In the gutter... alstublieft.

Michigan Winter

2009-01-15T17:21:00.002-05:00

What's up? Yes, I've been busy. Work at the bike shop is going fine and I'm continuing to hone my wrenching skills. Overhauled a mtb suspension fork last week and realized why road bikes are so much better that mtb's. Trying to ride my bike into work more often than I drive... without catching frostbite. The single digit temps and 5 inches of snow are making it tough. Overall things are pretty good though. The Panther/ RGF Team meeting is comming up and the kits and equiptment look awesome. I'm going to miss Belgium, but a new team and a new race schedule are refreshing. Keeping me motivated during the cold.

Crossin' it up

2008-10-17T20:15:00.002-04:00

It's October and I'm racing cyclocross. Haven't been on the blog much but that's how it goes sometimes. I'm working at a bike shop in Plymouth and really diggin' it. I ride my new cross bike to and from the shop, work on bikes, and enjoy a beer now and then. Plus I'm learning a ton about wrenching. My plans for the fall involve racing cross here in MI, working 30/ week, and thinking a lot about what the hell I'm going to do next year and beyond. Hopefully the stars align and I win a cross race this fall but I'll settle for a podium appearance. Come out and ring a cow bell... and don't forget the beer.

Top 3 Reasons for a Cyclist's Blog-Slacking

2008-07-31T10:28:00.002-04:00

1. The results have not been blog worthy.

2. The author does not have form to brag about.

3. The author left his creativity in Belgium.

I've been working part-time at a local shop which hasn't been bad at all. I ride to work and fix bikes all day... definately could be worse! Raced some of Superweek and did the Chicago Crit last weekend (see #1). I won't be going to Nationals as I had planned but will race out the remainder of the season here in MI. There are a good deal of criteriums through Labor Day, which should keep me semi-motivated and occupied. So until #1 and #2 change and #3 gets shipped back to me,

Peace

The Low Down on ToPA

2008-07-02T14:20:00.003-04:00

It was a new experience for the team to have to defend the leader's jersey from day 1. I also have a new found respect for the top level domestiques who spend hours on the front of a race keeping a break in check and finishing the stage 15 minutes down. That's how I spent the first few stages. Unfortunately our team could not hold the jersey into Pittsburgh but it was still a sucessful week. 4 days in yellow and a stage win. Despite a crazy and dangerous last stage criterium the rest of the race was organized and the courses were tough. For being in the US, the ToPA exceded my expectations in terms of organization and race quality. I do have to say that on the final day the live TV coverage was a higher priority than rider safety, which I believe is totally wrong.

I left my teammates in Pittsburgh as they were headed back to Belgium for the Tour of Liege. I'm now in MI and will spend the rest of the summer racing locally and trying to earn a buck or two. I do plan on racing the U23 National road race in August but other than that I'll be rolling mostly crits... just my forte...not.

So if any MI folk know of any part time work, drop me a line.

PA

2008-06-23T09:38:00.002-04:00

Just yesterday I was in a country where "dunk u wel," "alstublieft," and "speculoos" are the 3 most popular words. Now I'm back in the US of A where "extra-large," "instant," and "24-hour" rank among the top 10. It's both exciting and frightening to be back in America. I'm not quite home and won't be for another week seeing as how I have a job to do before hand. The Tour of Pennsylvania starts tomorrow. 6 days, 7 stages, and a lot of money to be won. The JCBA/ CC Team for the race is made up of Jim Camut, Steven Van Vooren, Peter Horn, Aaron Pool, Dave Nelson, and myself. It's a strong selection and I believe we can do very well.

It's been a while since I've done a race of this scale in the US. In Europe there are UCI races every week, but the the peloton isn't U25 and the language sure isn't English. Needless to say I'm glad to be here in PA, and looking forward to a great week of racing on home turf. I'll note the differences and get back to you. Till then... speculoos!

The 8 Day Rule

2008-06-18T04:49:00.002-04:00

I think I should institute an 8 day rule: No racing in the week leading up to a major stage race. 8 days before = ok... 7 = no good. My last 3 crashes have all happened 7 days before big stage races. Last year I had a major crash in Willobroek, 7 days before Tour of Liege, and was unable to race. A few weeks ago I kissed the pavement, 7 days before Volta a Galicia, and luckily was still able to race (although probably not at 100%). And yesterday in Romsee, 7 days before Tour of PA, I took a little spill. I think I may have broken the curse yesterday, though, because I didn't touch the pavement. 50km into the race there was a big pileup near the front of the peloton. Unfortunately I was eating at the time and didn't have the braking power to escape untouched. I landed on a pile of riders and quickly rose to my feet, powerbar still in hand. After I fished my bike out of the pile (and chucked my powerbar) I checked it and started rolling. My derailleur was bent and by the time I got a bike change my race was over. No radios and car 24 in the caravan... not a good combo for mechanicals. Not my ideal last race in Europe. At least I escaped unscathed. On the plus side, my legs felt great in the 90 minutes I raced. Now it's all prep for Tour of PA. And in the future the 8 Day Rule will reign supreme.

Mini Training Camp

2008-06-13T05:12:00.002-04:00

I'm in Houffalize right now with 3 of my teammates for a short training camp in the Ardennes. 3 long, low-intensity days of up and down. The weather is unbelievably bad. Yesterday it rained for the entire ride and it doesn't look much better now. It's June 13th and I'm wearing a thermal coat with a rain cape. Gotta love Belgium. My last race in Europe this year is Tuesday in Romsee. Then it's off to the Tour of PA from June 24-29. After that, I'll be sticking stateside racing locally, working a bit, and trying to hunt out a few big races to do. I think it stopped raining, at least for 5 minutes, so it's time to ride.

Volta a Galicia

2008-06-09T15:02:00.007-04:00

An "in the car view" of the Galicia region of Spain.

It was a great week in Spain for the CC team. With strong, smart riding and selfless teamwork we took home 2 jersey's, the KOM and the U23 classification. Aaron Pool spent a day in the U23 jersey and Jim Camut took the final U23 classification while Steven Van Vooren wrapped up the Kom jersey before the race even ended. My race was spent in selfless support of my teammates, riding myself into the ground for them and working to defend our jersey's. Although I achieved no personal results it is a good feeling to know that my work was necessary to achieve the team result. We functioned as a pro team: each rider did his job and sometimes that job is not as glamorous as crossing the line first. Several stages I finished well behind the lead group, but where as in the past I would be frustrated... on these days I was proud! I covered threatening attacks in the early parts of stages, fetched bottles from the team car, and escaped in the early break to give my teammates in the peloton an easier time. A good domestique is a valuable asset to any team and now I fully understand the feeling that pro domestiques get with the success of their team leaders. I also know that my day will come and that my teammates would do the same for me.

The Volta a Galicia was a new experience for everyone at the CC. Spain was a new frontier as no one had raced there and no one knew exactly what to expect. There were teams with ex-pros that had raced the Vuelta a Espana and U23 teams from Portugal. Who knew what was going to happen. The rumor that the Spanish peloton races at one speed is nearly true. They ride very hard up mountains and then take the descents and flats fairly easy. I think they try to ride 38 kph no matter what the terrain is like! Where as Belgians race the crosswind, the Spaniards race the mountains. The other quirk about Spanish racing is the schedule and time frame. The Spanish are on Daylight Wasting Time: Race from 2-6, dinner (quite an ordeal) from 9:30-11, breakfast at 10:30. Everything is shifted 3 hours later than Belgium. Took a little getting used to but I liked it and rolled with it. Now it's back to the 8am wake up call. The course profiles in Spain were nearly impossible to memorize. It was like trying to study for the SAT's. Luckily they provide cheat sheets that fit into your pocket. Those little plastic cards were so valuable in knowing how the race would unfold, when to eat and drink, and what monster climb was comming up. I learned that the 20k climb is the staple of Spanish racing and that I can climb with those mountain goats. It was a great experience and I look forward to returning to Spain in the future.

Galicia served as a perfect prep for Tour of Pennsylvania, which is the next big race on the schedule. I think I'll do a one day race next week before hopping across the pond.

What would Spain be without a bull fight? Brutal.

A relaxed neutral start? We're sure not in Belgium. Jim in Blue. Steve in Green.

Aaron, Steven, and Dave after a long day of travel to Galicia.

http://www.voltagalicia.com/2008/index.php

100th Post, Eve of Spain

2008-06-02T13:25:00.003-04:00

Ah, it seems like just yesterday that I created "the gutter" and posted my first blog. Now 100 posts later I'm sitting on the couch at the CC with facial stitches, watching a bad movie, getting ready to go to Spain tomorrow! It will be a new experience for me as I've never raced in Spain (or have even been there) and do not know exactly what to expect, save tons of climbing. I think the style of racing in Spain will suit my abilities or so I hope. All I know for sure is that I've prepared the best I can under the circumstances and I'm mentally ready. So the wise advice of the 100th post is this: the greatest power I have is not on my bike but rather the power to choose my reaction to a situation. You can contemplate that for the next week while I may not be able access the world wide web.

Tomorrow will be a long day of travel. A short spin on the rollers, 1 hour shuttle to the airport, 2 hour flight, 4 hour drive... Galicia. So until post 101, thanks for reading.

Have You Ever Wondered?

2008-05-30T14:09:00.005-04:00

In case you were wondering what Belgian bike path tastes like, it's really not good. I took a bite on the way to the kermis Wednesday and went straight to the hospital. Talk about stupid crashes. I got taken out by my own teammate! I can't blame him entirely because he's new to Belgium and these bike paths can be confusing to the new arrival. It was a case of mis-communication and unfamiliarity with the roads. Unfortunately my face broke my fall and stitches were the result. The real disappointment was that I was unable to race and now I'm bruised up a week before the stage race in Spain. So I'm trying to rest, heal, and prepare the best I can for 5 hard days of racing in Spain. On the bright side, no broken bone and no broken bike. Next time I'll take a bite of waffle instead.
My face has been attracted to pavement for as long as I can remember.

Do I sound like Wenzel?

2008-05-28T05:03:00.003-04:00

What do you do on the morning of a kermis race? Yes, it may sound odd to Americans that the races here are in the afternoons. No 5am pre-race meals here. I guess it's more spectator friendly when the race isn't at the crack of dawn, and you know how much Belgians love their bike races! So if my race doesn't start until 3pm, what do I do all morning? I could go for a short spin... but we're riding to the race today so the day on the bike will be long enough. Rest, yes. Hydrate, yes. Read, bingo. East of Eden by Steinbeck... really enjoying it. I'll stop now since I'm steppin' on the turf of Scott Wenzel, pro book blogger.

Weather is looking good for this afternoon and I haven't raced in a while so I'm pumped. Hopefully I feel like superman today.

Stupid Well Water

2008-05-23T13:59:00.003-04:00

As I sit on the couch deeply searching for web-log inspiration, I'm finding that the well has run dry. But I must post for my thirsty readers nonetheless. Maybe night blogging isn't for me: Vince Roberge, Night Blogger... not to catchy. I suppose I can update my thousands of faithful readers on what's happening this side of the Atlantic. The rooms at the Cycling Center are filling up this time of the year and the kitchen is getting crowded. It's a time to meet new arrivals, learn names, and cook in shifts. At least you're never eating alone when you're sharing the back kitchen with 9 other guys. The weather has been good and the rides this week have been short. Poached a moped on the canal today for some free motorpacing and might race a kermis sunday. I'm feeling recovered from Triptyque and I'm preparing for 2 more big stage races in June. First is a 5 day 2.2 in Spain from June 4-8 and then there's the 6 day U25 Tour of Pennsylvania from June 24-29... a bountiful amount of bike racing.

I will now depart to think up some humorous and witty blog of the future.

a time to rest

2008-05-19T10:41:00.002-04:00

Triptyque was a beast. Not many races have the combination of field quality and course difficulty as this bad boy. Day 1 went well for the CC Team as all 6 of us finished with the peloton. Yeah, after all those climbs there was still a pretty big group... crazy. So the race was wide open after the first stage which was a good thing for our team. Racing in the Ardennes is straight up awesome. The hills, the history, the war monuments, and the weather all make for very distinct racing flavor and can be repeated nowhere. The second day's climbs were longer and more selective and the weather made for a semi-epic day. Fog, mist, and cold temperatures all added up for a pretty miserable day on the bike. The team raced well though... at the front, going with moves. At the end of the day we had Jim, Aaron, and Steven in the first peloton and Ian, Peter, and I in the second. The finish was in a beautiful, German, valley town that was filled with cheering locals. What a great place to finish a race. Day 3 was the double: Morning TT afternoon leg breaker. My TT was plain. I was 70th out of the 135 racers still left. Ian beat me by 1 second after missing 2 turns... don't I feel slow! Steven had a good ride with an 8th place. The afternoon was only 110km but by far the hardest stage. It was like a condensed Liege-Bastogne-Liege. On the early climbs I wasn't feeling very strong and made a tactical mistake of poor positioning on a very decisive climb. On a good day I could have moved up as the climb progressed but I was going nowhere. As my group came came into town for a 20km final loop, we got the yank. DNFing is never fun, especially 20km from the finish. Steven busted out another top 10, as only 90 guys finished the race (190 starters). My overall feelings about the race are mixed. I climbed well the first 2 days and raced pretty well but I would have liked 1 good result and obviously to finish the last day.

This afternoon my legs feel like I've been hanging out with baseball bat-wielding children... like egg beaters have made their way into my muscles and gone haywire. So it's time to rest, recover, and focus on the next race which may come in the weekend.

Road Trip(tyque) this weekend

2008-05-14T13:55:00.005-04:00

So, what are you doing this weekend? This is what I'm doing:

3 road stages, 1 time trial, 28 classified climbs. http://www.triptyqueardennais.be/

Leaving for the south of Belgium tomorrow... and I already have my climbing legs packed away right next to my tootbrush.

