serious move of the day. I soon discovered that I didn't have the best legs though as I dangled 50m off the split without being able to close the gap on the group of 5 that stayed away the entire day. As the race wore on rain came and went making the tight urban section of the course very dangerous with the "zebra paths" turning into slide strips. With the tight corners the peleton was blown to pieces every time through the section and I eventually found myself in a small group away, but only afer about 30 riders worth of the same type of groups had rolled away. In the end I narrowly missed the top spot in our group sprint after I launched a few hundred meters out and I had to settle for 34th.

Roundup

It has been a while since my last post mainly due to the fact that the random wireless signal from one of the neighbours at the house has dissappeared, hopefully temporarily.
After the infection diagnosis on Thursday the racing for the weekend was up in the air. Originally the plan was to do an interclub with the elite team, but on Friday my doctor pulled the plug on that plan. He was concerned that the race was too long and too hard to do while on antibiotics and with two days off the bike. The plan then changed to riding a classic in Halle with the second team. The purpose of doing this somewhat lower level race was to get some training in and test the form after the events of the week prior. With 150 riders it would be a fast way to get a few kilometers in.
For the first hour I didnt really feel that great. The course was rolling and wind was a factor, but aside from an early break the race was still under control. I found myself riding at the front and getting in some splits and gradually feeling better and better as the day wore on. By the time we hit the finishing local circuits I was getting in breaks as the original break was brought back. Finally with about 30 km to go a group of about 10 got away with Mario from our team. Another group joined them shortly after putting 21 riders up the road, but with Mario havin won two races last week things were looking good for him in the break. With 15 km to go I attacked just before the biggest climb on the finishing laps. With about 20 seconds on the peleton I was joined a few kilometers later by a group of three. To make a long story short we never caught the front group, dropped one of our own and I sprinted to 23rd.
The next day I did an open race in Deftinge and after missing the first big move, getting really worked over by a second group and completely botching the sprint I was 27th.
The antibiotics have worked wonders and I am cured of my impurities. I still hae a day left of antibiotics so the tired feeling is still around, but with two races this weekend I am excited to feel normal again.

Holsbeek & Down for the count

After crashing on Sunday I took a couple of days easy, took care of my wounds and then lined up in Neiuwrode-Holsbeek. I was not feeling 100%, but with the interclub this weekend I knew it would be an asset to get a hilly race in in preparation. Before the start my left leg was quite sore and I had a slight inflammation below the biggest of the wounds, but I thought it was getting better and didn't think much of it. After a few laps I was feeling completely gutless, like I had no power. I was struggling to follow the wheel in front of me on the tight twisting sections of the course, and on the climbs I was giving everything I had just to stay in. I knew something was seriously wrong as my form was dramatically weakened compared to only two days before. I felt tired and weak, and the swelling on my leg was more pronounced than ever before. Needless to say I only lasted 4.5 laps or about an hour of racing and had to sit around waiting to see if there was doping control or not. Niels Albert lost a two man sprint and Kurt Van Goidsenhoven took home yet another win.
The next day I went to see the doctor and immediately it was determined than I had a fairly serious infection to deal with, thus the weak and tired feeling the day prior. I was somewhat relieved at the diagnosis as it provided an explanation for my from, but having an infection is by no means good news. I am now on heavy antibiotics and can't ride until tomorrow. Tomorrow I am allowed to complete a light training and then I can determine if I am ready to race on Sunday. I saw the doctor again today and it appears that the antibiotics are doing their work well, so I am optimistic about racing this weekend.
Resting is tougher than racing I find sometimes, mentally I just want to ride and compete. I am missing the crit this evening. Kids remember, if you crash no matter how well you clean and take care of yourself, always see a doctor sooner rather than later.

Aldi

Where on earth can you get 6 eggs, 18 Senseo machine coffee pads, 1 kg of fruit & nut musli 1 kg of washed locally grown carrots and a bunch of bananas for $6.50? The answer to that and many other questions regarding how a broke bicycle racer can eat well can be found at your local Aldi. Aldi Markt is a common site in centers all over Belgium and my favourite location can be found only minutes away, past the ideal shopping atmosphere of Delhaize, beyond the temptations of the weekly open air market and steps away from the place they call Dreamland. It is true that these other options for trade offer soothing music, ambient lighting, friendly staff, impressive displays and other feel good superficialities, but Aldi offers the one thing that makes the bottom line. Cheap quality. The Aldi formula is to bring in a solid selection of staple items and then further boost this selection with additional items as the shifting tides of market economy open and close bargain finds in the wholesale environment. Right price products from all over Europe are assembled in a simple warehouse like setting, which along with chronic under staffing and time consuming lineups represent the Aldi trademark shopping experience. What you get in return for your patience are top notch products (many from Germany) at incredible prices. If you ever find an Aldi in your part of the world give it a chance. Their meat is suspect, but for everything else from asparagus to yum yums they are your pocket and stomachs best friend.

