A tough couple of weeks.

Well another two weeks or so have flown by and i thought it was time for a update. Not alot has being going on, but i have been quite busy with the moving of house thing and setting the new place up. This week things have started to settle down, but im still yet to get in a full week of training. I just have to find a routine to get some regular km's in and try to do a few more smaller races, but lately i have just being too all over the place to find any routine for anything. Usually my training is interupted by going to races, but thats my job and thats what pays the bills. When its a job you enjoy doing, you dont mind so much, but man its taking me a while to get fit again. I was on a mission to get all our things moved into the new house before i went away for the weekend. So Nick and Matt [and Tom] lent me a hand to load and unload, without them i would of being up shit creek with barely a canoe let alone a paddle. So the move was all done very quickly just before heading away for the weekend race.



With the rush move done i was off to the north of Holland for the dreaded Drente race again, the Paris-Roubaix of Holland. For a change, i didn't need to go to the teamhouse. The guys already had on the truck, so I walked the 35mins to the motorway and the guys picked me up there as it was on the way. Around 6pm we arrived at the hotel, thou it was more of a holiday park with your own bungalow house, very cosy once we got our heater working. After dinner i didnt have too much work to do, not that i could do anything anyway, due to lack of light [which reminds me, i need to fit a light in the truck]. So after a quick team meeting it was off to the bar for a beer.

In the morning i had just an hour and a bit to prep the bikes, fit some race wheels, pump the tyres and so on. As usual the plan was to have an hour once at the start, by the time we got there thou and i could actually navigate the truck down a bike path we had only half an hour. It was all hands on. I had frame numbers to fit, timing sensors to fit, the spare wheels and bikes to organise, guys wanting magnets on their wheels, it was madness. Gil and Rudi lent a hand to get things ready. Rudi was making bidons one minute then fitting wheels the next. A job well done by all, but lets get there way early next time. As for the race, well im going to be honest and say it was not for our guys, especially the new guys. Tom was the first to go, he is young and will learn alot this season, but this race was so not for him. About 50 or so km's in Steffan needed a rear wheel, just when the race is all strung out. I quickly change the wheel but he struggles in the convoy of team cars. Only a few more km's later, Matt has a flat. By the time i get him going, Steffan passes by. The two of them draft off the car with only Matt making contact to all thats left of the peloton which also had Peter in it. Further up was Sam in a small group, so he waited. Then it was Nick tailed off in the crosswinds, on his own we told him to sit up and wait. By this stage the race was in about 5 groups, we had Bjorn and Sven left. The other guys would find the quickest way back to the finish as they were now over 5mins behind and there was too many groups for the judges to follow so they were pulled from the race. We passed the group Nick was in to get to the next bunch which had Sven in it. Bjorn was in the next bunch ahead asking for a rear wheel, but we couldnt get through on the narrow roads. He had taken a wheel from neutral by the time we got there and was soon caught and passed by Sven's group, day over for him. So Sven made it over the last cobbled section to where the judges made the decision to pull his group from the race, as they were also now too far behind. So we followed them in the car, pacing the small group for a while back to the finish. A much different race than last year with a much different result, but its a big step up for most of the guys to do this kind of race and im sure they learnt alot. Some of the riders like Nick have never ridden in the convoy before now, as you just don't get the convoy's in Australia. They're learning quickly and improving their skills a lot.




After a couple of days easy it was time for another race i did last year, the Scheldeprijs. But to Gil's dissapointment we were not on the pro start list, so we went under the radar once again and did the amateur race. I did not start as i was not in race mode anyway. But the other guys [apart from Chris who is still a little ill] did start in the 228 rider field. But like Drenthe, it was to end early for some. Nick flatted on the second lap and Tom also was dropped off around the same time. Things were looking good with Sam in the 15 man break, but he was chopped and hit the deck with about 4 to go. Steffan had also crashed and was out. So it was only Sven, Matt and Michael [who also dropped it in the last km] that finished. Its a pitty for Nicks flat as the race would of suited him, but at these races they dont allow follow cars so if you flat your race is pretty much finished unless your got a guy with spares on the sideline every kilometer. And things got worse for Nick as he clipped Toms wheel riding home from the race. So thats a total of 4 guys with skin off in one day, thou i dont think Michael had any off. A tough day at the office.



On the 20th we are off to Germany for the 1.2 Dhuren race, so there will be an update on that and the race next week as well, and what ever might be interesting in between. I know there is something i said i would post last year as a special report but never really did, that will be next and should be interesting so stay tuned for that one. And i will also do a post on one of the riders bikes as i did last year. If anyone has anything they would like to read about or see, dont hesitate to drop a comment if there is something your interested in. I try to cover most things, but you never know.

Til next time
Funky

P.S. heres a quick video [if it has worked] of the Scheldeprijs race, 228 amateur racers bashing around the streets in outer Antwerp.

Is it April Already?

The time is surely flying by quickly, so i might struggle to keep up with updates as often as i'd hoped but i will do my best.
I think it was two weeks ago since my last post in which after publishing i had an amateur race with the guys. We headed off to Gistoux down in the French region of Belgium, following Sven's GPS which turned into more like a 4WD expedition than getting to a bike race. Instead of following the main road the GPS showed him a shorter route, we made it through but it could of ended in the middle of a farmers feild somewhere. Sven denies all responsability to this day.
As for the race, it was to end quickly for me as the pace started at a sucide pace for my level of fittness at this stage, two laps and i was done. The pace was'nt to slow down that much with Tom pulling the pin and Chris flatting both wheels. The rest of the guys all finished.


