It only feels like yesterday that it was the end of the 2009 season and I started to plot what I was going to be up to for the next 12 months and here we are again already, the nights are getting darker, the pumpkins are lighting up the driveway and the overshoes are out.
I've had the most amazing time this season. Amazing racing, amazing experiences and amazing people. From leaving work back in April I have learnt so much and can't wait until racing starts again. Since September I've neglected the blog a little but as soon as I get used to being back at work for the winter I'll pen a few words on the Tour de l'Ardeche and Ras na mBan, probably my two favourite races of the year.
It also goes without saying that I'd like to thank Bruce at Prologue Bikes and Jon & PowerBar who have both helped me out massively this season. Check back soon for news on plans for 2011!
Friday, 29 October 2010
Wednesday, 1 September 2010
Huesden & Puivelde, Sint Niklaas
The glamping trip to Belgium continued with a few more races and a bit more success with cooking in the trekkershut. It’s amazing what you can conjure up with a mussel pot, a sharp knife, wooden spoon and a Tupperware container once you work out how to use the hob. Of course we didn’t wait for over an hour for a pot of water to boil for pasta as we had it on the lowest setting rather than the highest – that would be stupid!
After my efforts to come in 8th place in Erondgem, I could feel a bit of pain lurking about behind my left knee as I climbed into bed that night. I took a couple of ibuprofen and crossed my fingers it would be ok by 5pm the next day when our next race was scheduled, 18 laps and 96km round Heusden. Being in Belgium just to race, it was the last thing I wanted not to be able to and I was annoyed to feel it still niggling the next day albeit only slightly. I decided to get on the bike and onto the start line though as it was hardly noticeable most of the time and this was also despite the best efforts of the weather- atrocious, and the music played on loudspeaker at the start of the race – worse. I had thought Alli’s ipod selection was bad but being met with two different murderous versions of a well loved Beatles song back to back was enough to put anyone off racing.
Once the race started it went by in a bit of a blur as my knee was hurting every time I put a big effort in. Whereas the previous day I’d been up at the front attacking, I was struggling nearer the back of the peleton. The feeling was awful. I foolishly tried a couple of times to go with an attack but my leg just wasn’t working. I changed tact and instead worked at the front for Alli to try and help her establish a break but even that was difficult and I began to drift further and further back. After about five laps I began to think that I really shouldn’t be racing, a thought that had been at the back of my mind all day but that I was trying really hard to ignore. Having never once given up on a race I just couldn’t get my head around being the one to bail out. I spent the next four laps having an argument with myself about whether or not I should stop racing. I was in Belgium to race so I should race but there was also the bigger picture to think about and the impending Tour de l’Ardeche which would be my biggest race so far. Eventually the sensible version of me won and as the bunch approached the car park I slowed down to a stop. I was absolutely gutted. Although I knew I’d made the right decision and I didn’t want to sacrifice the stage races towards the end of the season I was cold, wet and thoroughly miserable. I hid in the car for a couple of laps and finally dragged myself out to support Alli and Amy who were still battling round in the rain. If I wasn’t going to race, at least I could try and be there for them as they went round and round and round and when they both finished safely in the bunch their big smiles told a different story to my glumness.
I was advised not to race the next day by almost everyone I spoke to and even I thought another 96km was probably going to be a bad idea so I took some more ibuprofen and kept my leg up as much as possible. However, my knee had other ideas and bizarrely the next day it felt absolutely fine. I couldn’t believe it when I woke up and it didn’t hurt, it was like a whole different leg. I gingerly walked about on it, waiting for it to twinge but the pain I’d had the day before just wasn’t there.
Looking about as we lined up for the start line in Puivelde, Sint Niklaas it was largely the same girls who had raced the day before. Not wanting to risk getting seriously injured I made a pact with myself that I was going to sit in for the first half of the race and not do anything more than I had to so I could test the waters. This was really hard to do, plus I was amazed how easy it was to sit in and do as little as possible! A few breaks went away, some for longer than others and the cobbled section seemed to play a bit of havoc within the bunch as some riders decided to free wheel over them. Not how I’d chose to ride them and an unpopular tactic when I was caught behind. I was hankering for the race to get to the halfway point so I could try and attack when a significant break was caught by the bunch. I then spent the rest of the race attacking and working with Alli, trying to get one of us away in a break. We both had periods of success with one of us being in most of the moves but the Australian Institute of Sport, who had the most tactical team, were brilliant at controlling the race to ensure it was brought down to a sprint finish. Alli, Amy and I all finished about halfway down the bunch and I was ecstatic that my knee had held out for the duration of the race. Even better, Alli picked up a 10 euro sprint prime – coffee money for our rest day :o)
Thursday, 26 August 2010
Erondegem, Belgium
After a couple of days rest it was back off to Belgium for a full on few days of back to back racing. This time with Alli Holland (Max Gear) and Amy Bradley (An Australian rider we had met in the Czech Republic) in tow. All of us and bikes squeezed remarkably easily into Alli’s Fiat Doblo, a car clearly made for cyclists and ably assisted on our journey by Alli’s eclectic mix of tunes on her iPod. Whoever thought that Roger Whittacker with a special guest appearance by Des O’Connor, Vanilla Ice and some sea shanties would turn out to be good road trip music?