Tour de la Manche

2008-05-12T09:23:00.004-04:00

stage racing= eating many plates of food+ resting (Steven and Peter here)+ bending your knee over 75,000 times.

Tour de la Manche was good. For long version see below.

Like a fine French wine the JCBA/ Cycling Center Team got better with age. Every day we rode stronger and as a more cohesive team until it culminated into a victory on the final stage! That's right Steven Van Vooren won the final stage on a tough uphill finish out of a small escape group. It was a win that not only reflected Steven's great riding and ability but the depth and teamwork of our squad. But allow me to take you back to the morning of Wednesday, May 7th. The entire team and staff departed the CC at 9am sharp for a long and scenic drive to the region of Normandy. Our hotel was a walk from the beach and a short drive to the historic WWII areas of Saint-Lo, Countance, and Utah Beach. A 2 hour spin along the coast and some course previewing opened our legs from the long drive.

The first stage was a 160km race that finished on a fairly flat local circuit. All the climbs were early on in the stage which made for a tough aggressive start. Christophe had a problem in the first part of the race so I dropped back to help him get back in the peloton. It was a bullet well spent but a bullet nonetheless. While racing into town there was a large split that I failed to make, but we had 3 riders in the escape of 30 so all was not lost. My own GC hopes were dashed on the first day though as the entire peloton stopped racing and finished 10 minutes down. Steven, Peter, and Ian finished up the road but not in the first group of 7, which was filled with pros and ex-pros. A respectable day, but nothing to celebrate.

There were 2 highly regarded French Professional teams in the race: Auber 93 and Bretagne Armor-Lux. The riders on these teams were all seasoned pros and their strength was only outmatched by their smart racing. It was one of these two teams that usually controlled the race and stage 2 was no exception. A very hilly course of about 155km, the second stage proved to be one of the hardest. The local laps were very challenging and whittled the peloton to a small number. One rider escaped solo to take the victory and the CC had 4 finish in the peloton. I really thought a top ten was in the cards for me on this day. I had great position with 3-4km to go... sitting in the top 5-8 on narrow roads, and then came the swarm and my energy expenditure to move up again cost me in the final 200 meter ride to the finish. I went backwards in the peloton very quickly in that final 200. Quite disappointing.

Day 3: Morning Time Trial of 14km and afternoon road stage of 105km. Ah, the double day. Up at 5:45 am. Metabolism revving all day. 5 hours of riding including warm ups and cool downs. Bed by 10:30pm. The time trial was absolutely CRAZY. I am 100% sure that there is no time trial in the US held on such a narrow and technical course. Most of the roads were about the width of a bike path and no section of 200 meters was flat and straight. The entire 14km was either up or down curving left or right. Steven was 7th and the rest of us were sandwiched between 20th and 45th, I think. I would say that it was one of my best time trials even though my result wasn't spectacular. The course worked well for me, the legs felt good, I had a great warm up, and I absolutely FLEW by my 1 minute man! That's a good feeling. The afternoon stage can be summed up in one word: teamwork. It was short, difficult, up and down, and then finished with 4 x 7km local laps on a fairly flat circuit. With 2km to go I got my engine chugging up the side of the peloton, picking up my teammates as I passed them. With a little more than 1 km to go we had 5 CC riders drilling up the side with me at the wheel. What a feeling! I self detonated for my teammates and watched as they kept going at the front, battling other teams. I felt like my effort had meaning as I watched Steven take 3rd in the sprint and Peter take a top 20. Steven took the young rider's jersey, even though he was 2nd or 3rd in the competition. The first 2 had other jersey's to wear.

The final day was the big one. Although it was only 145km, there were 4 hard climbs on the way to the finishing circuits. There were 5 laps of 5km with a 700 meter climb to the finish! My duty for the day was to be Steven's shadow and windbreaker. I positioned him at the base of the climbs and twice fetched bottles from the caravan for him and my other teammates. I felt like a super-domestique and took pride in protecting Steven in his Blue attire. We all made it to the local laps when the real fireworks began. Things started to blow on the tough circuit and Steven made it up the road with 4 others. Peter crashed on a decent (luckily wasn't injured) and couldn't make it back to the single file peloton. So Ian, Aaron, and I did what we could to keep the peloton on lock down, which granted wasn't much more than keeping good position and a good eye to the front. It was a suffer fest for the last few laps. The fatigue of the race and the burn of the finishing climb was only overcome by the fact that our teammate was in contention to win so we dug deep to keep going. I had a pretty good finish on the day (waiting to see results) but the most important thing was the win. A win for Steven, but more importantly a win for the team.

I'm chillin' today. Went for a short ride this morning and felt surprisingly awesome. Shutting down the engine tomorrow and then I'll start to prepare for Triptique Ardennais, a 3 day, 4 stage race in the hills of Wallonia, May 16-18.

The Weather Switch

2008-05-05T11:39:00.005-04:00

After the race on Thursday the Tour de La Manche team did 2 additional hard days of training to get our bodies in stage race mode. Friday and Saturday were both 6 hour days with some work on the TT bike and plenty of hills. My legs were feeling pretty good despite the high training volume. I feel like the form is headed in the right direction and am looking forward to the race. Had myself a low key recovery day yesterday with a team BBQ in the evening. It seems like someone flipped the weather switch here in Belgium... beautiful blue skies and temps in the 70s! Because Belgium doesn't get this kind of weather often, the country drops everything to BBQ and enjoy life. Most people "made the bridge" from the Holiday on Thursday, so it was a 4 day weekend of good times for Belgians. And yes, "making the bridge" is a common term here.

Leave for Normandy on Wednesday. The race is Thursday- Sunday and the website is http://www.cyclisme50.com/

Hoboken, No jokin'

2008-05-01T15:33:00.002-04:00

Seeing as how I raced for 185km today, this will be short. Meiprijs, the prize of May, a UCI 1.2 was today. Mad props go out to Aaron Pool who had the ride of the day, being off the front for around 160km and getting 11th on the day! Nice. The race was a flat 185km with some cobblestones and a lot of nasty weather. Rain, wind, sun... and repeat. My day was a series of ups and downs, mostly aligned with the weather. I was shivering at 3 hours in but by the time we got to the local laps (3x12km) my legs had opened up and I was feeling good. I even attacked in the last lap of 12km. No dice. Sitting in the top 20... 5km to go... Flat! I figured my day was over, but I chased like hell nonetheless. Apparently I had decent legs after 183km because I caught the peloton! What do you know? I was cashed after that and the peloton was strung out. Rolled over the line in 84th. Bummer.

Still no results from Affligem. Next on the sched is 4 days of stage racing in France (May 8-11).

Casey Hill Is A Smart Man

2008-04-29T11:24:00.003-04:00

There's a crack in the glass coffee pot. A minor emergency in the back kitchen. What to do? Borrow the french press from upstairs or yank a bialetti from the front kitchen? I was in panic. Casey somehow used his brain without caffeine to come up with this. A work of art, titled: Ingenuity

Why is it that cyclists seem to have a need to blog about coffee? Lame.

GROTE PRIJS AFFLIGEM

2008-04-28T04:03:00.004-04:00

Although I've yet to see results, I have a feeling I won't be too happy. Our team result was probably ok, but nothing to celebrate. I believe Steven was somewhere around 15th, and both Ian and Aaron were up in the hunt. By the end of the race most of the peloton was broken up and without a radio it is sometimes hard to know exactly where you are... you just keep racing. So I did. And I finished. Where? I'll let you know when I know.

It was a beautiful Belgian afternoon with a sunny sky, high temperatures, and little wind. The race consisted of 157km... 2 big loops, 3 local laps. Plenty of cobblestones, many small hills, and lots of turns made it a typical UCI in Belgium. The race was fast yet manageable for me, especially early on, as I covered several attacks and raced aggressively. It seems that all of my efforts were in vain, for when the real fireworks began I didn't have the legs, but more importantly the position, to take part. By the end of the race, I was pretty wasted and the most frustrating fact is that all the energy I spent translated into basically no result. I like to think I helped the team early on by covering moves. If I can take away some positives it would be that I raced well at certain moments, ate and drank plenty, and have yet another long intense race in the legs.

Today I'm recovering, resting, and hydrating... hopefully to come away from the race a stronger rider. It must have been the heat yesterday, my first hot race of the season, because I felt like I went pretty deep at moments and was definitely hurting last night. So on to the next race, the next chance.

Here's me looking "not so cool" with our "super cool" fan Blanca at the sign in of Affligem.

The H is O in this pic.

Number Crunching

2008-04-26T03:28:00.003-04:00

There are 17 bike races in Flanders today... and 29 tomorrow. That's 46 bike races this weekend packed into an area little larger than 5,000 square miles. By my math, that's about a bike race in every 100 square miles. And that's not even on a big race weekend here in Vlaanderen. Flanders is the northern, Dutch speaking, region of Belgium and widely considered the heart our fine sport. The races this weekend will differ in age category and length but hold one thing in common: all the courses will be lined with fun-loving Belgians drinking a beer or enjoying frites. Belgians love their bike racing... from the 11-12 years olds all the way up to the pro's. Me, I'll be mixing it up in Affligem Sunday over the course of 157km. Better go spin the legs out and prepare my bike. It's still early in the season, the opportunities are plentiful, and the 100+ race weekends here in Flanders are on their way.

fotos

2008-04-23T11:08:00.003-04:00

I was in this peloton somewhere... above is the proper way to handle the Muur... below is not.

What looks to be the final ascent of the Bosberg. It sure doesn't look very hard while sitting on the couch. Photos from http://www.zellik-galmaarden.be/

Z-G report

2008-04-21T09:36:00.006-04:00

OK, here are the details of my previous post. Zellik- Galmaarden is the second race of the Top Competition series, a number of one-day races here in Belgium for continental and amateur teams. They are some of the most prestigious events for amateurs and attract some of the highest quality fields in Europe. Needless to say, it was a race I was happy to do. Being my first long race of the year, my duty for the day was to land in an early break and represent the team for the first part of the day. A good finish would be a bonus but not a necessity today. So I raced hard in the first 2 hours of the race, going with attacks and spending small chunks of time up the road. No escape was given much time and the wide roads in the beginning of the race kept the speeds high and the attacks controlled. On the menu was 2 servings of the Muur and 5 servings of the Bosberg, among other lesser climbs, so the peloton was not eager to expend energy.

Because of a new rule here in Belgium amateur races no longer permit riders to wear radios. So yesterday was the first time in 4 years I've raced a UCI in Europe without my beloved earpiece. I realized yesterday how much I depended on it. I was forced to pay close attention to the race, remind myself to eat and drink, and ride in close proximity to my teammates. Radio-free bike racing is most certainly different and raises the stock of the intelligent bike racer. No longer can a "dumb-as-a-nail-powerhouse" follow mindlessly the commands of his director. As much as I liked having Bernard in my ear, it was sort of nice having to rely on intelligence and instinct.

It was difficult to keep track of attacks and breakaways but every racer was in the same boat. I think that was the main reason no escapes were given huge amounts of time. It was a race of selection and the peloton was whittled to half its original size. Over the many climbs the peloton would shatter, and some groups would eventually come back together. It wasn't until the final ascent of the Bosberg that the winning move stuck, of which Steven was a part. My position was good on that climb, but not good enough (by 2 places to be exact...in order to be in the chase). Funny how those small details can affect the final result. I was pleased by the way I raced, how I felt, and by getting the full 170 k's in my legs. I really feel that good stuff in coming. To echo Bernard's sentiments about the race: It was without a doubt a good day, but in the end we did not get what we deserved.

Just the facts

2008-04-20T14:53:00.003-04:00

Zellik- Galmaarden, UCI 1.12, 173km
198 starters
110 finishers
Steven- 8th
Aaron- 49th
Ian- 55th
Vince- 86th
Cycling Center- 8th team

Report to come.

Preparations and Pondering

2008-04-19T10:41:00.003-04:00

It is customary to wash one's bike the day before a race. While drying my cranks I turned to Scott and said, "There will be a lot of power traveling through these things in 24 hours." For some reason he laughed. I'm still pondering why.

Kermis'n in De Haan

2008-04-17T10:12:00.003-04:00

Put in a nice big day on the bike Wednesday. 6 of us pedaled out from the CC at 12:30 to hunt down a kermis in the coastal town of De Haan. With our supplies and fuel stored in the bags on our back we arrived in De Haan with plenty of time to register and pre-ride the course. Bernard showed up with the van by start time so we had a place to put our bags. At 9km, the kermis loop was on the long side but surprisingly had very few turns. The race itself was 120km and I was glad to get the full distance of racing in my legs. I was unhappy, however, with my racing. I gave it a go on a few occasions but for the most part chickened out and raced too far towards the back. I wasn't feeling 100% and let my lack of power lead to lack of racing confidence. 113 starters. 75 finishers. 55th place. Not too good. We packed it up and spun our legs toward Hersberge making in home for a nice 8pm dinner. You really can't find a day like that in the States: 120km race, 3 euro entry, 113 racers, all with riding distance from home. Good ol' Belgie.

Next up for me is a UCI 1.12 called Zellik-Galmaarden on Sunday.