Lembeek - Halle

Yesterday I rode 35 km to a race just outside Halle in Lembeek. Another day, another kermesse. This time however I was pleased to see a course offering a great deal of climbing and equally a great deal of tight and narrow roads on the descents in contrast to the relatively flat and none selective courses of late.
The race started well. I felt really comfortable in the bunch, never under pressure on the climbs. The corners on the descent felt fast and smooth, no problems at all. I felt really good in the last race in Drongen and I was hoping that I was brewing some good form. Half way through the race I got away with 5 others in a fairly strong break. Some of the guys were losing it on the climbs, but we held a healthy gap for just over a lap when we were joined by a riders from Palmans and the current elite national champ from Davitamon-Win for Life. At this point I thought we may have sealed the deal as these were likely two of the strongest riders in the race. Unfortunately the departure of these two from the peleton must have caused somewhat of a panic as the peleton was back on us soon after. From there the race was uneventful for me. I missed the move that stuck and with about 2 km to go I rolled a fast corner on the front of my group and slid out. Yes, I crashed...myself. Three other guys went down behind me as the group flew past. Aside from some hefty road rash, a broken shoe buckle and shredded shorts I am fine. 37th place, no prize money and a 35km ride alone back to the house later I was ready for a rest. One of the longer days this year.
This week is a heavy one with another hilly race on Wednesday, a crit in the evening on Friday and then a super hilly interclub on Sunday.
Today I went to Van Eyck in Aalst to get some bits for my busted up bike and afterwards I just happened to roll through the square when I stumbled upon a teammate and the usual suspects in the middle of their day of training on a terrace. After two hours and a few coffees I joined them for 50km as Roesems and Penne beat each other up on the front with some tempo efforts and Kenny and his sougnier challenged each other to sprints all the way to Gooik. What a day.
Tomorrow I am going to tell you about a little place called Aldi...

Drongen

I need to go training this morning before I head out with the VWF team to be their mechanic in the team car for their race today, but its raining so I will blast of a quick post.
I raced on Thursday in Gent, an evening kermesse of 16 laps for 120 km on a windy course. With 78 riders it was on the small side compared to my last outing, but I knew this was my chance to get my name in the paper and get the good times rolling again. There was a huge contingent of foreigners on the start, mostly Brits and Aussies. Their is a house in Gent that puts up foreigners for a fee and puts a squad together. They occasionally do interclubs, but mainly its a case of brave individuals facing the harsh realities of trying to make it in cycling. The house is known to be somewhat corrupt with crammed and poor living conditions, every time I hear about it I am reminded of how incredibly fortunate I am to be in the situation I am in.
As for the race it was fast as usual. The wind and a couple of climbs made for none stop action and no let ups in pace. About half way through the peleton broke into two pieces, I made it in the front half and started jumping into breaks of which many seemed promising, but ultimately never made it. A few times I was caught on the wrong side a big splits and I could go across solo, but then within minutes things would come together again. I missed the only real move of the day that eventually put 11 riders up the road. In the final couple of kms I bridged a big gap solo over the last climb thinking that if I could stay in the front group of 8 I could nab my top 20. With two corners to go we still had a gap, but by the last corner the second group rolled onto us and then the last wide open sprint left me completely gutted as I had put a lot of effort in to bridge what I thought was going to be a crucial gap. In the end I was 27th, not pleased, but the legs feel good and tomorrow's race is a tough one so as long as I can still tap into some form I should be good to go for that result I have been chasing for so long.
It has stopped raining now. Time for a pre race spin and then its off to the races.

Memorial Gert Van Damme

Mario with the winners spoils

The Patio

Driving the teletubby car

The place to be in Liedekerke on a Sunday afternoon.

