The Volk and The Yellow Bus

Not the best of days for the CC or myself. It wasn't altogether terrible but I don't feel that I raced to my full 100% potential. I did this race last year and the improvement is clearly visable but I hold myself to a high standard that I want to achieve. The race went over many notorious climbs such as the Eikenburg, Muur, Leberg, and Berendries (3 times). Throw in a couple of long, nasty cobbled sections and we've got ourselves a bike race. Being a Top Comp, the field quality was high and the peloton was nervous during the run-in to the first climb. There were a few close calls that shook me up a little but I did my best to put them out of my mind. My legs were feeling a bit "closed" but I managed to hold position over the climbs and cobbles. On all of the decisive sections of the race, guys would fall of the pace slimming the peloton down climb by climb. I unfortunately was in the wrong place on the Leberg when a crash cause a major split. I have no one to blame but myself for my poor position, though. The group that I was in was pulled with one local lap to go, so nothing to brag about in that respect... too bad. Steven Van Vooren was our best placed rider and Peter Horn wasn't too far behind.

I had a new experience after the race: I was selected randomly for drug testing at the yellow motorhome. I'm all for drug testing, but I think it would be more appropriate to test the riders in the top 10 and not the DNFs. I think only one of the guys in the top 10 was tested. Wierd. Anyway, after all the paperwork and 5 bottles of water, it was time. The doctors gave me detailed directions so that I was the only one to touch the cup and glass test tubes. Not once did anyone, other than me, touch the specimen until it had the locked cap on the bottle. Somewhat comforting, although the terms "lab error" and "percent error" have now started to worry me. Overall it was a very time consuming and somewhat violating process (no privacy), but I'm happy to take part in it if it will clean up this sport. I've been wearing a wristband for the past few months that says "I support drug free sport" and I guess that yesterday I was truly living that saying.