Here are the most recent pics! Three months old already. There are way too many good ones so I just put a few up. I hope everybody reading has a great week.
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Tuesday, April 7, 2009
Ghent Wevelgem and The Queen
Round one of the Classics week was not disappointing at all! A Belgian pulled through with a sweet victory in Flanders yet again. Stijn Devolder once again strung the race out, “let” a couple of other poor souls go on the attack with him, then dropped a grenade on them going up the Muir. The guy used a tactic similar to this last year also. Instead of a grenade on the Muir, he used a smoke bomb on the Eikenmolen as his breakaway was getting caught. My pick Heinrich Haussler outfoxed the peloton again and snuck in for second. I scored a few points at least. Speaking of points, I saw this link for “fantasy cycling” and almost clicked on it. After a moment of thinking I saw myself as a couch potato cyclist wanna be. Maybe I am bitter, or just full of myself, but I wouldn’t participate in that nonsense because I would much rather be out racing with those guys, not pretending to manage them. And since I have limited time to ride, I won’t be spending it on that!
Ghent-Wevelgem is a mid week Classic in Belgium. It is not quite as long as the other two, or as intense, but it is still an important race. The only thing I know about this course is the Kemmelberg. This climb is as tough as any in the Tour of Flanders. There are three ways to go up (or down) and I personally think they go up the easy way, and down the dangerous way. Last year they went down the cobbled section, and I think this year they will be descending the narrow sketchy road. Having ridden all sides, I personally would run them up the narrow steep side to string it out, thus making the descent down the cobbled side a little less dangerous. Take your pick I suppose. I pick Mark Cavendish to win either way. This 23 year old chap is unstoppable.
Paris-Roubaix is the Queen of the Classics. Held in the Northern part of France, this is the most unforgiving race there is. It’s called the Queen probably because it’s such a ridiculous race, it must have been spawned in the time of Monarchies. My Dad and I have always loved this race, and have always secretly wished we could suffer like those guys. Well, I got a little taste of what these guys go through in the Summer of ’05. Here is a little journal entry from one race I did.
The French
This past Saturday was my first race in France, a UCI 1.12 called Circuit du Pevele. This was its 59th year in running! Apparently, the French are notorious for starting races late, and today was no exception. As any Belgian will say, “Once you cross into France, all logic goes out the window!” And that indeed was true! Imagine 180 cyclists, all hopped up on adrenaline just waiting for the start gun. Games faces on, announcer yelling some unknown words into the microphone. Now, ask these cyclist to let a car through! Or better yet, two! Now the guys [lined up] at the back seized their opportunity and tucked in behind the upcoming cars moving forward, thus repositioning myself and other angry racers from the top 50 to the rear 50. Ands that’s were I stayed. Throw in a Ten Kilometer “nuetral” roll out, a 600 meter long cobbled section 1.5 Kilometers from the start, and the race is over before it even starts! Well, it was for me anyway. I however endured torture for another 2.5 hours not wanting to be a quitter. I learned what it was like to have battered hands from endless passes over two 15th century cobblestone roads. The only hill in the race was the best part of the course. I wondered how the pros do 260 kilometers of this, and if I would ever be able to. Well, if I don’t, this entry is all that I will have and every time I jam a finger, the following day I will remember what it was like in France, when all of my fingers felt that way.
-Another DNF for me, but to my credit there were only maybe 50 guys in the race when I pulled out. It was a brutal day! -8/01/05
My memory is a little hazy, but I believe that I did another race in France (bringing my total to 3). I don’t have it on my list for some reason, but below is a picture from this race. It was the only one I did with the national team, which was a shame because that Jersey was so much nicer than than crappy ones we wore. This was clearly before the race. I seem clean and not angry about getting my rear end kicked yet. It was sunny, dusty and I distinctly remember the two dogs we found after the race that were stuck together. At the race from my journal entry, it had rained that morning. I remember flying into the first cobble stone stretch at about 50K an hour (31mph for you non-racers), puddles, mud, slick roads and riders flying every which way. Somehow I made it through. It was one of those, close your eyes, grit your teeth kind of moments. But this is how every race is over there, and Paris-Roubaix is even faster, longer and crazier. I am getting really excited for Sunday. This is going to be the year that an American wins this race for the first time. George Hincapie is going to take this race by the horns, wrestle it to the ground and give it the peoples elbow. All American cycling fans are willing him to win, we want him to win more than he does! When he wins, he will retire, and tell the French to take their inhumane race, and stick it deep up the forest of Arenburg.