That Dude from VeloNews

2008-04-14T10:21:00.004-04:00

VeloNews writer and Boulder resident Fred Dreier is used to asking questions. He interviews bike racers and writes race reports for a living, all the while traveling the world and trying to maintain his fitness as an athlete. I thought I'd change it up a bit and turn the tables, putting him in the not-so-hot seat. He's staying here at the Cycling Center, while on assignment covering the Spring Classics for VeloNews. From Flanders to Roubaix to Liege, Fred's there hunting down the story, asking questions, and furiously typing away.
Now you must understand that Fred and I go way back. That's right, way back to the late winter of 2008 when I was in Boulder. I rode with him on one occasion. So yeah, we're pretty much best friends. To interview him I needed to brush up on my Boulder dialect but I excluded the many "dude's" "bro's" and "shya's" of the conversation for the sake of clarity.
VR: So are you all warmed up and recovered after our 3 hour spin in the cold rain and hail of Belgium? Have you been here in Belgium before?
FD: Yeah. No, this is my first time in Belgium.
VR: You attended Paris-Roubaix last weekend. Tell us about your day. Who was your best interview? Worst?
FD: Well, I was surprised by the number of people I saw everywhere: fans, riders, staff. It was really hectic. We went to Compiegne 2 hours prior to the start. Luckily our media credentials gave us the opportunity to catch the riders getting off their team bus's to sign in. We took quotes from riders and stuck to one-liners like: How are the legs? What kind of tactics are your team using? The answers were going to be used for VeloNews live updates. After the start we went to a hotel with internet access and sent out the material we had just gathered to our web editor who would be typing the live updates. From there, we leapfrogged the race, first driving to sector 23 of pave. It was pretty tough this year because the peloton was moving fast in the first 2 hours. I think they covered over 100km which was at least 20 minutes ahead of the schedule we received. Next we drove to sector 18, the Arenberg Forest. We hung out in Arenberg for a while, about 2km into the forest. The 2.4 km stretch of cobbles was loaded with people drinking, dancing, barbecuing, and having a good time in the sunny and pleasant afternoon. After the riders passed we went straight to the Roubaix Velodrome and found our way into the media room. At 10km to go in the race we went to the infield of the velodrome and watched the finish live.
As far as good riders to interview, Slipstream's Mike Friedman was among the best. He 's very candid. A lot of riders are media trained so there interviews aren't as interesting. Younger riders tend to speak candidly and say what's on their mind. Interviewing Martijn Maaskant was like pulling teeth! He was overwhelmed and swarmed by reporters after his 4th place finish. I was able to talk to him at the team bus but he was a little out of it after 260km.
The things that surprised me about Paris- Roubaix were first of all the nice weather conditions... I was expecting much worse. I would also have to say that the speed the pros rode the pave was very impressive and surprising. Cancellara and Boonen were the favorites and they did not disappoint. Those two being in the final made my story easier to write.
VR: How many years have you been with VeloNews? In that time, what has been you're best assignment?
FD: This is my 4th year with VeloNews. Covering the Cape Epic in South Africa was my favorite. Or maybe La Ruta because I was able to ride it and cover it. That was hard! [both mountain bike races]
VR: Who is your favorite author?
FD: Kurt Vonnegut JR. or Hunter S. Thompson
VR: And now some rapid fire... PC or Mac?
FD: Mac
VR: Coffee or tea?
FD: Coffee
VR: Road or mountain?
FD: Mountain for coverage, rode for riding.
VR: Colorado or Belgium?
FD: That's an easy one, Colorado.
VR: VeloNews.com or VeloNews Magazine?
FD: VeloNews Magazine. Seeing your name on a by line is always special... even though 10 times more people will read it on the website.

3 days in... kermis.

2008-04-12T15:20:00.005-04:00

Raced a U23 kermis today in Hooglede. Yes, the same Hooglede that hosted 'cross worlds a couple of years ago. I wasn't too happy with how it went but I'll chalk it up as a decent day of training. It was my first real race of the year and I'm still getting adjusted to the time zone as well. Felt strong on the small hill and crosswind sections but the accelerations were my problem today. A few more hard races in the legs ought to fix that. After all was said and done, I crossed the line in 31st (of 71)... one out of the money. Alex and I returned our numbers and pedaled for home. Not a good result, but good wake up for the legs.

Alex and I headed home.

Plane Legs

2008-04-10T10:06:00.004-04:00

Trying to overcome a minor case of plane legs. Symptoms include heavy legs, pedaling squares, feeling blocked, and overall tightness. The cure to P.L. is pretty simple: ride and stretch. That's what I've done the past two days and I'm starting to feel better. I think I'll be back to 100% by the weekend.

My bike and body arrived in Belgium yesterday without problem. It was actually one of the most stress free travel days I've ever endured. Practice makes perfect, I guess. My objective in the next week is to settle in to a routine and prepare for my first big race on the 20th. A kermis before then is highly likely, but I would have a training-type approach to the race. That's the news for now. The sun has stalked me across the Atlantic, but I'm a happy victim. 50s and sun. Nice.

Time to Fly

2008-04-07T21:06:00.004-04:00

Leaving for Belgium tomorrow. My bike's all cleaned up and my stuff is gathered in piles on the floor. Tomorrow morning will bring a short spin on the rollers, some packing, goodbyes, and a nice long flight. I remember when the travel day was exciting and the flight itself was an adventure. The night before my first ever flying experience I didn't even sleep because I was so excited. Now the first thing I do when I board the trans-Atlantic plane is fall asleep. How things change. It will be nice to get settled and start racing in Belgium again... so I can put up with the epic travel day filled with planes and trains.

I do feel ready to rock on the narrow roads of Flanders. The fitness is good and will only get better with more racing. Did the old STS races in Michigan this past weekend. Beautiful weather teased many bike racers out of their Michigan winter hibernation. Saturday was a race filled with attacking... although no break could escape. I attacked more times than I can remember and the accelerations eventually got to me. I played my cards early on and didn't contest the field sprint. Sunday went well except for my double flatting on the ride out to Ann Arbor. Thanks to Brian and John for rescuing me. During the race I lapped the field with Steven Howard from Bissell. Unfortunately there was a large escape that was 20 seconds behind us and lapped the field as well. Confusion ensued. 12 of the 65 riders were a lap up. Lapped riders were pulled... and then there were 12. 3 laps to go. Attack. Counterattack. Cat and mouse. And I was 3rd over the line in what was essentially a sprint of 12. Not bad for twig-legged Vince. So it was a good weekend: 2 races, 8 hours of riding, and a 3rd place. So far this spring I've placed 4th, 3rd, and 2nd... I'll just have to get that win in Belgium.

24 weeks

2008-03-31T10:32:00.006-04:00

Yes it was a long winter, but at the end of my 24th week of training I pinned on my number and pedaled toward the start/ finish. Some may think that nearly 6 months without racing is too long but... I would agree. How about that argument? I would have liked to race in Boulder at the begining of March but the race was cancelled so I settled for some intense group rides and some "tear your legs off" climbing epics. Heck, I would have raced Valley of the Sun in mid-February had I received my Cat 1 upgrade in time. But it wasn't meant to be and now it is April and I have less than 3 hours of racing in my legs. I'm not complaining about the racing here in Michigan, I'm a creative guy so I make it work. I have invented the "Spring Training Series Sandwich" using 2 slices of hearty, two-hour endurance rides. So even though the race is less than an hour, I end up with a 5.5 hour, 100+ mile day.
Saturday was a beautiful early spring day with temps around 40F, a slight breeze and a clear sky. I wasn't feeling very well in the days leading up to the race but managed a 4th place on the day. The important thing is that I made it a hard race, attacking often, and riding most of the day in a small break. What amazed me while riding in the break was how inefficient we were. I was very close to "going Belgian" on my breakaway companions and screaming at the top of my lungs about pulling off into the wind and riding withing inches side to side... but I refrained and muttered "godverdomme" under my breath. My last lap attack was unsucessful and my unmatchable sprinting prowess (it's true, I'm now a pure sprinter) could not secure the "W." Since I didn't win, my mom told me that she wouldn't drive me home unless I rode another hour at 300 watts... so I did. And that was Saturday.
I'd imagine all Michigan bike racers know Runway Plaza, the venue for the Spring Training Series. 4 Sundays in the spring, a simple 1km crit loop, a perfect 2 hour ride from my driveway, and 24 years running. That right this series has been going on longer than I've been alive. The man who runs the show, Paul Alman, is the cornerstone of Michigan bike racing and truly cannot be thanked enough for his contributions to the sport. The weather on Sunday didn't draw record numbers but at least 40 riders made it out for the first day of Runway 2008. I don't do these races to sit in, socialize, or even practice my tactics. I do these races to train, to attck a lot, and to go hard for the race's short duration. So that's what I did. Within the first 5 or 10 minutes we had ourselves a little breakaway. I pushed it hard up the small rise to the finish on many laps and attacked more times than I can remember. Lapped the field and placed 2nd. The day wasn't over though as I scarfed some food, filled my bottles, bundled up and pedaled for home. I beat the rain home and hit the couch. A day on the bike doesn't get much better than that. Unless you win of course. Note to self: win next week. 8 more days, 2 more races, Belgium here I come.

Blood

2008-03-25T19:01:00.005-04:00

I did a lactic test this past weekend to check the numbers and see where my fitness stands. For those of you who don't know how the test works, I attach my bike to a machine that reads wattage and start pedaling at 100 watts. Every 3 minutes the wattage increases by 50 watts and a small blood sample is taken from my ear to measure the lactic acid concentration. Basically it's a kamikaze mission crossed with a night out with a vampire. You keep pedaling until you blow up and end with a little less blood than you started with. I was pleased to see the improvement in my lactic curve from the last test I did. I'm getting to the point where I can pedal as easily as I can sit on the couch. In fact my new training program incorporates couch lounging intervals... not quite. Anyway, after an excellent Easter brunch with the family on Sunday I headed out to put those calories to use. After a few miles I turned my head to expel some mucus from my running nose. I have this down to science and don't even use my hand for assistance. I blew like I've done thousands of times and out came my precious endurance liquid: Blood. Great. So I pedal with my head cocked up and breathe heavily through my nose for a while but the blood keeps a coming. This was the nose bleed from hell on Easter day itself. I eventually came across a sheriff parked in a lot along my training route and inquired about paper products. I was in luck. Inside a paper towel, he stored some magic cookies... not quite as powerful as magic beans, but pretty darn close. He didn't give me any of the cookies but the paper towel was mine and guess what: it smelled like cookies! So I jammed a piece up my nose and was teased by the scent of magic cookies for the rest of my ride. True story.

Other than that, not too much is going on here in Michigan. Same old, same old. Training is going good, got a new chain, Detroit's mayor has been charged with a few felonies, and I'm getting ready to race this weekend. Yep, I guess the chain is the highlight of the week. So I'm going to try to hang on to my blood for the next few days and then try to win some bike races this weekend.

Ode to the Fender

2008-03-13T10:32:00.003-04:00

For as long as I recall I thought it was dumb
To have a bike with a fender and look like a bum.
But after some training in Boulder, Colorado,
"A clean and dry backside" is my brand new motto.
Puddles, streams, and even a lake,
I'll ride through it all... for my fender can take
The abuse, the dirt, the spray, and the spew,
After every wet ride my ass says thank you.

Yes the detachable fender was a piece of equipment I acquired in Boulder and I'm putting it to good use here in Michigan. The snow's a melting and the puddles are prospering. Other than the poor weather MI, it's good to be home and sleeping in my own bed rather than a futon in someone's living room. Don't misunderstand me, I loved being in Boulder and I hope to return but it was time to move on. Right now I'm focusing on the begining of the racing season. It's been quite some time since I last rolled to the start line of a race and I'm getting that early spring itch to get going once again. I am especially eager to get back to Belgium... cold, wet, and gray Belgium. It's a sick addiction I think: the desire to race in those conditions, or maybe it's more of compromise I make to be able to race those long, hard, prestigious races. I'll deal with the conditions to be able to race those Top Comps, those stage races, even those kermis races. I feel like every spring I have the chance to rise to a new level. The winter months of training are nearing an end and no one, not even myself, knows exactly what I'm capable of this season. That's exciting to me.

Got outside for a long ride yesterday and realized that I've been riding indoors way too much in the last week:
I put on shorts and a baselayer and thought I was ready to go.
While dressing I was thinking about what to watch on TV while I ride.
While riding I was surpised to see pavement rather than basement tiles.
I briefly forgot how to turn.
And remembered what coasting feels like.

Preliminary Schedule

2008-02-28T11:57:00.003-05:00

Sometimes you don't know where you're going to be in a month. 4 weeks ago I didn't know I'd still be in Boulder, but I'm happy, grateful, and excited for the next step of the journey. I guess this is what makes life so exciting. Well, I now have a pretty good idea of what the next few months will look like for me.

March 4- Back to MI
March 29- Waterford Race
March 30- Runway Plaza Race, Ann Arbor
April 5- Waterford
April 6- Runway
First or Second week of April- Fly to Belgium
-2 months of hard man racing in Belgium-
And, fingers crossed, back to the US for the prestigious U25 Tour of Pennsylvania, June 24-29.

Life is change and so could this schedule. This sport has taught me some valuable lessons though: Focus on what you can control, be flexible, and stay positive. Wherever I'll be, I'll be racing my bike and having my best year yet.

Doing the ToC!

2008-02-18T15:05:00.003-05:00

Yes. I'm doing the ToC. I don't want to be arrogant, but I really think I deserve it. I worked quite hard last week and don't mind saying that I really need it. Who knows how it will go and what kind of form I'll have afterwards. Not very many of my friends and family know about this recent decision but it's been on my schedule for weeks. In fact I've been doing the ToC every Monday for a while. Oh, you must have been mistaken... not the Tour of California. Mondays are my rest days and I take part in the Tour of the Couch.

Will you be my Valentine?

