Empty August

Right, I’m going to start again from here. The reason for my lack of blog posts recently is due being very little to blog about. It’s very easy to write when things are going well but scribbling down notes on my lack of form and lack of results is never that appealing. I’ve had a real problem this year with consistency, my form comes and goes unpredictably, and it’s got to that time in the season where I’m starting to get tired and the motivation is waning. I’m having a bit of a rest week now after racing what felt like every other day since Vlaams-Brabant and its starting to catch up with me. Hopefully I can clear some fatigue and hit the last 4 weeks of the season in some sort of shape. I’m heading back to England this weekend for the Jef Schils Memorial , and then to Belgium until I head back to Loughborough in early October.

Latest results:

11/8 Halen 30^th

14/8 Ronde Van Antwerp ?

15/8 Ronde Van Antwerp ?

18/8 Hoeleden Race Cancelled

20/8 Wambeek 35th

22/8 Wambeek 12th

25/8 Orp-Jauche 14th

28/8 Hove DNF

Hopefully some better news and better blogging soon...

New Wheels from Fuerte Bici

With my Zipp 404’s breaking every time I put them in the bike (2 rims cracked, 2 spokes, faulty hub and a complete rebuild later – of course all my fault according to Zipp) I decided it was time for a set of wheels that I can actually use. Admiring their toughness at the winter cyclo-cross circuit, I was fortunate enough to gain some sponsorship from Ben Nicholson at Fuete Bici, and opted for a pair of 38mm tubular carbons. I’ve been using these on the rough Belgian roads for a few weeks now and cannot fault them. As well as being super light (at just 1251g for the pair!), they are also stupidly strong (having withstood a bunny hop/rear wheel/curb/blowout incident), the likes of which would have undoubtedly caused the Zipp fibres to have parted company. Again.

So what I’m saying is, if you want a wheel that’s light, strong and looks the buisness then I absolutely recommend these. At £425 for 38’s they are the best value for money wheels going, making my Zipps (retailing at over 4 times that price!) completely redundant.

Link: http://www.fuertebici.com/

On a side note, if anyone does want a pair of wheels they can spend more time fixing than riding, my effectively brand new 404's are begging to be sold...

Lazy blogging, report From Vlaams-Brabant

It’s been 3 weeks since my last blog, a little bit of lost motivation creeping in perhaps? Anyway, I don’t remember too much from the last few races, so rather than waffle my way through vague descriptions, here’s my latest blog through the medium of photography:

  The team for the 5 day Ronde Van Vlaams Brabant (L – R): Me, Kevin Crabbe, Dom Schils, Matti Stiens, Dieter Uyttersprot, Dieter Verbeek.

  

Stage 1: Wilsele 145km, 3 X 34.5 + 5 X  8.5 km. 

The race stayed mainly together throughout, with few break away attempts gaining more than a few seconds. The elastic eventually snapped on the with 2 of the finishing circuits to go while I was sitting back expecting a bunch sprint. The group instantly gained one-and –a-half minutes. The winner of the overall would come from that group and with team mate Matti making the cut and finishing 5^th, it was all to play for on day 2.

Stage 2: Boutersem 172km, 7 X 24.5km laps. With the GC already taking shape, the race was a lot more controlled, but a group did manage to jump clear mid-way through. With Matti puncturing from the break, the team rode to the front to chase the gap down. By the end a 2 minute gap was back to just 20 seconds after a long day pulling turns on the front. 

Stage 3: Rotselar 11.6km time trial. 

In true British style, we headed out along a dead straight road for 5.8km, turned around, and rode back again. Despite not feeling so good, I came in a respectable 25^th place, from the near 200 starters, and I was boosted up the GC to a top 30 position.

Stage 4: Betekom 145km, 4X 26.6 + 3 x 12.8

Feeling better as the race went on, I went attacking today, and moved off front a couple of times. With a pan flat parcours, and teams willing to control the race, staying out front was tough work and sure enough a bunch kick decided the race. Early on I’d suffered a seat post dropping, and rear puncture. Plenty of practise chasing behind the car!