Ghent-Wevelgem is a mid week Classic in Belgium. It is not quite as long as the other two, or as intense, but it is still an important race. The only thing I know about this course is the Kemmelberg. This climb is as tough as any in the Tour of Flanders. There are three ways to go up (or down) and I personally think they go up the easy way, and down the dangerous way. Last year they went down the cobbled section, and I think this year they will be descending the narrow sketchy road. Having ridden all sides, I personally would run them up the narrow steep side to string it out, thus making the descent down the cobbled side a little less dangerous. Take your pick I suppose. I pick Mark Cavendish to win either way. This 23 year old chap is unstoppable.
Paris-Roubaix is the Queen of the Classics. Held in the Northern part of France, this is the most unforgiving race there is. It’s called the Queen probably because it’s such a ridiculous race, it must have been spawned in the time of Monarchies. My Dad and I have always loved this race, and have always secretly wished we could suffer like those guys. Well, I got a little taste of what these guys go through in the Summer of ’05. Here is a little journal entry from one race I did.
The French
This past Saturday was my first race in France, a UCI 1.12 called Circuit du Pevele. This was its 59th year in running! Apparently, the French are notorious for starting races late, and today was no exception. As any Belgian will say, “Once you cross into France, all logic goes out the window!” And that indeed was true! Imagine 180 cyclists, all hopped up on adrenaline just waiting for the start gun. Games faces on, announcer yelling some unknown words into the microphone. Now, ask these cyclist to let a car through! Or better yet, two! Now the guys [lined up] at the back seized their opportunity and tucked in behind the upcoming cars moving forward, thus repositioning myself and other angry racers from the top 50 to the rear 50. Ands that’s were I stayed. Throw in a Ten Kilometer “nuetral” roll out, a 600 meter long cobbled section 1.5 Kilometers from the start, and the race is over before it even starts! Well, it was for me anyway. I however endured torture for another 2.5 hours not wanting to be a quitter. I learned what it was like to have battered hands from endless passes over two 15th century cobblestone roads. The only hill in the race was the best part of the course. I wondered how the pros do 260 kilometers of this, and if I would ever be able to. Well, if I don’t, this entry is all that I will have and every time I jam a finger, the following day I will remember what it was like in France, when all of my fingers felt that way.
-Another DNF for me, but to my credit there were only maybe 50 guys in the race when I pulled out. It was a brutal day! -8/01/05
My memory is a little hazy, but I believe that I did another race in France (bringing my total to 3). I don’t have it on my list for some reason, but below is a picture from this race. It was the only one I did with the national team, which was a shame because that Jersey was so much nicer than than crappy ones we wore. This was clearly before the race. I seem clean and not angry about getting my rear end kicked yet. It was sunny, dusty and I distinctly remember the two dogs we found after the race that were stuck together. At the race from my journal entry, it had rained that morning. I remember flying into the first cobble stone stretch at about 50K an hour (31mph for you non-racers), puddles, mud, slick roads and riders flying every which way. Somehow I made it through. It was one of those, close your eyes, grit your teeth kind of moments. But this is how every race is over there, and Paris-Roubaix is even faster, longer and crazier. I am getting really excited for Sunday. This is going to be the year that an American wins this race for the first time. George Hincapie is going to take this race by the horns, wrestle it to the ground and give it the peoples elbow. All American cycling fans are willing him to win, we want him to win more than he does! When he wins, he will retire, and tell the French to take their inhumane race, and stick it deep up the forest of Arenburg.
Thursday, April 2, 2009
The Classics
I apologize to my avid Lucas readers, but this coming week presents one of this biggest weeks of the year in cycling. The Spring Classics are finally here! Since I spent a good bit of my time in Belgium on these same roads, I thought it would be fitting to have a “Blast from the Past” post.
I think one reason why I love the Classics so much is because I raced sections of these courses over my three month stay in the Summer of 2005. Bicycle racing is sort of a mini model of life. No matter how hard it gets, you must never give up. Sometimes everything goes really well and you get the victory. Then suddenly out of nowhere, you run into a car at 25 miles per hour. Much like other sports, watching cycling is a release from the daily stressors of life. Watching others suffer, create drama, and ultimately triumph is a basic human need. The Spring classics represent life’s most difficult struggles. These racers suffer for hours in the harsh conditions of northern Europe. They prepare for months for these few chances at glory. In the end however, only one man, the strongest man, will overcome the obstacles of this mini life and win.
I am going to compose two posts over the next week. Each post will describe one or two of the upcoming races. Then, I will show you why each race is special to me. I wanted to do this because I had dream the other night that I was in Belgium this week to see the races. This is the next best thing. I hope you enjoy!