2008-02-14T16:29:00.006-05:00

How does a single, 21- year-old cyclist spend Valentine's Day? Alone... yes... lonely... not quite. I did wake up all by myself... with no alarm clock that is. Had myself a lonely little breakfast as I watched the snow sift from the heavens onto the streets of Boulder. It was then that I realized today would be a lonely day on the rollers. I hopped on the bike and pedaled away but I was going nowhere, all by myself. Oh the tears began to flow as I watched happy couples frolic in the snow outside my window. Tears? No, I guess they were beads of sweat. I was riding quite hard and had, but alas, merely one lonely fan.

I suppose cyclists are used to being alone, some more than others. Long solo training rides and nights spent with the legs up. It seems this sport was designed for the loner. But there are the lucky ones...yes the lucky ones... who have found a woman who supports them in this crazy sport. They put up with all of the traveling, the Saturday nights on the couch, and the constant complaints about fitness, fatigue, and sore legs. Maybe they'll even offer a massage. For me though, this Valentine's day will be spent alone, although not lonely. Oh and for all you young, independently wealthy, extremely attractive, lonely ladies out there (like any would be reading my blog)... I enjoy riding my bike and spending Saturday nights on the couch. Oh, and I don't complain much at all. Drop me a line.

Team Presentation

2008-02-01T21:23:00.000-05:00

The evening began with a silent auction and plenty of conversation in the halls of the auditorium. After everyone found their seats the program began with live music and dancing followed by a poetry reading by the MC. Video clips were mixed with introductions and the Astana riders were escorted on the stage by the dancers one by one. Interviews followed and the program ended with a standing ovation. I had never attended a Pro Tour Team Presentation but I have to say it was quite an event... a medley of entertainment!The best part of the night was the dinner for the teams, staff, and handful of VIPs. By this time it was well past 9pm and my hunger was only surpassed by my fatigue. But after a little authentic New Mexican food I was ready for a second trip to the buffet line. Oh, and there was birthday cake which created the most entertaining game for the night... try to guess which Pro Tour riders would eat cake. I won't name names but there were more than a few. And the most impressive show of self control was the Tour-Quality rider who enjoyed one small bite of his dessert and pushed the rest away. I didn't torture myself and passed on the cake entirely. more to come.

The Breakfast of Champions

2008-01-26T10:57:00.001-05:00

I arrived in Albuquerque this past Wednesday for the JBCA training camp, which is held together with the training camp of Astana. We're staying at the Embassy Suites and I am quite literally eating the breakfast of champions. No continental breakfast here... no small table of merely coffee and muffins. We're talking full breakfast buffet and then some. Current champions are fueling up on this breakfast and I'd imagine that future champions on the JBCA are taking part too.

It's only the 3rd day of camp but the schedule follows a pattern something like this:
8am-Breakfast of Champions
8:30-9:30- Core work/ stretching
9:30- Team Meeting
11:00- Group ride
3:30-6:00pm- Recovery time
6:30- Dinner
7:30-10:30- Relax/ Meetings/ Bed

Some days will be a bit different. The Team Presentations are at the end of the week. Thanks to Albuquerque and the Embassy Suites. More to come.

How sweet is that?

2008-01-14T17:35:00.000-05:00

My team is now officially affiliated with Johan Bruyneel and Astana.

http://www.velonews.com/race/dom/articles/13902.0.html

Thanks to my hosts

2008-01-08T10:08:00.000-05:00

I've been in Boulder for a few days now and must take a moment to graciously thank my hosts Allen, Collin, and Kim. They have welcomed me into their living space and made me feel at home. Thanks guys. I have to say it's nice to be riding outdoors instead of the basement back in MI. I've been getting a handle on the roads here in Boulder and breathing a little easier every day. This mile high thing is tough! The roads are great, the drivers are friendly, and the town has a great feel to it. So far, I'm loving Boulder. I also just experienced something for the first time in my life. CHIPOTLE. As in Slipstream-Chipotle. The best burrito I've ever had.

So the plan now is to eat, sleep, and ride for the next 2 weeks. Get acclimated, ride the mountains, and rest a lot before heading down to Albuquerque for Training Camp on the 23rd. Life's good... more to come.

The Waterbottle Shuffle

2007-12-16T10:42:00.000-05:00

A valuable skill for any cyclist training in sub-freezing temperatures. You roll out of your driveway for a 5 hour ride with 3 waterbottles. 2 are in your cages and 1 takes the seat of honor: In the back pocket closest to your body. It's covered by at least one layer and steals some of your precious body heat to maintain its liquid form. 30 minutes into your ride you notice the bottles in your cages are begining to take solid form. At this point you must begin the waterbottle shuffle. Switch a bottle from the cage with the one in your pocket. Isn't that comfortable? That chuck of ice on your back... stealing your body heat? Continue switching and swaping frequently for best results. The longer you wait, the more uncomfortable that next bottle on your back will be so keep practicing the waterbottle shuffle and stay hydrated.

Oh, my lactic test was "very good man." Right on track and ahead of schedule.

Tag, I'm it?

2007-12-05T16:12:00.000-05:00

So my bro from Boulder, Allen Krughoff, sent me a message saying that I've been tagged, which means that I'm supposed to list 5 things you may not know about me and then tag 5 other people. I usaully don't participate in these kind of chain mail experiments but hey... it's an easy blog. So:
1. I hate chain letters
2. I got involved in cycling because of the Make-A-Wish Foundation
3. I dropped out of U of M with a 3.8 GPA (I do plan on attaining a degree before I die)
4. I can pour the best latte this side of the Mississippi
5. I only have 5 friends and they have been tagged, so I guess the chain ends here unless...

The first 5 people with blogs who read this are tagged. Please leave a comment stating so.

Other News
Doing a lactic test this weekend... sweet.

What I do

2007-11-15T10:02:00.000-05:00

My time during the winter is spent building my sword. Sometime I spend 5 or 6 hours a day building it. The edge and point are not that sharp right now but I don't care about that. It's only November. I want to get my sword really strong and big. Then, at the end of January or maybe the begining of February I'll start sharpening it. The sword building is going great. Sometimes I feel like I want to start sharpening it but I hold back and keep building. After I'm done building for the day, I put it in it's scabbard to rest. It's already pretty big and by May/ June/ July it's going to be one seriously leathal weapon. Image from Wikipedia

Oh so true

2007-11-06T15:11:00.000-05:00

"The early days in Belgium must have been lonely, but he did not let that get to him. He was there to learn a trade. He trained and rode hard; went to bed early; spoke on the phone to his girlfriend (later to be his wife) back home. He was in Belgium to do one thing: to become a professional bike rider, and nothing else must be allowed to intrude. It's an attidue, a monkish approach, which doesn't sit well with many young riders contemplating the demands of the sport nowadays."

-Author Graeme Fife refering to Sean Kelly in his book Inside The Peloton.

fall training in Michigan isn't so bad

2007-11-06T14:59:00.000-05:00

It's just the winter I don't like.

It takes a break...

2007-10-25T10:51:00.000-04:00

After a few weeks off the bike, doing little more than working and walking my dog, I am once again back in training. The end of the season break came a bit early since I had no races after mid-September. So I "got it out of the way" and have returned to training a little earlier than I have in previous years. The end of the season break is an interesting phenomena. You look forward to it the last month (maybe more) of the season but when you're in it, you long to ride again. I feel once again "at home" while on my bike and find purpose to my life while pumping iron in the weightroom throughout the winter. It feels great to suffer the aches and pains of training, the fatigue of winter training ride, the refreshment of a hot shower and an evening on the couch. My legs are clean shaven and I feel like a bike racer again. Still have plenty of work to do before the team training camp in late January, but I'm ready. I guess it takes a break to truely recognize my love for this sport.

Winding Down

2007-09-22T09:34:00.000-04:00

Although cyclocross is tempting, it's time for a little break. the last few races of the season went ok but bad luck struck again with an untimely flat in the Tour de Leelanau. The peloton was broken up but I managed to get back into a group that finished, albeit outside the time limit... still top 40 (tough race) . I got 10th the week before in the Grand Rapids Criterium, not a bad day at all. There's something about bike racing though... unless you win you could have done better.

I'm working once againg at Starbucks and looking forward to a good winter of training. I hope to escape the brutal Michigan winter after the holidays. And before you know it I'll be in Albuquerque for training camp. The Cycling Center has some big things in the works for next year so I'm already motivated for next season and I haven't even taken my break!

Home and Healthy

2007-08-27T10:57:00.000-04:00

I'm back in Michigan, feeling healthy, and looking forward to racing out the final weeks of the season. On the schedule is Tour Via Italia Criterium, Cadieux Criterium, Priority Cycling Classic, and Tour de Leelanau. That should take me to mid-September and possibly a little time off the bike. Thanks for following my season. I'll try to keep the blog updated with info on my off season and the plan for next year.

It's that time of year

2007-08-17T05:22:00.000-04:00

The Cycling Center is clearing out. Only 8 North Americans remain and 4 are leaving next week... including myself. It's a strange time and I have to say it's not my favorite. All the big races are over and the season has begun to wind down. The plan was to do one last kermis this weekend but I may take my final weekend in Belgium off racing. There's a little bug going around and I would rather travel healthy and rested than tired and sick. Plus, I've had over 10 race days in the last month! Rest is good.

So I get home on Tuesday. I may race the Rockford Criterium on the 25th and I plan on racing Labor Day Weekend too. It's been a good seaon here in Belgium. I've reached a new level in my racing this year and the improvement is clearly visable. On many occasions I was close to good results, but some bad luck got in the way. It will come, as Bernard says.

Getting Wet in Antwerp

2007-08-13T05:47:00.000-04:00

It's a weird feeling to be done with a stage race. It''s nice to be able to rest but at the same time it's a bit depressing. There is a major drop off in stimulus. No schedule to keep, no carbo-loading, no eat-sleep-race cycle. Yet my body is still raging, expecting another day of racing. I'll give it what it wants and go for a ride in a few hours.

The Tour of Antwerp was wet. The first day (prologue and road stage) it rained from sun up until sun down and was cold. It was a miserable and epic day on the bike. The CC team had good prologues and finished in the front of the peloton in the afternoon. Besides some minor crashes everyone escaped to race another day. Friday morning was a short race of only 90km, completed in less than 2 hours. That's over 27 mph. Despite a hairy run in to the finish Allen cracked the top 30 and Aaron and I were just behind him. The afternoon brought a Team Time Trial of 23km. We had high expectations for this and were a bit disappointed with our 15th place. Right smack dab in the middle of 30 teams. The times were close but we made a few too many mistakes. Team time trialling is definately a skill where practice pays, and our 3 days of practice may not have been enough. It was a good learning experience. Saturday was the crazy day. I was the only rider in the peloton to get soaked and it wasn't raining. On a narrow farm road I crashed into the grass to avoid a pile-up. My momentum sent me rolling into a ditch filled with nasty muddy water. Of course the pile-up caused a major split and I spent the next 130km chasing and rotating with other riders to minimize the time loss. It was a very frustrating day because the crash was near the front and I had the legs to do so much more than pull a chase group around for 3 hours. The result at the end of the day did not reflect my good form or aggressive racing but instead it reflected my bad luck. Sunday was the beast of 190km. I was worried when I had trouble getting out of bed due to exhaustion and my sore right side on which I crashed. I thought it might be a day of merely surviving. Once we got rolling, though, I was shocked to discover how great my legs felt. A small early break escaped and the peloton chased at a fairly steady tempo. I tried to be conservative and paient. The 2 local laps with cobbles would decide the race. 30 km from the local laps...Rain. Those cobbles would be like riding on ice. I raced at the front the entire day and tried my hardest to stay there for the laps... for my own safety and for a good result. There were some nasty and spectacular crashed, some of which I could only hear. They all motivated me to move up even more. In the end I placed 38th, not great but nothing to be ashamed of. I raced hard every day, gave everything I had to give, and unfortunately had some bad luck. I did better than last year and I am nowhere near as wasted as I was at the end. Time to recover, race a kermis, and head back to the old US of A.

Tour of Antwerp, August 9-12

2007-08-08T09:15:00.000-04:00

Four days of racing with 2 double days. It all begins tomorrow with a 4km prologue and an afternoon road stage. On Friday, we have a morning road stage and an afternoon team time trial. I'm looking forward to the TTT. It's not often you get the chance do do one and we have a team full of good time trialists. Hopefully we can get a good result. Saturday and Sunday are both road races and I think one of those days is on a hilly course which is not even in the province of Antwerp. The Tour of Antwerp will likely be my last big race in Belgium this year. I leave on the 21st, so after Antwerp I'll recover and do a kermis or two before packing it up. I'm looking forward to the next 4 days and believe a good result is entirely possible. I've done this race before so I know some of the courses and I know what to expect. My bike is clean and my form is good... now all that's left to do is race.

The New Steed

2007-08-04T03:45:00.001-04:00

Nate Fields, the CC mechanic, is the one who built up my beauty of a bike. He spends countless hours in the garage building and maintaining wheels, TT bikes, and spare bikes. Plus he's always willing to help you out with your own equiptment. I fully trust Nate with my equiptment and being the picky guy that I am, that's saying something. He knows his stuff and is awesome at what he does. I've received some lightning fast wheel-changes from him in races. Nate Fields is the man. Thanks for building my bike.