Unfortunately the house I usually stay in was full for this week so we opted to stay in Oudenaarde closer to most of the races being run that week and our luxury accommodation – a trekkers cabin by a lake in a campsite. If you’ve never seen one they’re basically an oversized shed with bunk beds and if you’re lucky (which we were) a fridge and hob. Apparently, so I’ve been told, this is glamping?! Although it didn’t feel so glam on the first night when I had to steal a roll of toilet paper from a restaurant as the campsite didn’t even provide that!
Our first race was in Erondegem and a round of a Flanders Cup series of racing (If my translations skills are to be believed). It was being held over 107km with 4 laps of 15km and 5 laps of 9km and as I stood on the start line I was really excited. I love racing in Belgium and couldn’t wait to get going. The circuit certainly wasn’t hilly but it was more than rolling and I really liked the first set of laps which took in some twisting, technical farm lanes and an industrial estate. From the outset there were repeated attacks and I got involved up at the front of the race keen to get away in a break. Within a couple of laps two girls managed to get a sizeable gap and soon disappeared from view with their team mates helping to control the pace. This didn’t deter the rest of the riders and it continued to be a fast race with girls trying to get away, myself included. Although I was in the bunch it felt like I was having a good race and thought surely soon another attack would have to stick, that is until for the first time ever in a race I punctured! I’m pretty lucky to have escaped it this long but as my bike clattered across a huge hole in the ground I knew I would end up with a flat and I just prayed it would hold out as I went round the tight right hand bend straight afterwards. Holes in the road seem to be par for the course in Belgium and a race doesn’t seem complete without those and piles of gravel littering the roads (although I did see a lady scraping a dead hedgehog off a course with her shoe once, so perhaps not all hazards are acceptable). Riding shoulder to shoulder in the bunch it’s often impossible to miss going into holes and this unfortunately was one such occasion. I was gutted but also quite excited to then get a new wheel from the yellow Mavic service vehicle. They don’t usually turn up! It was then a case of getting in as close as I possibly could behind the car to chase back on to the bunch, a gap that was larger than I would have liked as it seemed to take a while to get the new wheel on. In a strange way I actually quite enjoyed motor pacing along the roads like this. I didn’t dare look at my speedo as there was no way I was taking my eyes off the car in front but it felt pretty nippy.
As we came into the farm lanes and upon the Commisaire’s car I was left to fend for myself to catch up the bunch and eventually met them as we took a new road on the first of the shorter loops and I found myself face to face with an unexpected cobbled climb. In truth, the shorter loops didn’t feel any shorter especially with the addition of the climb which zapped the energy from your legs despite being less than 100m in length. As we continued on the race all I could think was that I had caught the bunch up so what was stopping me doing the same but off the front? Why not gain the time at the head of the race rather than at the tail end? With two laps to go I put some power down up the hill near the finish to test out the water and continued through till we had crossed the start/finish line, looking back a number of times I was largely left dangling by myself and it didn’t seem like anyone was going to chase too much. Annoyed that I hadn’t made that a committed attack I decided to go for it again further into the loop where there was more chance of me hiding round friendly bends and corners. I quickly made up a decent gap and as time went on I began to extend it. I don’t like looking over my shoulder as I would rather just keep my head down regardless as I don’t want to feel like the attack is unachievable but it’s difficult to avoid. I saw one other girl attempt to bridge over to me unsuccessfully and then the bunch disappeared from view. I knew I must have made up some time when a service motorbike came from the bunch to follow me, although I had no idea how far in front the leading girls where.
So a 20km time trial panned out in front of me and I was dreading the bunch finding me before the finish. There were quite a few people out to watch and as I crossed the finish line a spectator asked to take my photo and told me I had come in third. I couldn’t quite believe it but unfortunately the tale doesn’t end quite as happily as I quickly learnt that while I was out the back having my puncture five other girls had gone off the front and made up a winning break of seven meaning my solo effort only actually secured me 8th place. The peril of having no team, team mates or race radio to tell you such things and my own fault really for presuming that the race had continued without incident while I’d not been a part of it. Certainly a lesson to take forward for next time but I’m still really glad I attacked and made it stick on my own especially as I made up a minute and a half on the bunch in the last 20km. The winner was Grace Verbeke (Lotto Ladies Team)who also won the Ladies Tour of Flanders earlier this year and is leading the series overall.
