After about two weeks into my stay here at the Cycling Center I feel like I am over the jet lag, healthy, and beginning to settle into a good routine. The first week is always one of the hardest because of the stress of traveling, separation from loved ones, and adaptation to the new environment. I was a little depressed in the first week because of the messy weather and my weak feeling on the bike, but now I'm feeling great and looking forward to some hard racing.
My first race back in Belgium this year was Kattekoers Gent-Ieper. It was less than a week into my stay so I wasn't really expecting much. My only goals were to re-familiarize myself with the European peloton and test out the legs. It was cold but sunny at the start and as the flag dropped I knew that I was glad to be back in Belgium. The race was fast in the beginning due to few turns and wide roads. The Cycling Center team re-conned the course in the van the day before so we had some idea of where the hardest points would be. The defining part of the race came after about 2.5 hours when the peloton reached the hills. There were 3 climbs in 10 kilometers, one of which was the infamous Kemmelburg. I failed to be in the proper position when going up the first climb and as the peloton broke apart I ended up in a second or third chase group. The race didn't last too much longer for me but I did make it up the Kemmel and felt in the end like I got a good workout. There were things I could have done better, so there's work to be done for next time. I'll do as Bernard says and focus on the little things, and doing them right, rather than the result. This approach will eventually lead to results the right way.
Dr. Dag Van Elslande, the Discovery Channel Team doctor, came to the Cycling Center this past weekend and brought all of his equipment necessary to carry out the lactic tests on the team. It was very gracious of him to come to us this year because it is a little drive to his office. The test begins at 100 watts and every 3 minutes increases by 50 watts. I did much better this year than last and will meet one on one with Dr. Dag next weekend to discuss the results in more depth. The test is just one piece of the puzzle to racing well here in Belgium. There can be very strong racers who never finish because of their lack of experience or cleverness. For me, a good test confirms the hard work I put in this past winter and increases my confidence for races. With good confidence I race aggressively and feel more like I deserve that position near the front.
Dr. Dag writes all of the training programs for the Cycling Center team. Since all of the lactic tests were so good he wanted the selection for GP Waragem to have a very hard day of training the day after the tests. GP Waragem, or Dwars Door Vlaanderan, is a very large U23 race held in conjunction with a pro race on the same day. Dr. Dag wanted us to ride from the house to Waragem, do the large loop of the race that includes 12 climbs, and then ride home. He also wanted us to put in an all-out race effort between the Kwaremont and the Patersberg, 2 very famous climbs. That stretch of the race will be very decisive because it includes 3 very steep cobbled climbs. On the final climb of the day we were to sprint to the top and the winner could 'sit in' or draft the whole way home. It was obvious to me that our teammate Steven was the strongest and to beat him up the climb we would have to use not only our legs but our brains. I told Sean that I would attack about 400 meters before the climb and make Steven close the gap to me. Sean would sit on his wheel and hopefully pass him in the final meters of the climb. The other possibility would be that no one would want to chase me and I would win the sprint. Long story short: things didn't go as planned and Steven won. Overall I guess it is a good thing for our team that Steven is riding well, but it would have been nice to outsmart the Belgian. An hour later we pedaled in to Hersberge and arrived at the Cycling Center. It was quite an epic day, just short of 6.5 hours. I owe our assistant director Geert Vanwalleghem a big thank you for driving the follow car with supplies the whole day and snapping a few pictures of us on the climbs.
That's the News From Hertsberge for now. The big race is tomorrow and I'm really looking forward to it. After 2 re-con rides, I actually feel like I know the course (not quite as well as Runway Plaza, though) which can only boost the confidence. Thanks for reading and I'll let you know how it goes. VR
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