It’s been a long time since I posted an update here, largely because the demand of my work on the newly-launched PROBA2, writing for Cyclocross Magazine, and still trying to race once in a while have all but maxed out my waking schedule. But, fear not, here’s the update you’ve been waiting for!
Zwijndrecht
I capped the month of October with a horrible race in Zwindrecht, up near Antwerp. Last year we went to Bredene, on the coast, for the last race of October. But it was a long drive and I was determined, at least in the early part of the season, to try a few other series besides the Flemish Cup, so we drove north instead of west this time. It was a pretty miserable day, chilly with drizzle and some heavier rain, and the course was very slick, especially on a long section of singletrack that wound through a small forest between the fields. Today was definitely a day when I wanted to run some Fangos, with their knobbier, more aggressive tread for handling in poor conditions, but I only had Grifos glued up at the time. Honestly, though I’m not sure if they would have helped, since the real problem was not my tires but my dead legs. Zwijndrecht was nice, and I’d go back sometime, but I’m hopeful that I won’t repeat my abysmal performance there anytime soon.
Zwijndrecht Photos on Flickr
Zegelsem
I sat out the first weekend in November and took a little bit of much-needed rest and recovery after a hard month-long training cycle. It apparently paid off in my first race back in Zegelsem.
Back on the bike after running the stairs.
Zegelsem was one of my favorite races last year. In addition to being the only race I did all season that featured any serious climbs, it was also my first taste of real Belgian mud, and was set deep in a pretty, valley surrounded by little farms. And this years race did not disappoint. Although this time around they cut the one really big climb, a feature that really helped me out last time around, there was much more mud, since it rained all morning before our race.
I spent my time there doing battle with a couple of Flemish riders, Bart Demets and Carlo Allaert, who have emerged as my main rivals this year. Last year I couldn’t touch these guys except in one really good race at the end of the season, so I’ve been happy to find myself mixing it up with them–and often winning out over them, which I did in Zegelsem.
This race was the first time that mud riding really clicked for me in a while, helped mostly by the realization that I shouldn’t be afraid of using my feet. Which is to say, I managed to whip it through a number of sloppy turns that would have slowed me down in the past by putting a foot down briefly, and managed to catch several people by running through the worst of the mud while they slogged through on their bikes, barely moving and often falling. I just shouldered it and ran like hell in the worst parts, and it worked, I pulled down my first top-fifteen finish (13th in the Masters 30+ category) since coming over to Belgium.
Zegelsem also was the first chance to really test the mud-handling abilities of my Revolution Wheelworks Rev-50X wheels. I have to say I was extremely happy with them. They’re amazingly light, so they handle the hills beautifully, and the deep carbon rims track beautifully through deep, sticky mud and do not jam up the same way previous rims have for me, even in the nasty grass-mud slurry that comprises many courses here in Belgium. The guys there at Revolution are great, with awesome customer service and a fantastic product, and I’m definitely a fan.
Zegelsem Photos on Flickr
Zaffelare
Zegelsem kicked off an intense week of racing, with Zegelsem itself on Saturday, Zaffelare as a special Armistice Day Wednesday race, and Zelzate the following Saturday. I skipped Zaffelare last season and now regret it, because it was one of my favorite races yet this year.
Blasting through the pits in Zaffelare.
If Zegelsem was the hilliest and muddiest race yet this season, Zaffelare was its exact opposite. Set on a dead-flat floodplain somewhat north of Gent (Ghent, for you Francophiles), the course featured a series of long hard straightaways around the fields and a section on very fast gravel paths that wound around a fishpond in a nearby woods. And from the gun the race, which started on a long, straight stretch of pavement, was extremely fast.
At first it was just-hang-on-for-dear-life fast, but after a couple of laps it slowed to only lung-searing-leg-burning-anaerobically fast. After a pretty chaotic first lap, a little chase group formed around me, maybe six guys, and we worked together for about another lap before the stress of the hard pace started to break things up. A couple of guys in our group fell off the pace, one broke free in front of us, leaving me and Bart Demets to battle it out. And battle we did: Bart punched coming into the twisting woods trail, looking to shake me loose in the more technical section, but I held fast and attacked when we hit the road at the end of the woods, gapping him until he passed me at the barriers. It went on like this for about six laps, he’d surge, I’d cover and then counterattack. Finally, just before the road into the finish he made a little move and I got hung up in a deep rut, just for a second. But a second was all it took for him to get a gap I couldn’t close. I gave it everything I could, but it wasn’t enough. I ended up 14th in the Masters, just behind him, but ahead of my other rival, Carlo.
Zaffelare Photos on Flickr
Zelzate
Zelzate was another race I did last year, accompanied by Mindi’s parents. It’s an interesting race, set on the grounds of a sprawling hospital up on the banks of a busy industrial canal that stretches down from the Schelde into Gent. This year the weather was beautiful if extremely windy, and we found ourselves parked on the road just in front of Chris McKenney, another American who lives in the Netherlands and works for SRAM. We chatted with him for a while before he headed over to do the Masters 40+ race, and I warmed up for my race, trying hard not to get blown over on my deep rims.
The race in Zelzate is pretty straightforward, with some long straight stuff in fields, a bit of road, a set of stairs and a set of barriers, and some twisty sections in the woods. What makes it stand out is (a) a massive, steep dirt pile at one end of the course that you have to get over twice per lap and (b) its location, apparently next to a shooting range, so the sound of gunfire echoes through the course the whole time you’re racing.
