European Classics with Kiwis and BTLS

So straight after Redlands with Bontrager Livestrong it was on the plane back to Belgium. This time to race for the NZ national team.  A four day tour then straight on the plane cooked me a little so I landed with a small sickness, less than ideal! However once settled in Blauberg with some normal sounding kiwis I was all good to go. The Calendar for this trip was packed with under 23 one-day races, here’s a quick run down on how they went…

Tour of Flanders – A what if day. Would have, coulda, shoulda. 30k in and pop goes the front wheel on the first cobble section. The problem with cobbles is that with a bunch of a hundred or so the cars are in the distance but hey it was early so I was calm. Then my bad….didn’t check the front brake, my original wheels were a lot wider…no front brake whilst bombing through the convoy is not something I would wish apon any rider. Once on the back I managed to fix it up once my heartrate eased up…jesus! With 2 riders up the road the bunch was pretty happy to mill about with the odd surge before the real cobbles would begin, so the next hour or so past by with ease. Before a hard right onto the Molenberg a rider on the left side of the road stacked it sending a chain reaction across the road. I thought I was mint until the guy infront of me started slidding, boom I unclipped but was going a tad fast and landed on his wheel,and winded myself breathless. So that was my flanders over before it began really. Was sore and gutted to the say the least.

 

 

La Cote de Picardie, France – After a night with the NZ team in Abbeville, a very nice little town in north west France it was a quick 20 minute trip to Rue for the start. After recovering from my spill at flanders the few days before I was very keen to test the legs. Insane cross winds messed the bunch about for the first 60k, where I felt comfortable which was good. Once we were out of the wind the bunch settled down and prepared itself for the next left hook into a cross wind. Satisified with my 20^th wheel position, cracking into the cross wind, the bunch was flying down a small road, but it seemed a certain GB rider wasn’t quite satisfied so decided to fight a little hard with a rider next to him. So at 50km/h he hit the deck! Fairly sure I landed on him and a few more on top of us. Carnage! I was fine…my bike was sweet but I can laugh about it now as both our mechanic and myself were speechless to find a whole bars and  Campagnolo shifter unbroken through my also unbroken chain stays and wheel. With that went my chance of catching back on, I motorpaced and sticky bottled(cheers Ben!!) for about 10 or so k but the bunch were long gone! Another race, another crash….insert swear word ha!

Bastiogne-Leige – Back with the bontrager boys and the very nice hospitality of the Merckx family. Once again feeling good after recovering from my crash(es). Lucky enough to see a chiropractor the night before to put my back all back in place…couldn’t sprint the day before! My job for the day was to follow the early moves and help the boys in the finale. It felt good to be following attacks at the front, pain free and ripping over some small bergs in the early ks. But ahhh frehdoma, we literally crested a small climb an hour in to witness the biggest black cloud charging at us. Within minutes we had hail and sleet bucketing down on us, then the next minute the bunch was ice skating up and down hills! A true race of attrition, at about 120k, the bunch was down to 70 or so, every one of us so cold that when he hit a small climb we couldn’t change gears. The absolutely sick course but shit weather meant  two very small breaks were up the road at 140k. Lucky me! With no bontrager boys in it I started the pulling the pain train, got dropped on La Re Doute(Mt Victoria like climb but twice as long. I always liked Phillipe Gilbert but PHIL painted across the road was so slippery, a few boys won’t be having children!) Once dropped, I found myself in the box smacking it back on. Already cross eyed my teammate insists I keep pulling. The next pull felt like 2 hours but was really about 20 minutes but surely enough the next Cote something I exploded and rolled to the finish. 47^th and 11 minutes down. About 60 finishers from 200…but no crashes! Yusss! And to top it off, the teams amazing worked payed off with Ian Boswell finishing 2^nd, Huge!

 

Zelik-Galmaarden – A good race to say I completed the majority of, as I was very rooted from Leige the day before. I must have been last wheel gate keeping people dropping for the first hour, not smart when there’s cross winds, two times up the Mur(cool climb), and six times up the Bose and Congo Bergs. At 40k to go I was lights out for me up the Boseberg as my back started to really ache from the cobbles and to be honest I would have just been another number in the bunch. Didn’t want to push my back too much with Gila and possibly California in the very close future.

I really enjoyed my time in Belgium with the NZ boys. Great to catch up with some mates and train on some familiar territory. Plenty of good laughs were had, I’LL tell a few short stories but no names. I rider who chose to take a sleeping pill…he woke up with a nice bald spot from a hair trimmer but couldn’t remember it! His face when he scratched his head and realised…priceless. The usually ripping out of eachother never failed to amuse, great Flanders training in the car, one riders twin sisters. A good day in Blauberg was always finished with the group strolling around to the local bristo for a Warm Appletart Met slagroom(with cream) or Dame Blanche(Icecream and choc sauce)

I’m now off to Boulder, Colorado for my first experience of Altitude training for the week or so prior to tour of Gila. I have heard many a story about the cool culture of Boulder and its surroundings, can’t wait to get there! At this moment it looks like I’m the reserve for California. Its become the ongoing joke within the team that I’m constantly scheming who I can injure so I get a spot. But luckily I have some morales so If I get a start I will be very luckily. Would be insane! For now I can focus on Gila, I’m excited to get the tour in my legs and test myself again after a small taste at Redlands. Really loving being on the team, people keep saying I must miss home but I don’t think I’ve had time to think about little NZ enough to miss it! Especially when your cruising down a motorway to the Airport with Eddy Merckx joking about speed cameras.

Cheeaaaa!

Oram