Definition: Vascular

2007-07-31T10:42:00.000-04:00

The Abbreviated Conclusion to Ronde Van Vlaams Brabant

2007-07-30T09:28:00.000-04:00

The highlighted result of the week was Aaron's 6th place in the individual time trial. The team raced especially hard on Saturday. We were aggressive the entire race and tried to make it into a breakaway. Unfortunately we burnt a few too many matches in the early part of the race and could not contest the field sprint. (If we had only known it would have come down to a sprint... but alas that's bike racing.) Sunday was the final stage, a 160km circuit race with 2 climbs and no fewer than thirty 90 degree turns per lap. Oh, by the way there were 6 laps. We counted the turns from the race book and I estimate that I made at least 200 turns during the race. Racing at the back of the peloton on a day like this was suicide. On the first lap I flexed my legs on the climbs and got into a small break. I really wanted to race in the early break and go for all or nothing on the last day. The peloton didn't give us much time and we were absorbed within a few kilometers. Another break formed but was brought back before the finish and the finale came down to a 70 man sprint. I "contested" that 70ish man sprint but didn't have the legs to pull off a result. So overall the Tour of V.B. was a bit disappointing. No good result. I think that my crash in Willowbroek stole a good deal of my racing form. The one good thing about V.B. is that instead of getting tired or weaker throughout the race I felt that I got stronger each day. So on to the next race (but not before I recover) and the next opportunity.

Tour of Vlaams Brabant- Day 1

2007-07-26T02:38:00.000-04:00

I done screwed up the first day. May have lost my chance at a good final GC. Felt like a dull, rusty chainsaw... instead of a polished razor. No sense on dwelling on the past becasue I'm going bike racing again today. Nothing to lose now. I'll help my teammates and race as hard as I can.

Pre Vlaams

2007-07-23T06:20:00.000-04:00

I've been recovering from my mild concussion, scrapes, and bruises with super human efficiency. I feel like I'm just shy of 100% but will be there in time for Vlaams Brabant, a 5 day stage race that starts Wednesday. It never ceases to amaze me how fast a battered body can heal given the proper rest and nutrition. Anyway, my pre Vlaams thoughts are these: If I can race at the level that I was before the crash, a good result is in the cards. I'm also eager to get back into the racing routine and what better way to do that than 5 days of hard racing. Vlaams Brabant is the province around Brussels, so the CC team will be day trippin' it and sleeping in our own beds every night... nice.

Here's the link to the race's website: http://www.rondevanvlaamsbrabant.be/

Today and tomorrow: rest, preparation, and organization so I can be ultra-efficient during the stage race. I'll post some thoughts and short recaps later this week... if possible.

1500 meters

2007-07-16T14:10:00.000-04:00

Yesterday was one of the best races of my life. A Top Comp race in Willowbroek. It's unfortunate that the result doesn't show it. With less than 5km to go, I was in a group racing for 12th place, 25 seconds behind the lead group of 11. A top 20 was surely attainable. Then with 1500 meters until the line...I crashed. A Davo rider pushed me into the gutter despite my hand taps and yelling. I skipped around and hit the deck hard. 168 km of work out the window. My bike is destroyed, my body scraped and bruised. I'm no longer doing Tour of Liege seeing as how I need both recovery time and a new bike. A lot can happen in 1500 meters! But hey, it could have been worse.

schedule

2007-07-13T13:47:00.000-04:00

Wednesday 7/11: UCI 1.12- GP Stad Geel
Sunday 7/15: UCI 1.12- Willobroek
Wednesday 7/18: UCI 2.12- Tour of Liege
Thursday 7/19: UCI 2.12- Tour of Liege
Friday 7/20: UCI 2.12- Tour of Liege
Saturday 7/21: UCI 2.12- Tour of Liege
Sunday 7/22: UCI 2.12- Tour of Liege

GP Stad Geel went ok for me. 170km in 3.5 hours! I finished but haven't seen results. Wasn't top 20, so nothing too exciting. The legs are good though and judging by the schedule there are plenty of opportunities ahead.

Pittem

2007-07-08T02:58:00.000-04:00

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.

The Volk and The Yellow Bus

2007-07-01T07:52:00.000-04:00

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.

What's goin' on

2007-06-27T13:48:00.000-04:00

Not a whole lot.

It took me some time to fully recover from Romsee. I didn't race this past weekend in order to get some good training in and be fresh for Het Volk this Saturday. Today we rode the course, or at least most of it, in an easy 5 hour ride. We put in some efforts on the climbs and my legs felt great. It will be a very hard race because of both the course profile and the field quality (it's part of the TOP COMP series). I'm looking forward to it.

More to come.

Romsee- Stavelot- Romsee

2007-06-20T03:55:00.000-04:00

Hot. Mountains. Not extraordinarily long but mountains nonetheless. Suffering raised to the second power.

I came ready to race and was focused on doing everything I could do for the team. In the first 5km I found myself in an escape of about 22 guys. The early break had formed. It was destined to be a long hard day. I was there and gave the CC team representation. The break worked fairly well together and continued to increase the gap. 2 minutes and 30 seconds was the highest. I was suffering in the heat and on the climbs but the thought of being the only CC representation in the lead group kept me digging ultra-deep to stay in the mix. Here was a good feeling: I was the first wheel into Stavelot! If the race was merely Romsee-Stavelot, I would have won... but alas, I had yet another 2 hours to race. Not long after that, a bridge group with Steven Galle made contact on a very diffucult climb. Lungs and legs burned while riders were dropped from the group. I had lost contact with the front group. One last dig to stay there... but I didn't have it. I was upset, but somewhat comforted with the fact that Steven was there ahead me. I dropped back to what was left of the peloton. Peter, Dave, and Steven Van Vooren were there and I pedaled over more tough climbs... coming back from the dead over the crest of many climbs. Eventually my efforts from the first couple hours caught up with me and on yet another tough climb I fell behind. I rode to the finish but was not scored. In the end, we had 3 finishers but unfortunately no good result, although we were the 7th or 8th in the Team Classification. I can't be too upset with my race. Yes I was dropped, but I was where I needed to be and gave everything I had. I contributed to the team and I suffered.

It was hot and I suffered. There were mountains and I suffered. Suffering to the second power and I'm better for it.

Good legs and bad luck

2007-06-15T05:02:00.000-04:00

I really hate that title. It sounds like an excuse and I like to believe that in a way one creates their own luck. But... flatting out of the lead group of 30 with 3 laps to go in the Oudenburg kermis must qualify as bad luck, right? Here's the low down:

Scott Wenzel, Scott Jackson, Elliot, Santiago, and I pedaled out of the CC at 1:30pm with our backpacks and shoulderbags under a perfect blue sky. Destination: Oudenburg. A little over an hour later we arrived and scouted out the course before obtaining our numbers. The blue sky was swallowed by darkness as if the apocalypse was imminent. Apparently the cycling gods were angry and we were to feel their wrath. 15 minutes before the start, rain soaked the dirt and crap covered farm roads. A nice sludgy mixture awaiting my mouth, nose, ears, and eyes! Here's a first for me: on the line the field was blessed by a priest with holy water. That was comforting. The race was underway and the 70 or so riders hauled through the slippery roads of Oudenburg. When the roads are wet like yesterday you memorize the man hole covers, the painted bricks, and all the areas that become as slick as ice in wet weather. In the first hour my legs were awesome. I feel like I have the best form of the season thus far and if my fitness grows over the next weeks that will be even more exciting. I was following wheels at the front, staying out of the wind, and accelerating with ease out of every corner. It was a nice feeling! Now let me say a word about Belgian farm road spray. It's nasty. Imagine riding as hard as you can in a crosswind 1 inch from the edge of the narrow muddy road. The peloton is single file and there is a constant spray of water, mud, and dung going directly into your face. You can only keep your glasses on for so long before they get so muggy and steamy that your visibility become zero. Then your eyes become so clogged and encrusted with gunk that they sting and you spend the next 3 day picking particles of "who knows what" out of them. You try spraying water on your eyes during the race but that only helps for 10 seconds. But it seems I digress. Back to the race. The peloton was wittled down, groups seperated and came together, and I was feeling good. On the last corner of the circuit with 3 laps to go: Psssssssss. I was pisssssssssssed. I rode the flat to the start/ finish and got a wheel change from one of my teammates who was out. I remember saying under my breath, "This is useless," but I had to try. I soloed for 1 lap trying to connect to the group. No dice. My race was over. Went to the kleedkamers and washed away the dirt but the frustration remained. That's bike racing though. Good legs and bad luck... right?

This is me afer the race, covered in Belgian farm road spray.

Brugge'n

2007-06-11T09:06:00.000-04:00

Thirsty v-dogg

My favorite bar/ coffee shop.

Aaron Boyleston

The Belfort

My view while people watching in the square

Raced a kermis yesterday in Wervik. I finished but the satisfaction of merely finishing is not enough for me. I'm hungry for some results. 40th place isn't worth the pile of horse crap I ran over during the race. The legs are good, though, and I'll be ready to go again after today's rest.

Lotenhulle Kermis

2007-06-07T02:58:00.000-04:00

Taha, Scott J., and Chris waiting for me to get rolling to Lotenhulle.

I was more than motivated to race yesterday seeing how I haven't done so in a couple of weeks. We left the CC in the early afternoon for our hour spin to Lotunhulle, which is a tiny town near Aalter. After obtaining our numbers in the smokey haze of a small East Flanders bar we set out for the kleedkamers (changing rooms) to pin our numbers and hopefully find a place to store our bags. We shared a small changing room with a young British rider who borrowed our pins in exchange for the trunk space of his car (for our bags). I shot the breeze about racing in Belgium and shared some stories when he mentioned that he remembered me from last year. Well, I didn't know I left such an impression.

We warmed up on the course and determined the hardest sections. The laps were short but there was a long section of farm road (think US bike path) with a stiff crosswind that would proove to be the decisive point. The race was underway and I was instantly pleased to be back in the chaos of a kermis. Now I'm not the kind of racer to make stupid attacks early in the race but the perfect opportunity presented itself in the crosswind setion and before I knew it I was off the front solo. What the hell was I thinking?... when who should appear but the young Brit with American pins. We hauled. I hurt badly from lack of racing in the past weeks. But after 10 or 15 km my legs opened up. We shared premes and worked hard. A group of 8 bridged with Aaron B. in it. I think when the Belgians saw 2 Americans together in the front they eased off and let us do most of the work. This move was doomed. Groups came together and split. The race progressed. I missed the winning move of 10-12. I must have fallen asleep. Is that possible with a heart rate of 180?

My group was racing for 13th and I didn't have a whole lot of juice for the finish. I ended up in 26th, partly due to my poor sprinting. I still made a few bucks and bagged a few premes. I made enough money for some groceries and a haircut! Plus it was a good long day on the bike. And the best part of all was my knee... 100%.

Scott J., Elliot, Taha, Scott Wenzel, Aaron, and Alex after a long day.

V-Dogg front and center

Training Resumes

2007-06-03T08:25:00.000-04:00

After being off the bike for several days I feel great to be back in the training routine. My knee has been improving every day and I haven't had any pain in over a week. The Doc said that I was lucky to stop at the first sign of a problem as I most likely prevented a more serious injury. The plan now is to race a kermis Wednesday and then hopefully, if all is well, a UCI next weekend.

I'll get some new pictures up here soon.

Injury

2007-05-28T04:30:00.000-04:00

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

2007-05-22T14:58:00.000-04:00

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

2007-05-19T07:35:00.000-04:00

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

2007-05-15T09:02:00.000-04:00

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

2007-05-11T09:46:00.000-04:00

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

2007-05-08T13:47:00.000-04:00

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

2007-05-05T10:42:00.000-04:00

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

Mei Prijs, Hoboken

2007-05-01T15:09:00.000-04:00

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.

why belgium?

2007-04-28T15:13:00.000-04:00

Many people wonder why a 20 year old American would want to go to Belgium to race a bike. I hear this inquiry all the time. Why Belgium? Why can't you race in the US? Of all the places in the world, why would you go to the tiny country (the size of Maryland) sandwiched between France and The Netherlands?...A country most Americans associate with waffles and chocolate and beer. Part of the answer is that bike racing is deeply ingrained in the culture of Belgium and it is the most respected sport of the country. Belgians love their bike racing. When roads are closed for a race, drivers get curious instead of angry. They might even get out of their car to watch the race caravan pass. They'll cheer and scream and when the road opens after the race passes they'll get back in their car and continue on their way. Nearly every road in Belgium can be ridden by bike. Many roads have bike lanes and he ones that don't are shared equally with autos, tractors, and mopeds. I'd be willing to bet that for every car in Belgium there are three bikes. Just about everyone rides a bike. I've seen first graders ride their bikes to school and grandmothers ride their bike to the market. It's awesome.
The other answer (and probably the most important one) to: Why Belgium? IS THE RACING. The fields are bigger and stronger. The races are faster and longer. And the distance from home to the races is shorter. For those of you who are familiar to the racing in the US: It's like having all the NRC races and then some condensed into an area the size of Maryland. Plus the level of racing is higher... in my humble opinion. Most of the UCI races here are 160km (100 miles) and usually end in about 3.5 hours. The fields are always larger than 120 rides, sometimes as big as 200...and the amateur races are filled with guys who will be pro in a year or guys who have already ridden professionally. Racing in Belgium is big business. There's money and potential contracts at stake in every race. Bike racers in Belgium aren't fooling around. It's not a hobby over here... it's a job. And that's why I'm racing my bike in Belgium.

Next race: Tuesday 1 May, UCI 1.2, Hoboken

Laarne Kermis

2007-04-25T14:46:00.000-04:00

Well, it was nice to get back on the kermis scene. I raced well but unfortunately did not finish. I was feeling good for the first half of the race but it was as if my legs just turned off after that. The field was very large because this was the only midweek kermis in Flanders. I think there were about 150 starters. I made the lead group of 16 on the first lap and that was pretty much the race. The top 10 came from that group. Unfortunately I wasn't there for the finish, but I know on a good day I could finish with that group. It's disappointing to think about that but I also need to stay positive. I raced well, I raced hard, I was where I need to be. I've only been here a week! things will only get better as I continue to adjust and get over the jet lag. I don't quite feel as good as I did on the bike 2 weeks ago in MI. So I'm confident good things will come. Plenty of racing to come, too. There are 3 UCIs: Saturday, Sunday, and Monday and I'll do one of them for sure.