In the woods in Zelzate.
I had a terrible start, caught behind (but avoiding) a massive pile-up just off the start line, so I was chasing right from the first seconds of the race. In a way, this was good, since it forced me to really ride hard and go after each person I caught as I tried to reconnect with the racers I normally do battle with. It took a little while to find my legs in the soft, dusty soil in the woods, but soon enough I was cruising and had connected with Bart and Carlo again. Unfortunately, Carlo had a mechanical coming into the last turn and, since his finish affects his overall Flemish Cup standing (as an American I’m not eligible for Flemish Cup points), I sat up and let him recover so he and Bart could slug it out together. Normally I’m not going to back down in a race if I see an opportunity, but Carlo is a nice guy and I felt bad that his overall season might be derailed by something so trivial. So I finished behind the two, but am pretty convinced that I could have outkicked both if not for my incredibly magnanimous gesture.
After the race, Mindi and I had a chance to interview Roland Hurtecant, one of the oldest ‘crossers active in Belgium. Roland has lived a truly storied life and was a lot of fun to talk to. It’s quite something to get advice on racing from a guy who’s been doing it for nearly fifty years. Look for the full story on my visit with Roland coming soon in Cyclocross Magazine.
Zelzate Photos on Flickr
Laarne
I wasn’t sure about whether to race at Laarne or not. The week leading up to it I was mostly sidelined by an ankle injury and I was a little sick as well. But as the day approached it was clear there would be great weather and our friend Christine Vardaros was going to be racing, so I decided to at least give it a try and see if I could ride.
I’m glad I did, because the day was one of the nicest we’ve had in a while and the course, a maze of back-and-forth sections in a couple of cornfields, now harvested and filled with just stubble of this year’s crop, was a lot of fun. I felt pretty good right from the start and despite being last wheel for about 20 seconds, I quickly moved up. The course was hardly hilly, but had enough rise in sections that I could step on the gas a little and gain some ground on the competition.
Leading a group in Laarne
I slowly picked my way through the competition, trying my best to go easy on my still slightly painful ankle, especially coming through the barriers on the bottom of the course. I wasn’t completely happy with my results in the end, but considering how things looked coming into the race, my 15th place finish in the Masters, ahead of Bart but behind Carlo, was pretty good.
After my race we cheered for Christine, who rode well, pulling down a second place finish behind her teammate Veerle Ingels. We had a chance to chat with Christine and her husband Jonas for a while afterwards. All in all, a great race and a lot of fun. (And maybe the last time we see warm and dry conditions for the rest of the season.)
Laarne Photos on Flickr
Lotenhulle
I skipped the race the next weekend in Drongen-Baarle so I could recover from a long day of reporting in Koksijde. So my next race was last Saturday in Lotenhulle.
On the way there the rain was coming down hard and we found ourselves driving on some typical, sketchy one-lane Belgian roads through fields that were, literally, flooded. Although the forecast called for some clearing, it was obvious that the theme of the day would be mud and lots of it. And the course, when we found it, didn’t disappoint. Parts of the course were under deep water, and the whole thing was cut by a raging torrent flowing through what usually is a drainage ditch. Warming up in the pouring rain, the ground was still reasonably hard under the standing water, but by the time our race started everything was an soupy mess.
This was the muddiest race I’ve ever done, but it turned out to be one of my best. I’ve learned, apparently, to handle my bike in the mud, and I’ve been focusing on force and power lately, so I was able to push through the slop perhaps a hair faster than my usual rivals. Again I had to overcome a bad start, but managed to quickly catch and pass Carlo and then was latched on to Bart’s wheel. We traded attacks for the final few laps, but finally he got the better of me as we came around a short run up a steep embankment with a tight turn at the top. And it looked like he was going to get away, but I hit the road and decided I had to at least try to come around him. So I gave it everything I had and tore down the road. I don’t think he even knew I was coming until too late, and I managed to pull around him just at the line. I was going so fast, in fact, that I had to brake before I crossed the line in order to avoid smashing into the 50 spectators milling about in the finish area just a few meters beyond the finish.
This race was great. I was filthy, but had a blast, even though I probably swallowed a cup of mud and cow manure on the way. It also was my best Belgian race ever, with 12th place overall in the Masters. Coming into the intense weeks of racing over Christmas, I couldn’t be happier with my fitness.
We also saw U23 racer Brandon Mart, over here in Belgium from the US for a couple of months. Brandon was all alone in the muddy mess, so we helped him in the pits keeping his bikes clean. He rode hard, but it was obviously a tough race for him in difficult conditions, which helped me appreciate just how far I’ve come myself in handling the Belgian mud.
A little end-of-the-weekend bonus was that our friend Jonathan Page nailed his race in the Igorre World Cup and pulled down an eighth place finish! Way to go, Jonathan!
No photos this time, it was just entirely too messy to break out the nice new camera!
The Rest of the Fall
In addition to all the racing, Mindi and I had a great time spectating and reporting for Cyclocross Magazine. Highlights included chats with Katie Compton, hot chocolate with Cori, Jonathan, Emma, and Milo in Koksijde, and a few conversations with Nys, Albert, and Stybar, among others. We also had a chance to chat with Cyclingnews’ Brecht Decaluwé (apparently dubbed “De Claw” by Americans who, like me, find his last name to be unpronounceable) after Koksijde; he’s a great guy and great writer. Here’s the full rundown of all of the reporting/spectating fun:
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