Tuesday, May 29, 2007

What Parents Can Do....

This past weekend we competed in a race called Ronde van de Vlaamse Ardennen. This race was a three day stage race in the Ardenn section of Belgium. This race was nice because each start was only an hour away from Izegem, so we were able to eat breakfast, lunch, and dinner at the team house. Plus, my parents, and sister, flew in last Friday, so they were able to watch the race. It was great to have a couple people cheering for team USA. There are a lot of people that cheer for the riders in general, but very few actually yell “Go USA!”

Stage One: Michelbeke -This stage consisted of seven laps on 15k loop with the Berendries climb on the beginning of each loop. The climb was fairly short, about 600 meters, but it was pretty steep. This is the kind of climb that Belgians thrive on: steep enough to hurt people on, but short enough where raw power is the best and endurance and weight play no part. After the climb the course circled through a town with wide streets where the buildings protected the riders from the wind. A cobbled descent and some rolling hills took the riders back to the finish. The weather wasn’t bad, with only a few sprinkles coming on and off throughout the race.
I got a horrible starting position because they kept moving the starting line further and further back. I hung out in the back for the first couple laps to check out the course and find which lines were fastest around the corners. Europeans are horrible “cornerers.” Plain and simple, they just suck going around tight city corners. Instead of flowing and pedaling through corners, the Euros prefer to take horrible lines, slam on the brakes, and then sprint like crazy to regain their speed. So I have found it useful to take the inside line, hit it really hard, either take the curb (making sure not to clip the pedal) or hop on to the sidewalk. This enables you to pass a lot of riders, while getting the usually European yell or grunt. Yelling is a major part of the European peloton. Everything from grunts, cuss words, and screams, yelling is used to defend your position, advance your position, and point out the faults of other riders. When you are the one getting yelled at, you can usually ignore it, or (my favorite) give the “yeller” a smile. This infuriates them. Once you can put the yelling out of your head, it seizes to intimidate you and you can ride much more effectively in the pack. A couple of attacks began going off the front and the pace began to quicken. On the fourth lap, I made a concerted move up through the field, and by the time we peaked on the climb on the fifth lap, I was positioned in the front. The wide roads of the race (which suite American riders) made it easier to move up. I went with a couple of attacks, but nothing was really getting to far away. On the sixth time up the climb I followed some riders and we opened up a nice lead, however this attempt faltered when riders began to refuse to work. The pack regrouped and I began fighting to stay at the front. The seventh lap came around and at the top of the climb, a group of 11 riders managed to slip off the front with some helpful blocking provided by their team mates. The final run into the finish was crazy, filled with riders locking bars and hitting hips. This is a point in the race that I am still not used to. You can find this aggressiveness in America, but it is only between a couple of guys. Here, 70 guys are left fighting and shoving their way to the front of the field. A last minute attack to bridge to the breakaway took a couple more riders off the front, including one of my team mates. I moved to the front of the field and blocked to the best of my ability: braking ever so slightly, taking guys into the curb (which is pretty fun), and following counter attacks. The attack with my team mate failed and I was consumed by the pack. I ended up there, tied for 12th with 90 other riders.

We started the race with five riders. One rider crashed out, and two riders finished off the back, leaving two of us to finish in the field.

Stage Two: Erwetegem- The course consisted of ten laps on a 10.2k loop. This course was rolling, with no climbs, and much more vulnerable to winds. The roads were narrower, and a cobbled road took the racers to the finish. Overcast skies luckily provided no rain.

Another horrible starting position put me at the back of the pack, but I quickly made my way to the front because I knew the small roads would stretch the 140 rider pack, making it difficult, and much longer, to move up. Again, for the first couple laps, I just watched and learned where to ride to get the best lines around corners and around obstacles. The roads we race on are subject to rolling closure, so cars are required to pull to the side. This makes things difficult because on one lap you may find a stretch of road where you can swing to the edge of the road and make your way to the front. On the next lap, you could be coming around and have a truck or car greet you on your “pre planned move up section.” You have to be paying attention to everything: maintaining or advancing your position in the pack, watching for cars, watching for round-a-bouts and other obstacles, and especially crashes. So for the usually two hours and forty-five minutes it takes to complete the race, riders get very little if any time to rest. The only way to get rest, and I am quickly learning this, is to be very efficient and smart in the pack. The laps added up, and at some point a breakaway managed to get away and put a minute between themselves and the pack. Probably because I wasn’t paying enough attention, or because the announcer only speaks Flemish, but I was not aware that there was a break up the road. We were told by our director that the race would blow apart on the third stage, so I was saving myself for the next day. The break managed to stay away with some of the riders putting 45 seconds more on our team. I finished the loops with the pack.

