Casey Hill Is A Smart Man

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.