Stage 5: Liedekirke 155km 3 x 24.4 + 5 X 15.3

Couple of climbs on todays parcours including the cobbled Puttenberg to be climbed every lap of the race. Despite the difficult race, the peleton stayed almost intact, as the leading teams fought to ensure a bunch kick. I tried a couple of times over the climbs, but unable to move clear was content to wait for the bunch kick. With plenty of crashes through the final bends, I came in top 20.

I finished the race 27^th on GC, and second of my team. I can take a lot from the race though: doing my fair share of riding at the front of the peleton, a decent time trial and throwing in a few attacks of my own for the week. Despite the good form gained from the race, taking on another Beker Van Belgie interclub in Zillebeke the following Wednesday proved too much, as my quest to recover in time was thwarted by the relentltess climbs of the Belgian Walloon! A big DNF. I think perhaps 7 big races, nearly 1000km of racing in 10 days was a little ambitious...

Keep tuned in, more to follow soon!

   

Mémorial Henri Garnier - Falmagne-Dinant

I’ve been fairly quiet on the blogging front recently, but that’s not to say the racing has gone the same way. With a pretty busy racing schedule over the last 2 weeks, and intermittent internet available, I’ve got a back log of blogs on the way!

On the 24th I got my first experience of a Beker Van Belgie Interclub, usually reserved for the Belgian riders as foreigners can’t score points toward the team standings. And we all know what points make. The race was located deep in the Ardennes, towards the French border and that region only means one thing: hills. And lots of them.

Fortunately, the race was neutralised for the immediate ascent from the start line, although Belgian being Belgians were still racing from the gun, fighting wheel for wheel to hold a good position at the front of the peloton. I stayed within the top third of the field, always pushing to stay forward with the first King of Mountains prime occurring at kilometre 6. At the high speeds of the peloton, we cruised over the short summit, and instantly descended through a tight, twisty tree lined descent at some speed. With the race singled out, all I could do was hold position, while attempting to move up at any opportunity before hitting the first major climb of the day. Although never particularly steep, the climb was long, and badly positioned I was fighting the bike and closing gaps to avoid missing out on a split. As always the speed picked up on the false flat section as the climb plateau, and this was where the real damage was done.

Groups of riders peeled off the front, as riders dropped wheels due to the accelerations into the fierce cross winds. I’ve had plenty of practice riding in the gutter in kermis races but this is another step up and very quickly 30 or so riders had gapped what remained of the peloton. They instantly moved clear, and approaching the line for the first time, had already amassed a huge 4 minute advantage. With 4 laps of the finishing circuit to complete, and 2 GPM (hill primes) a lap, as well as the constantly rolling terrain, it was still very much race on within the peloton. Feeling strong, I stayed toward the front of the group, and pressing on over the climbs looking to move into a good working chase group. With 2 laps to go, I eventually broke clear in a group of 14 after attacking hard on the shallower yet longer climb of the circuit, but with the leaders now some 8 minutes ahead, I was clear we were only racing each other.

With no-one really willing to chase too hard, I found myself doing a lot of work in the group, and even found myself in a 2-up style effort for a few kilometres after ‘accidently’ dropping the group! It was not long until the peloton reared its head from behind, as so few riders were willing to set the pace, and with that came a reaction from 5 of the stronger riders. I quickly bridged up to them and finally we started some real riding, catching a few of the dropped riders from the lead groups. On the final sprint to the line, one rider jumped the group using the footpath, and despite my chase, couldn’t quite catch him on the line, finishing 30^th from the 198 starters.  

Summary: Good ride, but you can’t win a race unless you’re in the lead group. Need to make that jump into the front splits. I’m working on it!

Following with two easy days, on the Wednesday began the first of five stages of the Ronde van Vlaams-Brabant. Blog to follow.