Thanks for checkin in! Vince

2007-04-22T09:40:00.001-04:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uUU7sqm_Nwk

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mj5Vj2WIfIg

2007-04-21T10:36:00.000-04:00

I had the choice to do a U23 kermis today but I decided not to race. After all, it's only my 4th day in the country and I want to be fully recovered and adjusted from travel before I race. I've been feeling better and better as each day passes and I think I'll be fine after the weekend. It's looking like I'll do a mid-week kermis and hopefully I'll be selected for one of the 2 UCIs next weekend. In the 2 weeks leading up to my flight I was riding very well and feeling quite strong on the bike. I'm confident that in a few days I'll have that feeling back and be ready to suffer... and hopefully put the hurt on some Belgians.

This is what's going on at the CC:
U23 Kermis today for 5 riders
Elite/ U23 Kermis tomorrow for 5 riders
Zellik- Galmaarden UCI tomorrow for 6 riders

For results:

http://www.wielerbondvlaanderen.be/

Click on "Uitslagen"
Then "Weg- Piste- Veld"
Then chose the date.

over here

2007-04-19T09:01:00.000-04:00

I made it safe and sound to Hertsberge. The journey is not my most favorite day of the year but I survived and got through it with little stress. Check out the worst part of the trip:

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

This week is all about getting over the jet lag, into daily routine, and staying healthy. I did a short ride yesterday and today and it feels great to be back on the narrow roads of West Flanders. I was really missing these canal roads. I probably won't be racing until mid next week or next weekend. I have to say that the CC looks great and the guys that are here make up a good group. I'm feeling like this is going to be a great season.

The last few days stateside

2007-04-16T09:35:00.000-04:00

Well, it's nice to pick up a win every now and then. I was the first to cross the line this past Saturday in Waterford. A great way to end the winter before heading off to Belgium in a few days. It was a surprisingly fast race due to a higher field quality, in my opinion. I remember when I first started doing these races several years ago, it seemd like a group ride with a sprint at the end. Now, there is attack after attack and the peloton can be strung out for multiple laps. I heard the promoter say that our lap times were some of the fastest he's seen. A good sign for Michigan racing. The first half of the race was filled with attacks and attempts to create a breakaway. As fast as it was, no group could distance itself from the peloton. It was as if the breaks were never the right combo of riders and the peloton was never happy with letting it get a gap. At some point after the middle of the race, I again attacked... seeing who I could draw out of the peloton. No one! Finally Tony Brule (sp?) bridged solo to me and we worked hard to hold a gap of between 15 and 25 seconds until the finish. He led the entire back straight of the course and with 200 meters I jumped for the win.

Sunday was a blast too, even though I didn't win. For me these races are merely about preparing for Belgium and this past Sunday was a great day of training. I got on the bike in Redford at 8:45 am and headed west to Ann Arbor. I got there in time to pin my number and spin arouind with some teammates. The race started at 11:30 and was 40km long (40x1km lap). There were a handful of guys (including myself) who made this race a tough one. The peloton was strung out and with the wind it eventully shattered. It was awesome! Small groups, DNFs, echolons.. this crit had turned into a race of selection! Unfortunately I didn't make the front 3, but I was determined to still race for the win or suffer trying. I wasn't thinking about sprinting for 4th. I was thinking about how hard it goes at the end of a 160km race in Belgium. I think I ended up in the top 10, but my day wasn't over. After packing up some food and water I spinned my legs towards home... a solid 2 hours into a headwind. I was pretty wasted when I got home... but all I could think about was the hard racing in Belgium and how I'll be ready for it when I leave this Tuesday.

I don't know my own strength

2007-04-11T09:33:00.000-04:00

Things have been good since my last post. The weather hasn't cooperated but training has been going well nonetheless. I don't feel like I have a lot to report on since I haven't raced in a couple weeks. The last training race was cancelled due to snow! Only in MI... and maybe Belgium. The one exciting/ scary moment I had was on a training ride when I was doing some sprint efforts. Check it out:

Yes, those are my handlebars. snapped a few cm's from the stem. They are not very old and although they have a funky shape I think the true reason they broke is this:

Well, I'm just lucky I didn't go down. All I can say is the ride home was the longest I've ever ridden one handed.

I'll be in Belgium in less than a week now. Lots of loose ends to tie up this week. Check ya later.

I've given in... I've created a blog

2007-04-02T10:21:00.000-04:00

I've never been a fan of blogs. Maybe it's because they seem so cliche and that it seems most everyone has one. I guess I'm one to be different. In the past I've reported on my racing and training through the Cycling Center website (www.cyclingcenter.com) and that seemed to work pretty well. Although I would not update it very frequently and only did so during the season. Plus, I deleted them after every season. I want this year to be different. This will be my brainstorming notebook, my post race journal, and my photo album.

Maybe I should back up a bit and introduce myself to those of you who don't know me. I live in Michigan and my one and only passion is racing bikes. I started riding road bikes when I was 13 and began racing when I was 15. I'm now 20 years old and have spent the past two seasons in Belgium racing for an amateur team: Cycling Center. My goal is to race at the highest level I can attain. Whether that is Pro Tour, domestic pro, or Category 1 races in Michigan... I don't know. I've been racing in Belgium to find that out and I head back for my third season on April 17th. In '05 I was there for 3 months, in '06 I was there for 6, and this year I will be there for 4. By the end of this year I will have spent over a year of my life in Belgium. But I love it there and that time has been the best time of my life.

So Vince, what have you been up to all winter? Well, that could be two dozen blog entries in itself, but I'll try to catch you up with a brief summary. I got home from Belgium in September and went to school while continuing to train and work (at Starbucks, the best employer in the world). That was a busy time although training wasn't at the top of my list after 6 months of straight racing. I basically took October off the bike and recharged physically and mentally. I began training in November, building up my aerobic base and improving my overall strength. In late January and early February the Cycling Center team had our training camp in Albuquerque, NM. I was there for about 3 weeks. Our camp was held in conjuntion with the Navigators Insurance team and Team Lipton. It was great to be surrounded by so many great athletes and to be able to train in some decent weather in NM. I need to mention the Veloport Corp. who sponsored our camp and treated us so well the entire time. Check 'em out through the Cycling Center website. Got back from NM... trained, worked, trained, etc. Fast forward to the present.

This past weekend were my first races in about 6 months! All considered they went great. I raced in Waterford Saturday and in Ann Arbor on Sunday. They were both training type races and a good test for the legs after a winter of primarily low intensity and strength building. I feel like I'm on track for a good season in which my fitness will gradually increase throughout the season. I placed 11th Sat. and 2nd Sun. I love the Ann Arbor races because they are such a great day of training for me personally. I wasn't able to dothem last year because I was in Belgium but this year I will be able to do 2. I ride 2 hours to the race, race for about and hour, and ride 2 hours home. One of my all time favorite rides! Sort of like in Belgium when we ride to the kermis races (usally 30- 60 minutes... but the races are 2.5 hours). well, that't oficially my first blog. All of the entries prior to this were first posted on the CC website. They are from 2005 and 2006. Thanks for reading.

Belgium 2006, entry 13

2006-08-28T19:49:00.000-04:00

I have less than 2 weeks left here in Belgium. It's hard to believe I've been here for 6 months, half a year. I remember thinking about it in March and really coming to terms with the fact that I'm living here, not just staying here. Well, it's almost time to move again, with all I need packed away in a bike box and a duffel bag... but not before a couple more UCIs! I'm racing Wednesday with the National Team and then my last race here is on Sunday in France. I've got good form right now so I'm looking forward to finishing off the season with a kick.

I did a U23 kermis yesterday in Kortrijk and had a good race. Arne, Kevin, Aaron, Sandy, Sean, and I represented the CC very well by racing aggressively at the front. There was, however, an unfortunate situation that occurred during the first lap that ended Aaron and Sandy's race early. No, not a crash... the course marshal wasn't paying attention and the peloton took a wrong turn! And you thought stupid stuff like that only happened in the US. There was an early break with 10-20 seconds that made the correct turn and with the wrong turn by the peloton, that group was gone. It was total chaos when 50 guys were trying to turn around and instead of neutralizing the race people just went harder. For those people who didn't turn around in time (Aaron and Sandy) their race was over. After the hectic first lap the race went pretty well. Unfortunately the break had a big gap and were picking up all the premes. Our team was racing very well and we were going with all the good looking attacks, although nothing seemed to stick. Towards the end the wind finally took its toll and broke things up a bit. Arne finished in the first chasing group, I think 12^th, and I finished with one other rider a little ahead of the peloton in 16^th. Kevin and Sean had strong finishes in what was left of the peloton. Overall a good day at the races.

I'll let you know how the last 2 races go. Thanks for reading. Vince

Belgium 2006, entry 12

2006-08-17T19:47:00.000-04:00

First, let me apologize to my readers for the lack of updates. I know that I have been slacking on my diary and have no excuses. So I'm sorry. I finished the Tour of Antwerp last Sunday and was doing lots of kermis racing leading up to that. The kermis' were mostly U23 which are a lot of fun because I can race with guys my age instead of old dudes just in it for the money. I had a decent race in Deerlijk and a good one in Oostniewkerke, where I got 22^nd.

I did the Tour of Antwerp last year and was really looking forward to doing it again this year. Most of the stages were the same so I had a little advantage in knowing the roads and cobbled sections. I didn't have any outstanding results in any of the 5 stages but looking back can definitely see the improvement from last year. Last year I survived the race while this year I actually raced it. There were stages last year where I finished in the grupetto and barely made the time cut. This year I was active at the front of the peloton and feel like I actually did something in the race. Another promising fact is how well I recovered from day to day. At the end of the 4 days of racing I was very tired and had dug very deep but was nowhere near as wasted as the previous year. It is a good sign that I'm maturing and getting stronger as a rider. So things are going in the right direction... maybe not as fast as I would sometimes like but I'm getting there.

I had a great little visit from my Mom and sister after Antwerp. It was perfect because I got to recover physically from the race and refresh mentally by having family here. We enjoyed each other's company for 3 days and even saw some cultural and historical highlights of Brugge.

Looking ahead: As of now I'm racing this Sunday in France. I did it last year so it will be fun to see what I can do. I feel recovered from the stage race and I'm hoping I'll have some great form for the remainder of the season. Tuesday I race again, this time in Belgium called Wervik. That's the race I crashed in last year and took a chainring to the shin. I plan on crossing the finish line this time, hopefully in the top 30! After that, only a few more races and I'll be back in Michigan on September 6^th. Well, thanks for reading and I promise to post a couple more updates before my trip home, Vince

Belgium 2006, entry 11

2006-07-05T19:46:00.000-04:00

This past Monday I raced in a UCI called Schaal Schoeters, which was one of my first UCIs I did last year. It was a good reminder of how far I've come in the last year. When I did it last year I was struggling at the back the entire race and didn't even make it to the front of the peloton to go with attacks. I remember that it was a very wet day and that I was just racing to survive and hopefully make it to the local laps. This year I raced like an entirely different person. Instead of hiding at the back I was constantly in the top 30 and followed acceleration after acceleration without much problem. I felt very strong and maybe was a bit too aggressive in the first 80km. When the peloton reached the local laps there was a small breakaway up the road and the race basically turned into a kermis. There were constant attacks and attempts to bridge the gap to the leaders. After just a few laps the entire race was broken apart into many small groups with the CC team having Bret Blembocki and Yarden Gazit in good positions. I was in a group just behind Yarden and was hurting pretty bad towards the end of the race. I wasn't too happy with my result, which was just inside the top 50, but felt pretty good about the way I raced and how deep I dug near the end of the race.

I've come a long way in the past year and with my current fitness I am really looking forward to the stage races that start in just a few weeks. I've been in Belgium for 4 months now and am planning on making the most of my final 2. Time is definitely not standing still so I really have to go after each and every race. My next chance is another UCI this weekend, wish me luck.

Belgium 2006, entry 10

2006-07-02T19:43:00.000-04:00

In the midst of the current doping scandal which involves many of the Tour de France favorites, I have been thinking quite a bit about why I ride. The sport of cycling is becoming synonymous with doping in the public eye and I'm afraid that someday all elite cyclists will be suspected of using some form of performance enhancing drugs. This both saddens and angers me. I want to be a professional but would never compromise my morals to attain that goal. Cycling is pure to me now and I want it to be pure to me for the rest of my life. I love this sport and if I come to a point in my development or my career where 'there is no way to get better without doping' then I will leave the competitive side of the sport and ride for love of it. The thing is that there is always a way to get better without doping because cycling is a sport of self-improvement. The lessons one learns in cycling are lessons of life: discipline, sacrifice, delayed gratification, patience, and teamwork. Cycling has made me a better person and I could never continue to learn in this sport while cheating.

I ride

Belgium 2006, entry 9

2006-06-13T19:42:00.000-04:00

My mid-season break is over and I feel refreshed both physically and mentally to charge into the second half of the season. I spent 5 days in Germany visiting my relatives and experiencing life on a farm. I think the highlight of the trip was being in downtown Munster for the first game of the World Cup (Germany vs. Costa Rica) and watching it on a big screen in the town square among thousands of German soccer fans. It was probably more 'out of control' and fun there than in the stadium itself. My vacation also included some tasks on the farm such as working a wood splitting machine, herding 125kg pigs into a semi, and even driving a tractor! I saw and experienced so many new things during those 5 days which really kept my mind off cycling and 'recharged me' mentally. Thank you to the Selhorst family for opening their home to me this past week.