Some pictures here
http://www.cyclingnews.nu/Wielertrofee%202010/Erondegem06-08-2010.htm#16de
and here
http://www.dailypeloton.com/displayarticle.asp?pk=17408
And results here
http://www.cyclingnews.nu/uitslagen/2010/Erondegem06-08-2010.pdf
Unfortunately the house I usually stay in was full for this week so we opted to stay in Oudenaarde closer to most of the races being run that week and our luxury accommodation – a trekkers cabin by a lake in a campsite. If you’ve never seen one they’re basically an oversized shed with bunk beds and if you’re lucky (which we were) a fridge and hob. Apparently, so I’ve been told, this is glamping?! Although it didn’t feel so glam on the first night when I had to steal a roll of toilet paper from a restaurant as the campsite didn’t even provide that!Our first race was in Erondegem and a round of a Flanders Cup series of racing (If my translations skills are to be believed). It was being held over 107km with 4 laps of 15km and 5 laps of 9km and as I stood on the start line I was really excited. I love racing in Belgium and couldn’t wait to get going. The circuit certainly wasn’t hilly but it was more than rolling and I really liked the first set of laps which took in some twisting, technical farm lanes and an industrial estate. From the outset there were repeated attacks and I got involved up at the front of the race keen to get away in a break. Within a couple of laps two girls managed to get a sizeable gap and soon disappeared from view with their team mates helping to control the pace. This didn’t deter the rest of the riders and it continued to be a fast race with girls trying to get away, myself included. Although I was in the bunch it felt like I was having a good race and thought surely soon another attack would have to stick, that is until for the first time ever in a race I punctured! I’m pretty lucky to have escaped it this long but as my bike clattered across a huge hole in the ground I knew I would end up with a flat and I just prayed it would hold out as I went round the tight right hand bend straight afterwards. Holes in the road seem to be par for the course in Belgium and a race doesn’t seem complete without those and piles of gravel littering the roads (although I did see a lady scraping a dead hedgehog off a course with her shoe once, so perhaps not all hazards are acceptable). Riding shoulder to shoulder in the bunch it’s often impossible to miss going into holes and this unfortunately was one such occasion. I was gutted but also quite excited to then get a new wheel from the yellow Mavic service vehicle. They don’t usually turn up! It was then a case of getting in as close as I possibly could behind the car to chase back on to the bunch, a gap that was larger than I would have liked as it seemed to take a while to get the new wheel on. In a strange way I actually quite enjoyed motor pacing along the roads like this. I didn’t dare look at my speedo as there was no way I was taking my eyes off the car in front but it felt pretty nippy.
As we came into the farm lanes and upon the Commisaire’s car I was left to fend for myself to catch up the bunch and eventually met them as we took a new road on the first of the shorter loops and I found myself face to face with an unexpected cobbled climb. In truth, the shorter loops didn’t feel any shorter especially with the addition of the climb which zapped the energy from your legs despite being less than 100m in length. As we continued on the race all I could think was that I had caught the bunch up so what was stopping me doing the same but off the front? Why not gain the time at the head of the race rather than at the tail end? With two laps to go I put some power down up the hill near the finish to test out the water and continued through till we had crossed the start/finish line, looking back a number of times I was largely left dangling by myself and it didn’t seem like anyone was going to chase too much. Annoyed that I hadn’t made that a committed attack I decided to go for it again further into the loop where there was more chance of me hiding round friendly bends and corners. I quickly made up a decent gap and as time went on I began to extend it. I don’t like looking over my shoulder as I would rather just keep my head down regardless as I don’t want to feel like the attack is unachievable but it’s difficult to avoid. I saw one other girl attempt to bridge over to me unsuccessfully and then the bunch disappeared from view. I knew I must have made up some time when a service motorbike came from the bunch to follow me, although I had no idea how far in front the leading girls where.
So a 20km time trial panned out in front of me and I was dreading the bunch finding me before the finish. There were quite a few people out to watch and as I crossed the finish line a spectator asked to take my photo and told me I had come in third. I couldn’t quite believe it but unfortunately the tale doesn’t end quite as happily as I quickly learnt that while I was out the back having my puncture five other girls had gone off the front and made up a winning break of seven meaning my solo effort only actually secured me 8th place. The peril of having no team, team mates or race radio to tell you such things and my own fault really for presuming that the race had continued without incident while I’d not been a part of it. Certainly a lesson to take forward for next time but I’m still really glad I attacked and made it stick on my own especially as I made up a minute and a half on the bunch in the last 20km. The winner was Grace Verbeke (Lotto Ladies Team)who also won the Ladies Tour of Flanders earlier this year and is leading the series overall.
Some pictures here
http://www.cyclingnews.nu/Wielertrofee%202010/Erondegem06-08-2010.htm#16de
and here
http://www.dailypeloton.com/displayarticle.asp?pk=17408
And results here
http://www.cyclingnews.nu/uitslagen/2010/Erondegem06-08-2010.pdf
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