This past Sunday was the first ever Grote Prijs Sportzone, a race put on by the team sponsor Sportzone. The race was for the VWF, which is similar in structure to the ABA at home. There are 6 categories based on skill and age. Each category does a race of around 60-70 km on a 5-8 km circuit. The first couple of years I came over to Belgium I did a few of these races to fill out my program between national events, but this year I am trying to avoid them and therefore when Tino asked if I wanted to help out at the race I was more than eager to experience race organization Belgian style.
My day started helping set up the huge patio in anticipation of about 500 racers and spectators who would be wanting a beverage as the day great warmer. We set up tables, chairs, umbrellas, tents and a bar, arranged the cattle guards etc. I spent alot of time driving around in a box van playing mover, picking up more tables and chairs all morning. To put on a race in Belgium this aspect is crucial and is evident in the final drink sales results of the day. In approximately 7 hours 300L of beer (that includes draft and bottles), countless cases of coke and water and 150 coffees were consumed.
As the eve of the first wave of racers grew nigh I began to prepare myself for my second job of the day, driving a follow car. I was pretty excited about this one as I would be following 3 different races all afternoon on a twisting, fast, completely closed circuit outside the boundaries of traffic laws and restrictions. On top of that I was to drive a brand new Hyundai Getz team car with a commisaire on board. It was great fun ripping around the circuit flying through corners and generally feeling like a rally driver or something like it. On several occasions we would get caught behind dropped riders on a narrow road and have to wait to pass for a bit and then have to bridge the gap to the main group or break as quickly as possible. The commisaire was giddy at times in his broken English yelling "go, go, go" and "yeah, drive, drive" as we hurtled down narrow country lanes. Although it was fun I have concluded that actually riding in the race is much more enjoyable and that I won't be making any moves to become a professional driver anytime soon.
In the "A" category our VWF team did very well with Mario, who is the current Belgian Champion of the VWF, taking the win in a tight two man sprint.
All in all it was a very successful race and the VWF was so impressed with the event that Sportzone managed to secure a provincial championship and national championship in the coming years.
At the end of the day the labour of the morning was reversed and all evidence of the event was torn down faster than in was put up. Another great day in Flanders.
Thanks again to Sammy for the pictures.

Gullegem Koerse: Boonen vs Strom

My first dive into the real deep end this season turned out to be an exciting and frustrating day at the office. The papers here in Belgium were a buzz with anticipation of the event and this morning everyone in this fine country knew that Tom Boonen would be contesting the 63rd edition of Gullegem Koerse. They also knew that he was bringing 13 teammates, and when I heard that I knew this could very well be the most painful and incredible day of my life. Finishing today would have meant that I would have been one of a handful of non-pro riders to cross the finish line, it would have meant that I have some serious form and it could possibly have meant many other things, but the fact of the matter is that along with approximately 150 other hopefuls my day ended early about 70 km too early. But then again I did last longer than Boonen...
At the sign on I stood in line behind Davy Commeyne of Palmans surrounded by a who's who of Belgian cycling talent from all the colours of the pro peleton. I even signed an autograph in that line, right beside Commeyne's scribbled signature I placed my own in the stuffed keepsake book of a young fan. I went on to the change rooms and sat myself down in one occupied by the entire Jartazi team and Milram.
On my way to the start I learned something that would ultimately determine the outcome of the day. 263 riders were going to start. 263. That is unheard of, normally they cap races at 200 for insurance reasons, but not today.
The course was dead flat, but with lots of corners and wind 263 riders spent alot of time riding the gutter. That many riders makes and eerily long train. Early on crashes were frequent. After two laps of the 8 km loop on a section that went down to just one lane in a corner Rosseler himself lay sprawled in the grass with a Predictor-Lotto rider on top of him. I felt relaxed for the first hour even though we were averaging in the range of 47km/hr. On one particular section out of a corner and into a cross wind the pace would surge incredibly to what for me is a full sprint for almost a kilometer. After about 90 minutes I was sitting on van Petegem's wheel going into this section and promptly lost it as he powered away. I managed to jump in a few wheels later, but I knew at that moment that if my day was to end it would be there. Come to think of it I spent alot of time riding van Petegem's wheel. We always seemed to like the same place in the bunch. I also spent some time on Boonen's wheel and that was one solid draft. I just missed asking Robbie McEwen if he had been for pancakes lately before he bolted to the front.
Now we get to the part of the story that I hate telling. After almost 2 hours and 90 some kilometers of racing on the same section I just described, while sitting in the middle of the bunch hurtling single file in the gutter as Quickstep turned on the afterburners, the rider directly in front of me let a wheel go and we flew backwards as riders battled up our left side. I finally found a hole and jumped in again only to watch several gaps open up ahead of me. Within seconds 50 riders broke off what was left of the main bunch. In the group entire teams were left wondering what had just transpired, but reality quickly set in and the showers were the next stop.
In the end only about a third of the starters actually saw the finish. The harsh reality of one day racing at this level. Boonen stopped after about 80 km, my guess is he was not willing to accept the risk with the dangerous corners and numerous crashes.
Another day and another deposit to the pain bank. Experience comes at a cost, someday I will prove myself worthy of the world class company I had today.

Gullegem Koerse

It is official, Tom Boonen will be lining up tomorrow in Gullegem. Per Strom will also take to the start.
Gullegem Koerse

Fixkes - Kvraagetaan

Belgian hits are what the world needs to hear to get a bit of feel for this place. Fixkes are a popular band of guitar strumming charmers who regularly top the national pop charts. This is track has topped the "Ultratop 50" charts since the beginning of March. Nice little tune and a peek into minds of a unique population.