I feel very good to be back in full training mode and am really looking forward to the hard training that is coming up in the following weeks. I got my training schedule today and have several 5+ hour rides ahead of me and also a short training camp in the hills of Wallonia in a few weeks. My next race will be a kermis this weekend to hopefully get my racing legs back in time for a big UCI on Tuesday. Then there's no looking back because it's pretty much racing and recovering all the way until September! It's a little hard to believe we're already halfway through June and that I've been here for over 3 months. It just needs to serve as a reminder to make the most of every day I'm here and to train and race as hard and best as I possibly can. Thanks for reading.

Belgium 2006, entry 8

2006-05-25T19:41:00.000-04:00

It's fairly common knowledge that nutrition plays a large role in a cyclist's performance. What I eat and drink several days before a race can have an effect on how I feel during the race. I like, personally, to eat pasta or rice 2-3 nights leading up to race day and on the night before I like to eat a well seasoned kip fillet (chicken breast) or kippenworst (chicken sausage) with my pasta and sauce. And don't worry mom, I always eat my vegetables. On the morning of race day I've come up with the perfect breakfast. Race day breakfast is obviously an important meal but isn't quite as important as what I eat the 2 nights before. Whatever you eat will burn in a 4 hour race. I actually can't take full credit for this discovery because I first saw Robert make this special breakfast: muesli packed pancakes! The number one rule to these pancakes is that you can't use any measuring equipment. They'll turn out a little different every time but will still be some of the heaviest most calorie packed pancakes you'll ever try.

This is the recipe:

1-5 eggs

A good amount of vanilla soy milk

A couple fist fulls of whole wheat flour

Baking soda, whatever you feel like or how ever much you can find

A dash or three of salt

0-5 tablespoons of sugar

Muesli, lots of it (if you can't find bag-o-cheap-Delhaize-muesli just mix oats, rasins, cornflakes, dried banana chips, sunflower seeds, and hazelnuts. Mmm)

Serves 1-8, yes that's right, you never know.

Note: Using a non-stick pan is almost mandatory because of the size and weight of these bad boys. Ideally they should have a 7 inch diameter and a 1 inch width. Top with whatever you have in the fridge: yogurt, jam, fruit, peanut butter, or honey.

These pancakes really did the trick for my last race! This past Sunday I raced Ruisbroek- Puurs, a UCI race close to Antwerp. Ron and I, from the Cycling Center did it with the USA National Team. The race was 160km... 3 big loops and then 8x8km local laps. The course was very flat with hundreds (no joke) of turns. Wind would have played a bigger factor but there weren't enough long crosswind sections to shred up the peloton. Just when the 175 man peloton would be single file on the rivet, there would be a turn. I raced smart and a little conservative in the 3 big loops, only shooting a few bullets to go on the attack with larger moves. I did expend a nice chunk of energy when I crossed a gap to 20 guys all by myself. Although when they saw the stars and stripes they seemed to sit up and of course the peloton caught us a few km later. We were racing without radios so it was difficult to know what was going on unless I was in the first 30 positions. Going into the local laps, I knew there was a break up the rode but wasn't sure how many and what the gap was. Ron and I raced very hard in those final laps. I felt very good in the last hour (pancakes??) so I was trying my hardest to get up the road. With one lap to go I was in a 3 man break (racing for around 25th at that point) but was brought back with 4 or 5km to go. I managed to finish in the middle of the peloton, about 50th for the day. I was happy with my race even though it wasn't a great result. I raced hard and I raced smart, plus I felt amazing towards the end which is a great sign. I was actually having fun suffering over the 500 meter cobbled section in the 8 local laps! The legs are feeling good and my fitness is there so I'm really looking forward to the next races. I know one thing's for sure, I'll be eating muesli pancakes for breakfast on the morning of the race.

Belgium 2006, entry 7

2006-05-15T19:40:00.000-04:00

Good training, great weather, a hard race, and a few games of Monopoly have made this week at the Cycling Center quite enjoyable. The race I did this past weekend was Circuit Wallonie, a very difficult race in the hills of southern Belgium. It was not my greatest performance of the year considering the fact that I did not finish and made several 'stupid' mistakes within the race. It sometimes feels like I'm making so little progress from week to week here in Belgium, but I've learned to acknowledge my mistakes and look ahead to improving in the next race. I also know that the month to month and year to year progress is more important than the ups and downs from week to week. It's often frustrating and disheartening to race beneath your potential but staying positive and 'keeping your head on straight' are necessary to survive here in Belgium.

The weather has been very nice for the past couple of weeks, at least during the week. It's funny how the rain and clouds come along with the weekend and the big races. I always laugh when we drive though downpours on the way to a race and think how nice it was during the week. The more I think about it, though, I suppose it's better to train in nice weather and race in the cold and the rain. It just makes the races that much more epic and unique, right? The cold and the rain will permanently scar that race into your memory. 5 years from now, the races I'll remember are the ones where I couldn't feel my feet or the ones where my hands were so cold I couldn't squeeze my water bottle. Oh, how I love the weather in Belgium. As I was saying, the weather has been great during the week so going out for long training rides has been very easy and enjoyable. I've actually gotten some sun on my pasty white arms! The highlight of training this week was definitely on Friday when I won my first Hertsberge town sign sprint. Whenever riding in a group of 3 or more the sprint for Hertsberge really gets competitive. I was riding with Steven and Sean, both of whom have racked up many Hertsberge wins, and attacked 2km from the sign, taking advantage of the draft from a passing car. Steven and Sean caught and passed me, but I continued to ride. They sat up briefly and I attacked them for a second time and rode the final kilometer solo for the win. The sprints and attacks for the Hertsberge sign escalate from ride to ride and my prediction is that there will be attacks for the sign from as far as Tielt (15km) by the end of the season!

My down time at the house this week has been spent playing Monopoly. I recently received a care package from my mom which included plenty of treats, magazines, and games. The game of Monopoly really brings out the tycoon in people and it's a great way to pass some time on a rest day and get to know your teammates. I just hope we all stay friends after all the backstabbing and cut-throat business of the game. I can see it now: 'I'm not taking you to the front of the peloton... you didn't sell me Boardwalk!' Thanks for reading.

pics from '06

2006-05-10T20:51:00.000-04:00

post GP Waragem recon ride

the start of Tour of Flanders

Getting a little camera action

some wicked cobbles

CC staff Noel (in red), Geert (in black), Ann (in white), Wouter (light blue)

Belgium 2006, entry 6

2006-05-02T19:38:00.000-04:00

U23 Liege- Bastogne- Liege

May 1^st 2006

What an opportunity I had yesterday to take part in yet another U23 World Cup Race! The field quality was certainly high, with teams from around the world present and ready to race this epic course. Teams from Belgium, France, and Holland were obviously there and were joined by Spanish, Swiss, and American squads. The Cycling Center Team was represented by Steven, Arne, Derek, Aaron, Chris W, and me. We arrived in Houffalize on Sunday afternoon and after spinning the car ride out of our legs we checked into our hotel. Bernard and the staff arrived just before dinner and as we loaded carbs into our bodies for the next day's battle, we listened attentively to Bernard's directions. There was no point in sugar coating this race: it was going to be hell and there was going to be suffering. With constantly rolling terrain, about 10 climbs of at least 2km, several open crosswind sections, and rain in the forecast we were in for a tough day in the saddle. Bernard expressed his desires for the race and made it clear how he wanted us to approach the day. Our preparations were good and focus was there. All we needed to do was race hard, race smart, and as Bernard says 'Do the right things, and do those things right.'

On the morning of the race, we gathered for breakfast and some pre-race pasta and laughed as Steven told everyone about my sleep talking and sleep gestures. Apparently I was talking in my sleep, which I am known to do on occasion, and was saying how we needed a higher cadence up La Redoute (a famous climb). I don't remember any of this but Steven said that I shouted the name of everyone on the team and ordered them to have a higher cadence. The funniest part is this: I was moving my arms in a cycling motion during the whole affair! I'm still trying to figure out if it's a good or a bad thing that I'm dreaming and sleep talking about races. Anyway, we drove to the start line a bit later and made all the final preparations. The weather wasn't looking too good so I grabbed my vest and long gloves out of my rain bag just before the start, something I would be grateful for later in the race. As the peloton rolled off the line for the neutral start I remember thinking how awesome it was to be doing this race. I wanted to do my best to make the most of it, I was ready to go.

The peloton wasn't too nervous in the beginning because the big climbs didn't start until kilometer 80. The first 80km, however, were by no means flat and was by no means easy. I tried very hard to race smart and save my energy for the big climbs, but made the mistake of racing a bit too far to the back. I know it sounds easy but position is the key and I am still searching for the balance of racing smart and racing aggressive. I'll probably continue to improve on that balance for years to come. I made it safe and sound to the first climb when things got messy. On climbs of 2-4km, trying to hold the pace of the leaders can sometimes cause you to 'blow up' so instead of jumping from group to group I climbed at my own pace and got into a small group at the top of the climb. We caught back onto the peloton on the decent and I knew that the next climb would be a lot worse. I did my best to move up into a safer position and at the beginning of the second climb I had trouble keeping in contact with the group. I wasn't the only one having trouble, it was more like a shattering of the peloton and from what I heard, by the 4^th climb (La Redoute) the peloton had been broken apart into small groups of less than 20.

I may have forgotten to mention that it was now raining and the cold, wet hell was just beginning. My teammate Aaron and I chased hard for a long time before finally the caravan of team cars passed us and the commissar waved us off. Our race was over but we continued to ride at a decent tempo to stay warm as we waited for the bus to come and pick us up. We rode and rode yet no bus came. We began to worry that we had been left behind and at the top of La Redoute we stopped to ask some police officers what was going on. They didn't help us at all but some racers came up the climb just after us and told us they were riding to the finish. We followed them towards Liege and heard the rumor that the bus had filled with abandoned riders long ago and had driven straight to the finish. We got into Liege and joined up with more racers searching for the finish. The finish line was in a small suburb called Ans but no one knew exactly how to get there. I just rolled my eyes every time one of the Belgians needed to stop for direction. The more we stopped, the colder we got. Aaron and I didn't have any food or water and were beginning to shiver. At that point it felt as if we were living a nightmare. We had been riding for more than 5 hours in the cold and rain. Somehow we made it back onto the course and rode the final 5km to the finish. Never have I been so glad to see a dirty Belgian kleedkamer (changing room) with a dirty hot shower!

It wasn't the most successful of races and it wasn't the most fun of races but I learned some lessons and it will be a great story to tell for years to come. As for the team, Steven made it to the line and Arne came very close. Considering over 110 guys abandoned, that's an accomplishment in itself. The race wasn't bad as long as we all apply what we learned to the next race we do. Thanks for reading.

Belgium 2006, entry 5

2006-04-13T19:37:00.000-04:00

Hello to all my readers. Life is very busy right now at the Cycling Center. We have a full house with the Navigators living upstairs and also lots of visitors ranging from press to friends of Bernard and Ann. The press that was here came to shoot a piece about Americans racing in Belgium and learning to ride cobblestones. They gathered footage from around the house and then 5 of us from the CC went to France to ride some famous cobbled sections of Paris-Roubaix and even the Roubaix Velodrome. It was awesome to ride the track where so many historical cycling moments took place. They did a few interviews and filmed some great footage of us flying over the pave and coming down the banking of the track. The piece aired on Friday night just after the national news. Talk about Prime Time! It was a great experience and although I wasn't interviewed I had a great time working with the crew and riding those historical roads.

On the racing front things are a little rough. This past weekend was a 2 day stage race in Belgium called 2 Days of Gaverstreek. That first stage was one I'll never forget. I've never been that cold on a bike in my entire life. As we lined up for the start it began to rain and by the time the peloton rolled out everyone was soaking wet and shivering. It was about 6 degrees Celsius and with the strong winds I soon lost feeling in my extremities. I wasn't able to reach my top end on the bike because I was so cold. In a sick way it was quite humorous because when I stood up out of corners I could hardly ride in a straight line because my arms were so numb. I bumped into a few guys and didn't even know it until they yelled at me! The race broke apart fairly quick due to the strong crosswinds and terrible conditions but I continued to race. Only 30 of the 170 racers finished so the organizers allowed everyone to race the second day. The Cycling Center Team chose not to start, though, because of the amount of stress the cold conditions placed on our bodies. It was better not to risk a week of sickness for a low placing in one race.

I luckily stayed healthy from last weekend and have had some great training rides this week. Derek and I did a nice long ride a few days ago along the canal that runs from Brugge to Gent. I really enjoy riding along the canals. There's no traffic, very few turns, and great scenery. I found out that the roads along the canals were originally used by teams of horses to pull the large ships from town to town...fascinating. I suppose the cyclists that now ride the roads can be considered a type of 'work horse' too.

Well, I'm off to go re-con some important sections of this Sunday's race. That's right, I'm racing on Easter Sunday. So when all of you are enjoying your Easter brunch, just think about the pain I'll be in. It's ok though, I'm planning on doing a nice Easter breakfast on Monday... French toast and all.

Belgium 2006, entry 4

2006-03-30T18:35:00.000-05:00

Things are going pretty good right now in Belgium. The house is filling up, the racing legs are coming around, and the weather is getting better... well, maybe not that last one.

