West-Vlaanderen Cycling Tour

Last Friday we started a 4 day, 5 stage, stage race. On Friday we did a TTT. We finished 7th of 24 teams. We had a Kermesse that night. We have had Kermesses each day since. I finished in the top end of the 140 rider pack both day. Breaks got away both days, but I wasn't able to get into either of them.

Today was a flat fast Kermesse. I started in the middle of the pack and slowly moved up. I found that if I stayed in my 52x16 (hardest gear allowed for 15-16s) my legs would lose their pop after accelerating from 10kph to 50kph out of every turn. I started shifting into my 52x18 and could accelerate faster and move up through the group. With 2 laps to go (12km) I got near the front. I fought for position and stayed in the top 15. With 1.5km to go a break of 2 riders got up the road. At 1km to go I jumped and got a gap on the field. I stayed away until the final turn. The pack caught me and I was shelled off the back.

I risked it and it didn't pay off, but I gave it a try

Tomorrow is the final day.

Interclub Zwevelzele

We raced our first Interclub yesterday. Interclubs are races with prestige, money, and only teams can enter.

We started with 140 riders. We pre-rode the course and rode past the start. We didn't see many riders and thought we might get a good starting position. As we looked around, we saw all the riders lined up for roll-out. They had lined up over 30mins before their start. I started 3/4 back, but was able to move to the front by the end of the first lap. The course was really, really windy. There were crashes everywhere. I was blown off the road a few times, but recovered. Everyone in the race wanted to win. This caused a lot of crashes and bumping. I stayed in the top 25 and only saw a few crashes, but later found out that there were many crashes that covered the entire road. On the 3rd of 8 laps the winning break got away. I wasn't sure if it would stick and I was out of position to get in the break. I waited for the next moves. I had a close call with another rider as a team car passed the pack. Then the next group went and I was too far back when the chase group went. I waited for 2 laps to go and attacked into the head wind. I caught a rider in no mans land and we worked together to bridge across to the chase group. By the end of the bridge I was pedaling squares and had tunnel vision. We caught them at the beginning of the descent. In our races descents are 3%> by with our small gears everyone is spun out. I worked in the group of around 20 riders. In the sprint I finished 6th in the group and 21st overall.

This was the first time I have had to race hard in winds. They are hard, but it helped to think of headwinds as hills. They only had resistance.

Racing Photos

Photos thanks for William Innes

The House

The past two days we have gone to the Brugge track. Yesterday we toured the medieval city of Brugge after Monday's track session. I had a Belgium waffle. I thought it was good, but not great. I tastes like a really good funnel cake.







This is a famous Beer wall. I think it has all the registered beers in Belgium



This the city square in Brugge. This is where the Tour of Flanders starts.



Waffles

Currently we are the only team at the house.
The Staff: Billy (coach), Andrew (runs u23 & helps us), Carl (mechanic), Els (house mom, she comes in the afternoon to make dinner)
Riders: Erik, Dean, Michael, Colin, Johnathon, me

Usual Schedule:
8: breakfast - I have cereal, toast, and scrambled eggs
ride
11: Lunch - leftovers from dinner or make a sandwich
maybe ride again or explore the city
14: big dinner made by Els
22: Sleep

There is a core duty schedule for us. When it's your day it takes forever. You need to clean all the dished from the day, pots & pans, and pack leftovers.

Team Ride

First Kermesse

Today we had our first kermesse. We started with 60-70. At the end of the first lap I attacked and was solo around the start/finished. I was caught soon after. I got in a few attacks, but nothing I was in stuck. My "teammates" (technically there is supposed to be no teamwork in kermesses) Michael and Colin got in a long break, but were caught with 3 to go. With 1 lap to go I put on the "pants" and forced my way to the front. I was top five with 1km but lost it through a technical section with flower boxes in the road. I sprinted early and finished 15. The money goes deep at Kermesses and I got a few Euros.

We have another kermesse the afternoon.

Cobble Stones

I arrive yesterday morning in Brussels. We drove to Izegem. The house looks small from the outside, but the inside has a lot of room. They had bikes ready for us and I am still working on perfecting the fit.

The jet lag hasn't effected me at all. I slept 3 hours on the plane and have had no problem with the new schedule.

Today we rode through some cobble sections. They are really crazy. I lost control once, but kept it up. We went to a small city for coffee then headed home.

These pictures are of the town church and the street the house is on.