Fixkes
Kvraagetaan

Ronde van Belgie

Tornado Tom

With a weekend off from racing Sammy, Nathalie and I loaded up the Opel and spent a day following stage 4 of the Tour of Belgium on Saturday. After the ITT the gc was pretty much decided, but stage 4 was to be a tough stage with several incredible climbs as the race made its way from Herzele (close to home) to the Ardennes.
Our first stop was the stage start in Herzele to take the opportunity to get close to the riders and say hi to some of my friends. As we cruised the team area both Sammy and Nathalie were surprised at the number of pros who recognized me and said hi, I think I just got lucky with de Neef, Penne and Roesems rolling by within five minutes of each other, but they know me and I do train with them so it was genuine. As we were chillin the masses on the start we spotted the usual crowd favourites including Boonen and Nuyens. Just as Nuyens was about to roll to the start he took of his riding cap and tossed it into the crowd. I was pleasantly surprised to watch it just get missed by grabbing hands and land right at my feet for me to grab. I am now the owner of an official Cofidis cycling cap.
Our second stop was a climb along the route that I raced up last year and will be racing up again in a couple of weeks in the Bertem Interclub. It was a steep pitch, but not long enough to really break up the group although we did witness some riders who seemed to be in great difficulty.
We then hopped back onto the motorway in the direction of Liege and made our way into the incredibly beautiful French speaking region that marks the beginning of the Ardennes. I really like this area not only for its incredible natural beauty, but also for the feel of its towns and cities. The region is incredibly lush and fertile, and with its numerous rivers and topographical outcrops it is a cyclists dream. Our last destination to few the race was the Muur van Huy, in the town of Huy. This monster of a climb is not that long, but the gradient that it presents to the riders makes it the ultimate test of strength. In this case it was placed late in a nearly 200km stage ensuring that it could serve the purpose of breaking up the race or deciding the fate of a long breakaway. In other races such as the Fleche Wallone it is the final battle to decide the champion of one of the world's hardest one day events. The Muur was alive with anticipation of the riders and as the sound of the television chopper approached I made some final adjustments to my trusty Canon and got ready to witness the carnage. In the linked Flickr photoset from the day you can surely appreciate the agony on some of the rider's faces.
After the action on the Muur we made a rapid exit in an attempt to view the finale on television back at home. Unfortunately Sammy's navigation system did estimate our arrival time correctly and we didn't get to see the young rider from Rabobank take one of his most beautiful victories to date. It was an incredible day, following a big race like this one by car is a great experience. next up we will be checking out the start of the Tour de France.

Ronde van Belgie Photoset

Zaventem Crit

Prime Lap

Michael Charles, our French speaking sprinter, stretches his legs at the front while I lie in waiting...

Off the front trying to make it happen

Sitting pretty

Going on the attack on the cobbles.

Crits in Belgium are relatively rare compared to North America, but in my experience when the Belgians do decide to put on a crit they do a fantastic job of making it memorable. This 66km crit in the town of Zaventem on the outskirts of Brussels was no exception. First of all the course had everything you could ask for in a 2.2 km course including a fast decent, long rolling and sharp corners, a cobbled uphill section, a narrow false flat climb and long stretches on what they call "clinkers" in these parts but are what you would at home call "Gastown Cobbles" referring to the supposed cobbles in the Gastown crit. For the record those paving stones are not even remotely related to the real cobbles you find over here. One the start line it started raining quite heavily making the course fairly treacherous, but after about half an hour the course dried out nicely just in time for a glittering finale.
As for the race it was fast, but I felt like I was caught in an odd position finding sitting the in bunch even when it was really going to be rather easy, but the intensity when trying to get in breaks and go for primes to be just a touch out of my capacity. Speaking of primes there were plenty of them. The citizens of Zaventem apparently have some deep pockets with over 500 Euros having been collected for various crowd primes. They would give primes constantly for first place in the peleton, or second or even the last placed rider. After the race I was told that a few riders actually let themselves get dropped and suffered to get back in the bunch when going for the last man across the line primes which were for 20 Euros each, thats about $26 CAN just to put the brakes on. Eventually these riders last contact with the main group and were dropped, but at least they got payed a fair sum. Unlike me, I earned 6 Euros for my lowly 26th place. I missed the break, and the second break and I can't sprint well enough to finish in the front of the bunch. Its not that I didn't try to get away, I was in several splits as usual, but on more than one occasion the counter attack was the successful move. I got away for one lap on my own, but only one rider came across the gap and he wouldn't roll through. I didn't even get a prime for my efforts.
Thanks to Sammy again for some great pictures. Tomorrow we are going to check out the Tour of Belgium stage. Three of my training partners are in the race and Roesems is sitting top 5 now after his strong ITT today.