I did a kermis in Wallonia last weekend and felt really good throughout the race. It was in a small town called Choumont-Gistoux and the terrain in that region is quite different than in West Flanders. The circuit was about 8 kilometers long and included two 900 meter climbs. It was a fairly windy day and one of the hardest crosswind sections was after the first climb so I knew things were going to split up there. There weren't any other kermis' in the region that day so racers came from quite a distance to take part, causing the field to be very large. I think it was the largest field for a kermis I've ever raced in: over 180 guys. I got a decent start position and made it up to the front without too much trouble. This was my first kermis of the season and, in a way, I forgot how aggressive one must ride to do well. I played the first couple laps conservatively and when attacks started to go I went with a couple. The one mistake I made in the race unfortunately came at the breaking point. I was in the front when the move went up the road and the last rider to make the split was my teammate Steven. Instead of stepping on the pedals and jumping across, I doubted my sprint and eased off to allow the gap to form. I really didn't want to drag the entire peloton back to my own teammate, but I should have at least tried to jump and sat up if I couldn't open a gap on the riders behind me. Lesson learned. I rode in the third group until the end of the race which was one lap to go for our group. Out of the 180 starters only 31 guys finished. They paid to the top 30 (too bad for the guy who got 31^st). Only 15- 20 guys were in my group, which was pulled with one to go, so I was somewhere between 40 and 50. Not bad for my first kermis back in Belgium, but I have some work cut out for me.

This past week has been filled with good training rides and bad weather. I'm getting used to riding with wet feet and putting on my rain jacket too. It's not that bad though because when it does rain it usually doesn't last the whole day. A group of us did a 5.5 hour ride to re-con some important hills and went through 2 rain storms but arrived back at the Cycling Center almost completely dry. Tomorrow will be an easier training day in order to be prepared and rested for a big UCI race in France on Saturday. From what I hear, the course has rolling hills and is very open, so wind will definitely be a factor. Sounds like fun. Until next time.

Belgium 2006, entry 3

2006-03-23T18:34:00.000-05:00

GP Waragem Report

I've heard racers say that they would rather be lucky than strong. I don't fully agree with that saying, but some days it makes a lot of sense. Yesterday was one of those days.

We arrived in Waragem with plenty of time to prepare ourselves for the start and after getting situated I went to the start line to get a good position for the neutral start. I think there were about 160 racers and trying to hold position in a pack like that isn't too easy, especially in a neutral start. A neutral start is when the peloton rolls slowly behind the lead car and waits for the official to drop the flag. During that period everyone fights for good position and because yesterday was such a big race, the peloton was extra nervous. One of the Rabobank guys hit a curb or something in the first 5 minutes and flew over his handlebars only to have his bike hit my arm and leg. That was probably the start of my bad luck. Even after the official start the peloton was very dangerous and although there were no major pileups, many guys pulled stupid moves and crashed by themselves. I was feeling pretty good and holding decent position throughout the first hour of the race but also knew that the real racing wouldn't begin until we got to the hills. I was also very confident on the course because of the re con rides and knew the best places to advance position. I handled the first cobbled section well and knew a good line to take. I had good position coming into the town of the second climb and was very focused. As we approached the base of the second climb, the Berendries, the peloton slowed down to fit on the narrow road and a rider behind me rode right into by back wheel, causing me to fall. A few other guys went down but it wasn't a very serious crash. I got up right away and realized my wheel was severely out of true. I radioed Bernard for a wheel change but by the time I got rolling again, the peloton was over the climb and out of sight. I chased hard for a while but the caravan continued on without me and that was the end of my race.

It was a disappointing day and bad luck did play a role, but there will be more races for me in the future. I can be grateful that only my wheel is broken and not my wrist or collarbone. I suppose there are ways to curve your luck (position, position, position), but in the end you can't change what's in the past. I'm feeling healthy and strong, so I'm looking forward to my next race. Let's just hope I can be lucky and strong on the same day! Thanks for reading.

Belgium 2006, entry 2

2006-03-21T18:32:00.000-05:00

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

Belgium 2006, entry 1

2006-03-09T17:22:00.000-05:00

Hello everyone and welcome to season 2006. This past winter has been filled with great training and many thoughts of Belgium. I've followed a very specific training program that included long days on the bike, many days in the gym, hills, flats, and a big rubber ball. I feel like I have taken good rest days and have a great base under my belt so far. Winter training can be harsh in Michigan but I realize that there are far worse places to train. I did some pretty epic rides on the rollers but was able to get outside at least twice every week. Having spent time at the Cycling Center last season has really affected the way I am preparing this year. Where as last year I trained and trained not truly knowing what to expect, this year I am more focused and know exactly how mentally and physically demanding the racing will be.

I raced Valley of the Sun and was a little disappointed with how it went. I had no 'top-end' which makes perfect sense because it's February and I haven't done much riding above LT. Nevertheless it was a good jump start to the season and a nice three days of good intensity. One good thing I did notice was that I recovered very well in between races. Even though I would have like to do much better, I have to remind myself that I have a long six months in Belgium ahead of me and would rather be 'race-sharp' in August than in February.

After VOS, I went to Albuquerque to spend a few weeks training with the Cycling Center team. Our stay was sponsored by the Veloport Corporation and we were treated extremely well. The Veloport Corp is a group of people who are very committed to building a cycling facility equipped with a BMX track, velodrome, and tested equipment. Though much of our time was spent on the bike, we did have many things to do including meetings with Dr. Andy Pruitt, Kristen Dieffenbach, Polar, and Mayor Chavez.

From Albuquerque I flew home to Michigan to spend my last days in the States with my family and friends. That weekend was very busy with visiting friends and running errands. I attended the team meeting of my local team, Sunrise Sports and afterwards was awarded one of the three Euro-Devo Scholarships, which was created by Brian Adams and sponsored by Red Bull. Now I'm back in Belgium and ready to once again live the life of a professional cyclist.

2005 pics

2005-09-09T20:31:00.000-04:00

team van

Brugge

The Butcher in Hertsberge

The bakery

the CC livingroom... spacious

The injuries I sustained after my crash in Wervik.

My calf... powering over the cobbles in Tour of Antwerp

A beautiful day in Brugge

Belgium 2005, entry 10

2005-09-08T11:50:00.000-04:00

After a visit to the doctor last week, I was given the OK to race for my last week in Belgium. My wrist feels good and my stitches are out. I just tape up my wrist before I go out to ride and I have no problems with it. I have done a few races in the past week and am just getting my racing legs back. My first race back was not too good considering I hadn't raced for two weeks. Two weeks without racing is not out of the ordinary back home, but here in Belgium taking that kind of time out of competition really affects the legs. I felt dull and a little weak that first race back and could tell that my 'jump' was a little slow. After some long training and some kermis racing I feel like I'm back in the swing of things. I raced yesterday in Wingene and made the break for the first 90 minutes. It was certainly an improvement in my racing style. I went out and raced hard instead of hiding in the peleton. Of course there is always something to improve upon and in this case that would be digging deeper to stay in the race for a longer time.

My stay here at the CC is coming to an end. I have learned more in these 3 months about cycling and my capabilities than I have in the previous 3 years. I'm a little sad to be leaving but I look forward to my off season training and to returning next year and making big improvements. My last 4 days in Belgium could be busy one's because there is a chance that I will be doing a small stage race on my last two days. Even if I don't, there will be kermis' to race and plenty to learn. Thanks for reading along and following my racing for the past 3 months. Till next year, Vince Roberge

Belgium 2005, entry 9

2005-08-24T11:49:00.000-04:00

Well, cycling sure is full of ups and downs. Just after a nice stretch of good racing I find myself sprawled out on my bed, typing with one hand because my other is in a cast. I fractured a bone in my left wrist and put a two inch gash in my shin yesterday in a pretty nasty crash. The race was a UCI 1.12 in Wervik, Belgium. I made it a personal goal to race aggressive and take part in a few attacks. I was under the direction to race hard for as long as I could, and risk not finishing, instead of just sitting in for the four hours. I did just that.

Now on to what you all want to hear about: the crash. After a hard effort near the front, I sunk back to about 45^th position. The peleton bunched up as we glided over some rolling hills about 10km before the feed zone. On one of the slight downhills, I could feel the pack starting to swell and the motorcycle to my left made me quite nervous. I would guess that we were going about 50km/ hour when I heard a bunch of popping and crunching. Everyone ahead of me immediately locked up their brakes and I did the same. The closer I got to the moaning riders on the ground, the harder I squeezed the brake levers. I continued to skid my tires, like a balancing act on ice. About 2 seconds before I went down I knew I wasn't going to be able to stop in time. I hit someone or something and flew head-first over the bars. What I remember next is feeling the exhaust of the motorcycle on my face and then thinking that my shin hurt pretty bad. I sat up and got very scared when I saw my shin bone peaking out of the 5mm-wide gash. I pinched it shut and tried to look away as I awaited medical attention. Every other part of my body felt fine. A nurse came and asked if I wanted to keep riding. Hmmm... I thought. No, I think I'll go to the hospital instead (then she saw my shin). I saw Bernard briefly and he said that the ambulance would take me to the hospital and that he would see me later. I wasn't scraped at all and besides the shin, no one could have told that I had been in a crash. The more time that went by, the more my wrist began to hurt. After stitches and X-rays, I remember a terrible sinking feeling when they told me that I would need a cast on my wrist. I can't begin to describe the disappointment I felt as they plastered my arm.

Hope.

There is a chance I will be able to race before my scheduled departure from Belgium. I'll get more X-rays in a week and then see if a removable brace will work. I may be able to race with some sort of splint or brace, but probably not over cobblestones! I guess this is part of the sport and another experience to live through and learn from. Every up has it's down, and hopefully every down has it's up. Well, I'm down, but definitely not out. Thanks for reading (my one hand is getting pretty tired). Till next time, VR

Belgium 2005, entry 8

2005-08-04T11:49:00.000-04:00

Belgian Crack

No , not that crack. And no, not that crack either. I'm talking about the pit that can be found in the middle of most main roads in Belgium. All UCI races and most kermis' contain at least a few main roads made with large concrete slabs. These slabs are about a car width wide and are about twice as long. For some reason or another these slabs are not put right next to each other, which leaves large, intimidating cracks every few meters and one right down the center of the road: The Belgian Crack.

Races in Belgium are run on a full rolling enclosure, so the riders have the full road (and yes the sidewalk, grass, and gravel are fair game too). There is no yellow line in the middle, so they couldn't even have a 'yellow line rule.' If they did it would have to be called the 'Belgian Crack Rule.' So during races it is sometimes a challenge to get past the Belgian Crack. Obviously the cracks that are perpendicular to your wheel are less of a challenge, but they do give a nice jolt to the bars and hands, especially if there is a slight rise from one to the next. The crack down the center of the road is the scariest. I've seen this crack as large as 3 cm, no joke. And if you do the math... 23mm tire... 30mm crack... Yes, I've seen guys crash because of Belgian Crack.

Getting over the crack is always fun. There are usually two scenarios: getting over the crack while riding in a pack or getting over while going single file. Single file is always the easiest because all you have to do is follow the leader. One guy will swing right over it and everyone else follows, going from one side of the road to the other in one clean swoop. Trying to cross the crack in a large pack is a different story. You can try and bunny hop it and look like an idiot or you can try to ride over it very quickly and lift your front tire a little for some extra insurance. Whatever you choose, watch where you're going because knocking into a Belgian spells trouble.

Belgian Crack is just another great element of racing in Belgium! Thanks for reading. Until next time, VR

Belgium 2005, entry 7

2005-07-29T11:48:00.000-04:00

Yesterday I raced a UCI in Reningelst, which is a small town near Ieper. The race was very similar to a kermis in that it was held on a circuit and had many turns and narrow roads. We were to do one lap of 10km and then ten laps of 16km. Many notable teams were present including Beveren 2000 (Quickstep's amateur team), Cerdi, and VC Roubaix. The USA U23 National Team also had guys there. After about 45 minutes a break had formed and the peleton would spend the next 3 hours slowly closing the gap, with many attacks in between in attempt to bridge. The leaders never had more than 2 minutes on the peleton, which proves that the pace was very fast.

I had some trouble staying near the front in the early part of the race. It took me a few laps to learn the roads and wind and to figure out he best places to make a move to the front. I once hopped on the sidewalk when the pace let up and sprinted all the way to the front just before coming back on the road to make the turn onto the narrowest road of the race. I was the first through the turn! It is much easier and safer to be in the front, especially in a race like this. The accelerations out of the corners are much slighter when you are in the first 20 through the corner. It sound so easy: stay at the front, but within a lap of me being in first position I was back in mid-pack, which in this case was around 80^th. Getting to the front is one thing ...staying at the front is a whole different ballgame. There are times in the race when all you can do is hold on to the wheel in front of you and pray that no one opens a gap. Actually there were many of these times in yesterday's race. One section in particular seemed to open up gaps on every lap (another reason to be at the front). After about 3 hours of racing, a gap opened up a few places ahead of me and no one could close it down. Everyone was single file and suffering very badly. Many guys called it a day and quit the race when they couldn't get back to the peleton. I was in a group of 12 guys that were not yet ready to give up. We worked very hard for almost a full lap and eventually got back to the peleton. I knew at that moment I needed to get to the front because in the next hard section the race would be ripped to shreds. I moved up to the middle and could feel that the end was near for me. I had pushed my body very hard and dug very deep to get back to the peleton. On the next hill I slowly drifted to the back as my heart rate went through the roof. This was the end. I gave it one last shot on the downhill but the gap continued to open. 3.5 hours and I was done. Very close considering the winning time was 4 hours and 3 minutes.

There is a huge mental aspect of racing in Belgium that I am starting to learn and adopt. The best advice that I have ever received about racing in Belgium is that 'You can always ride harder!' This statement is very true. There are moments when the race is single file and there are 150 guys riding in the gutter and you're mind is telling your body to stop. I am learning that you can tell your body to go that little bit further. You can block that signal that is telling your body to stop. You can embrace the pain. You can always go that little bit further. And I'm getting better at doing that. I can remember 3 specific times yesterday when I shut my mind off and just went that little bit harder and it kept me in the race much longer. I know that I am strong enough to finish these races and my cleverness during races is improving too. I am continuing to learn in every race I do. My next shot is a UCI in France tomorrow. Wish me luck. VR