La Ronde van Vlaanderen
The Tour of Flanders is the World Championships of Belgian cycling. To Belgians, this is “The” race. All other races in Belgium try to model after La Ronde. Belgians grow up racing on these roads and they know them like the back of their hand. It makes it hard for cyclists from other nations to make the final in this race because it is the Belgians backyard. No American has ever raised there arms up in victory in this race. Some of the best cyclists ever, have never won this race. My cycling hero Sean Kelly never won this race, but came close several times.
Although I didn’t actually get to race on the climbs, I did do a couple of training rides over these short intense hills. Some of the famous climbs I went over included the Wolvenburg, Paterburg, Taaienberg, Leburg and the Bosberg. In training, these climbs are very steep. Some of them are cobblestone roads and are hard for us mere mortals to even ride up, much less race up.
The race starts in the “Touristy” town of Brugge (Sunday April 5th ,) which is right near the coast, and finishes in Meerbeke 260 Kilometers (about a 160 miles) later. I lived about a 10 minute bike ride from Brugge when I was in Belgium. I also did several Kermesse Races in surrounding towns. The Photo Below is proof that I finished one in Beernem! I also finished the fourth Kermesse I did in Torhout, a town La Ronde goes right through. I have a good idea of how this race would feel like, and I know that even to finish this race takes a very special/lucky person.
I guess that’s enough of my reminiscing, Its time to pick a winner! I am going to pick two winners. One logical winner and one rider I want to win. My Logical pick is Tom Boonen, the local Flandrian, favorite and two time winner of the race. Since my favorite La Ronde Champion (Alessandro Ballan) is sick, the person I would like to see win is Heinrich Haussler. This German has displayed vast improvements this season. He nearly outfoxed the pure sprinters at this years Milan San Remo. A victory for him might give German cycling a much needed boost in these rough times. Please post your picks in my comments box! If you don’t know, click here for a list of favorites. Stay tuned for more!
I think one reason why I love the Classics so much is because I raced sections of these courses over my three month stay in the Summer of 2005. Bicycle racing is sort of a mini model of life. No matter how hard it gets, you must never give up. Sometimes everything goes really well and you get the victory. Then suddenly out of nowhere, you run into a car at 25 miles per hour. Much like other sports, watching cycling is a release from the daily stressors of life. Watching others suffer, create drama, and ultimately triumph is a basic human need. The Spring classics represent life’s most difficult struggles. These racers suffer for hours in the harsh conditions of northern Europe. They prepare for months for these few chances at glory. In the end however, only one man, the strongest man, will overcome the obstacles of this mini life and win.
I am going to compose two posts over the next week. Each post will describe one or two of the upcoming races. Then, I will show you why each race is special to me. I wanted to do this because I had dream the other night that I was in Belgium this week to see the races. This is the next best thing. I hope you enjoy!
La Ronde van Vlaanderen
The Tour of Flanders is the World Championships of Belgian cycling. To Belgians, this is “The” race. All other races in Belgium try to model after La Ronde. Belgians grow up racing on these roads and they know them like the back of their hand. It makes it hard for cyclists from other nations to make the final in this race because it is the Belgians backyard. No American has ever raised there arms up in victory in this race. Some of the best cyclists ever, have never won this race. My cycling hero Sean Kelly never won this race, but came close several times.
Although I didn’t actually get to race on the climbs, I did do a couple of training rides over these short intense hills. Some of the famous climbs I went over included the Wolvenburg, Paterburg, Taaienberg, Leburg and the Bosberg. In training, these climbs are very steep. Some of them are cobblestone roads and are hard for us mere mortals to even ride up, much less race up.
The race starts in the “Touristy” town of Brugge (Sunday April 5th ,) which is right near the coast, and finishes in Meerbeke 260 Kilometers (about a 160 miles) later. I lived about a 10 minute bike ride from Brugge when I was in Belgium. I also did several Kermesse Races in surrounding towns. The Photo Below is proof that I finished one in Beernem! I also finished the fourth Kermesse I did in Torhout, a town La Ronde goes right through. I have a good idea of how this race would feel like, and I know that even to finish this race takes a very special/lucky person.
I guess that’s enough of my reminiscing, Its time to pick a winner! I am going to pick two winners. One logical winner and one rider I want to win. My Logical pick is Tom Boonen, the local Flandrian, favorite and two time winner of the race. Since my favorite La Ronde Champion (Alessandro Ballan) is sick, the person I would like to see win is Heinrich Haussler. This German has displayed vast improvements this season. He nearly outfoxed the pure sprinters at this years Milan San Remo. A victory for him might give German cycling a much needed boost in these rough times. Please post your picks in my comments box! If you don’t know, click here for a list of favorites. Stay tuned for more!
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