Injury

There hasn't been a whole lot to report on in my life recently. No races, no wins, no crashes, just an injury. I injured the tendons above my knee in training and have been trying to heal up as quick as possible. I was suppose to race a kermis yesterday but didn't even ride and today the knee/ quad is still bothersome. I'm hoping this clears up soon becasue it's obviously not fun to be off the bike. The worst part about the injury is that it ocurred in training, not some spectacular crash. So no good stories to tell. Just doiong my workout and strained something... how stupid. For now: ice and rest. Hopefully if it heals up quickly, I'll be racing next weekend.

CC wins Team Classification in Laarne

Even though I had a less than stellar day I can't be down because the team rocked the competition. Steven was 3rd and Bruno was 14th! We also had Jim and Aaron in the top 40. Possibly the first time the CC Team has won and Interclub Team Classification.

So here's the quick scoop. It was a damp and drizzily day. The peloton was decending into a town before the first climb of the day and the group was spread wide accross the road of reasonably smooth "downtown cobbles." (cobbles+drizzily= ice-like) The road narrowed for a bridge and of course people hit the deck. I fell into the grass, quickly rose, and checked my bike. The problem was that there were piles of bike racers across the bridge and no way through. I guess I'm too nice a guy to step on people's faces and broken collarbones to get past a road block like that. I watched as a group of 30-40 riders rolled effortlessly to the base of the first climb of the day. It seemed like minutes before I was pedaling again and chasing with all my might to get to the lead group. Groups came together and split but I never made it to the lead group despite attaking on several climbs in attempt to bridge. Some days things just don't go smooth. But hey, I'm alive and well, the legs are good, and I'm training hard and looking forward to my next race.

Hasselt-Spa-Hasselt

12 KOM climbs. 162 kilometers. 4 hours. That's what I did on Thursday, how about you? Overall, it was not a bad day for the Cycling Center Team. Steven Van Vooren finished in 12th and we had 4 others, including myself, finish in the peloton. All 12 climbs were in the big loop of 130km and I was feeling ok over all of them. I'm climbing much better than in years past and my top form hasn't yet arrived, so I'm quite pleased. I was at or near the front of the group for all of the climbs and never was in serious danger of getting gapped or dropped. The last two climbs hurt especially bad for me and by the time the peloton arrived in Hasselt for the 3 local laps I was unfortunately not much help for the team's sprinters. I could only hold the wheel in front of me and wait to cross the line. My "empty legs" in the last 20 km's were a bit disappointing as I would have liked to help move into sprinting position one of my teammates, but it was a decent race for me nonetheless.

Next up is a UCI in Laarne tomorrow. I did it last year so I know what's on my plate. 8 climbs, half of which are cobbled. 3 flat cobbled sections. 170 kilometers. Approx 4 hours. What are you doing Sunday?

'tween Top Comp's

There are 10 UCI races that make up the Top Competition Series here in Belgium. They are the most prestigious and difficult amateur races in Belgium. The field quality is always very high, the courses are challenging, and the race organization is amazing. Right now I'm in between two Top Comp's that are very close to each other. I feel fortunate to be able to participate in these races becasue they are some of the best in the country. My last race was Circuit Wallonie on Sunday and my next one is Hasselt-Spa-Hasselt this Thursday. Both are in the southern, hillier, region of Belgium known as Wallonia.

Circuit Wallonie was ok (but far from great) and I'm content (but far from satisfied). I finished in the peloton several minutes down from the large lead group. The origional break was about 16 riders but on several KOM climbs small groups of 5-15 riders broke off the front and bridged... making the lead group eventually larger than 40 riders! I could hang in the peloton on all of the climbs but just didn't have the acceleration power to go with any of the bridging groups. I did this race last year and my improvement in 1 year is quite amazing. Last year I was dropped on one of the KOMs in the first hour and this year I was in the mix, riding at the front of the peloton. Even with that improvment, I'm not quite satisfied and am looking for some good results in the next few weeks. I know that I have the potential to be in that front group of 40 and race the finale. The legs feel great and Thursday offers another opportunity to display my improvement from last year. For now, life is good and I'm just chillin' 'tween the Top Comps.

Rainy Days

My past four days of training have been in the rain and I'm getting quite good at picking the worst time of the day to train. On Wednesday I put off my ride until the afternoon in the hopes that the weather would clear and the roads would dry. Just when the roads were drying I left for my training and sure enough it began to pour. The last 2 days I've gone out training quite early with the attitude of "just getting it over with" and of course I've ridden in the rain and the weather has been great in the afternoon! I get home soaked and dirty, quickly hose the bike and rain cape, shower, and do laundry. Then I eat lunch and watch the sun come out! I've convinced myself that I'm saving all of my luck for my next race, which is Circuit Wallonie, on Sunday. It's a big UCI in the southern part of the country (which is very hilly) and the competition should be tough. I'm feeling good and looking forward to it.

In other Cycling Center News, Steven Van Vooren placed 10th in the first stage of a 4 day race in the Normandy region of France. The stage stage race ends on Sunday.

Testing 1,2,3

Here's some pictures of my lactic testing at Dr. Dag VanElslande's office today (Pictured is his assistant). The first test begins at 100 watts and increases by 50 watts every 3 minutes. Blood is drawn from my ear to track my lactic levels. The second test is a 3 minute all out effort. Oh, the pain. If you can't tell, the pictures are in chronological order!

Starting out, nice and easy


First blood


Starting to sweat


Getting red in the face and stabbed once again


Burning


Getting into the pain zone


The start of the second test... all out sprint


"Settling" into my highest sustainable wattage for 3 minutes


Just after the test... about to pass out


Recovery


Ready to go again!...?

Pictures courtesy of Fraser Young

pre race day

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t_mon5_jung

Mei Prijs, Hoboken

Mixing it up with the pros today. There were a good number of pro teams in attendence inluding Landboucredit- Colnago, Unibet Continental, Fondas, Gerolsteiner continental, Sunweb, Predictor-Lotto continental, and others. This was my first UCI of the year and a good chance to get some good k's of racing... 184 in total. The race was 3 big loops of 45km and then 4 laps of 11km. The weather was absolutely beautiful: no clouds, 70s F, but... there was wind and plenty of it. While sitting in the folding chairs before the race, our turn-out awning was nearly blowing off of the van. We had to roll it back up and sit in the sun.

The biggest differences between UCI 1.2's (pro/am) and 1.12's (amateur) is the distance, speed, and etiquette. 25 km more, 3-5 km/h faster, and a little less sketchy. It's more chill at times, but when it goes hard, it's hard.

So... my race started out well. It was very fast in the first big lap and no breakaway got too far up the road. A small group finally got away after an hour or 1.5 and things chilled out a little. Still, it was fast and hard in the crosswind sections. I was doing fine with positioning and fueling my engine. I felt very good on the bike today, especially since I was ill on Friday with stomach problems. At about 10km before the local laps Unibet Cont. went to the front and closed down the gap to the break. That was THE hard section for the day and by that time my legs were having trouble at the top end. I was fine sitting on a wheel in the gutter but when little gaps opened up I just couldn't close them with a quick acceleration. That was the begining of the end for me and I was dropped from the peloton just before the local laps. A bit disappointing but lets stay positive: I raced well for 3 hours, This was my first long race of the year, I felt good after being ill and I did the right things while I was racing. As much as I would have liked to finish, I know that with a few more long hard races in my legs I'll be uncovering some good summer form. Then it will be time to race for better results.

A quick word on the team's performance. Steven Van Vooren and Jim Camut did a great job and finished the race in the top 50.