Pittem

The UCI in Pittem yesterday was a hard race... pretty descriptive huh, like there are easy races in Belgium? The course was a big loop of around 115km followed by 5 local laps of 9km. The big loop was almost an out 'n' back to the Flemish Ardens (aka the Tour of Flanders climbs). The wind was a factor because it was nearly all crosswind to the climbs. Nevertheless, 49 kilometers were covered in the first hour. That's... let me think... 49 kilometers per hour. For you folks stateside that's 30mph. So it was a sprint to the Kwaremont. I hit the base of the Kwaremont in decent, but not great position. I worked my way past many riders and moved up as much as I could on the climb. The legs were good. After the Kwaremont the peloton was totally destroyed and the race was probably over for more than half the guys. I continued in my small group, which I think was the second chase, which eventually caught the first chase group. By the time we arrived back in Pittem my group was racing for a few spots in the top 30... I think. (The result are still not posted, and I have yet to see them). The style of racing changed once we arrived in Pittem. It was Kermis time. Farm roads, crosswind, and a short cobbled section made the local laps the hardest part of the race (for me anyway). I don't know where I ended up but I feel like I was strong enough yesterday to have done better. I really believe that if I had raced to my full potential, I would have been somewhere in the top 20. It wasn't a bad day (Steven Galle was 14th), but it wasn't great. I'm racing Wednesday and then again next weekend. Then, if all goes according to plan I'll be doing Tour of Liege.