Last Monday we did a team training ride in Flanders riding the last 100km of the Tour of Flanders course which includes all the big climbs. We started the ride in Ninove and headed towards Zottegem in search of the course. After riding in circles for a while we were on our way to ride some of the toughest demanding climbs Belgium has to offer. The boys were caught by surprise when we turned off the smooth tarmac to start the first [3rd climb in the actual race] climb of the Molenberg. They quickly searched for the 39 ring and lost some time doing so, i on the other hand left it in the 53 and got to the top second just behind Sven. After a few climbs the boys were getting the hang of it as i started to fade due to my lack of fittness and endurance as the climbs were taking their toll, but i was'nt about to quit. The Kwaremont is a long steady climb with cobbles all the way up. Just at the start of the climb we ran into a school group out on a ride, so the climb was made harder by dodging kids trying to control their bikes on the cobbles. Nick and i lead the way up shouting "pardon" on our way. Half way up i started to tire as the other guys found their rythum and went by me, but i wasnt the last one up. The guys were saying their hands were so sore, but they didnt know not to grab the bars too tight, only a loose grip is needed just to steer the front end as it bounces over the cobbles. The toughest climb by far was the Koppenberg, with a average of 11.6% and a max of 22% and a length of 600m it was a beast of a climb. The climb has recently come back into the Belgium Flanders race after a major overhaul which included a much wider and smoother Koppenberg but sadly just as steep. I only had a 21 on which made it hard but Micheal lost traction in front of me and we both had to dismount and walk a little. We even got filmed by a local TV crew doing the climb. I cant remember which climb it was but there was a gutter at the side and i was the first one up, so i still had some left in the tank. By the time we were at the last climb, the Bosberg, we had covered some 140km and 15 climbs in which i think 13 were cobbled. By the time we were back at the cars it was 160km in total, but a awesome ride that i can now say ive ridden the famous climbs of Flanders that most only see on TV. I spent some time as a junior training on gravel roads and in Melbourne sometimes rode the old inner city cobbled laneways, and with the few cobbled roads ive done here in Belgium it all came in handy on this day.



During the week i was off the bike as i was flat out trying to get our new place ready to move into. The place was left really dirty as agents dont require the tentants to have the property clean upon vacating. So the kitchen was feral and walls badly needed a coat of paint. Linds and i went out and bought some paint, i had done some prep work so Linds could paint as i was off to France for the teams first UCI 2.2 race.
Friday was a early 5:30am start so i could be at the teamhouse by 8am to load the bikes. Patrick joins us again this year and he was swanie for the tour. The race was held not far over the border in a place called Arras. Start time was 2pm and the race was 168km and we had a 50km transfer to the hotel, so a long day. The team was only with 5 riders thou, Sven, Peter, Nick, Micheal and Matt, the rest would stay home and do a local race. Once we were at the hotel i had little daylight left so i quickly plugged in the water and gave the bikes a wash. Rudi came out and gave me a hand to wash the wheels, now ya dont see that too often, managers chipping in getting their hands dirty. At some point during the evening Patrick had somehow got the Minibus bogged real good. We thought about towing it out with the truck, but no rope. So the only way was to dig out around the wheels. Peter was waiting for his massage, so he helped me do some digging and some more digging until we eventully drove it out with a little push, thou im not sure how much more the clutch has left in it or the rear tyres.
The next day was a two stage day with a 7:45 leave time. I was up early but it was still too dark to do any work, mmm snooze time. It wasnt a good day for Nick as he flatted twice and the previous day, but the roads were'nt great and punctures seemed to be on the menu. The first time it was a rear wheel and he stayed on the bike with one foot clipped in which made it hard for me to manouver the bike and its a little tricky to get a rear wheel quickly into the frames as it is, even with the wheels pre gapped. But thats something im sure will just take a trick or two to master or something my friendly file might fix. Anyway, Nick had learnt from the first flat and was totally off the bike for the next one giving me plenty of moveabilty to shove that rear wheel in, and he was getting better going through the convoy.
There was a 3 hour break before the next stage, has it had been a wet day i was able to give the bike a quick hose down thanks to some French motor-home people that lent me their water, "merci". Then it was lunch which was the usual chicken and pasta dish we get in France, but not as dry. The next stage started at 3 so it was also going to be a long day. By the end they all made it through their first official UCI 2.2 race. With the week starting out with the Flanders ride, then an Ardennes ride the following day and to finish off with a small 3 stage tour it was a good preparation week for Drente this week. Thou a couple of the boys have being sick, Matt was sick and then on our return from France Chris was sick and now the other day Micheal was feeling a little off, all the more reason to keep the house clean boys and dont do a 3 hour ride in crappy Belgian weather.



So thats about it i guess, other than that i have being busy at our new house sanding and painting to get it looking nice and clean for Linds and i to move into by this weekend. I still have to install some lights, connect the oven and put some carpet down [the rentals here come with almost nothing], so a bit of work to do. I have had no wheels to build cos i have'nt been giving any, which is just as well as the house has kept me busy but i really need the extra cash. Oh, and my visa was all sorted, so now i am a legal resident of the Netherlands for 12 months.

Til next time
Funky