We managed to finish three guys in the pack, with only one rider finishing off the back.

Stage Three: Opbrakel - The course consisted of four laps of a 10k loop and then five laps on a 15k loop. The 10k lap contained half of the major climb of the day, and then a long, fast downhill to the finish. The 15k loop dropped the riders to the bottom of the climb, then pushed them up a “tree tunnel climb” to the top and then down the same downhill as the 10k loop and back to the finish. This climb was about 2ks, but it wasn’t very steep. However, it suited American climbers much more than Belgian climbers. The weather was cool, but luckily the rain stayed away.
The team manager told us to get in the breaks today, so that is exactly what we did. The first four laps came by pretty quick, with a 10 man breakaway going up the road, containing one American rider. The fifth lap came around, and the break had a minute lead on the pack, and I was getting a little worried that I had missed the winning break. So I moved to the front and began going with some attacks. After a couple hard efforts I managed to find another rider to work with. This kid was strong enough to take the lead on the hills, and then I would pull through on the tops and the down hills. We were flying. A couple kids managed to grab our wheels, but I didn’t care, as long as this kid and I worked together we would reach the break in no time at all. It was great seeing the lead car, and then managing to get close enough to the break to have the Shimano car pull to the side so that we could complete our “bridge.” We now had a lead group of about 15 riders, with two Americans…. The race was looking pretty good. The guy who shared the work with me and I went to the front and began to lead the group up the climb. I had no problem leading the climb, and then got into a comfortable tuck for the downhill. We reached the corner of the course where it flattens out and begins to head back to the climb. I pulled through, and then no one was there. I looked back and saw everyone on my wheel. I don’t mind having one or two guys on my wheel, but 14, that was not going to work. I zigzagged on the road, and tried to get the guys to pull through and keep the rotation going. No one was really interested in working except for a couple of guys. Why they wouldn’t work, I don’t know, I truly think that if everyone pulled through, we could have held the lead and finished off the front. Unfortunately, the Shimano car began blaring its horn while trying to pass us, meaning that the peloton wasn’t far behind. We were at the base of the hill and I did a last ditch effort to stay off the front as a couple of riders from the pack came up to join to me. We powered over the climb, and then were joined by several other riders on the downhill. The peloton was basically on our heels as we turned around and headed back toward the climb. Attacks were going up the road and then back as we headed to the climb with three laps to go. I saw another of my team mates, David, go with one of the attacks. I watched to make sure that his group got up the road, and then bridged up to it. We hovered off the front until the base of the climb. David and I took the lead and powered up the climb, trying to cause as much “pain” as possible. I have to say it was pretty cool having two American riders lead the pack up the crowded climb. We brought the group over the top and then were consumed by the pack on the downhill. It was that this point that I realized how helpful the downhill was for the bigger guys. We could drop the larger riders on the climb, and bring the group down to about thirty riders, but those riders that were dropped could use the downhill to bridge back up. With two laps to go, everything was together, and I managed to stay at the front and continued to go with the attacks. Nothing proved successful, and with one lap to go I was back to fighting for a front position in the pack. The final downhill to the finish was absolute chaos. Bars and shoulders were hitting, guys were hopping onto bike paths, and shoving their way through the center and up the sides to the front. I maintained a good position until the final corner, when I was supposed to get up and sprint, but my legs refused. I ended up finishing in the middle of the pack. All I need was one second on the peloton to move up into the top fifteen. Instead I tied with 70 other riders.

Three of us finished race. I think the director was pretty happy with our performance, USA was represented in every attack.

My dad got to ride in the team car on this final day, and he was completely stoked. He had a great time, and apparently talked and asked a lot of questions. Our masseuse said that he was very excited. My mom and little sister were on the side of the road cheering on every lap. It was awesome having my family here to cheer for me. You never want to race badly in front of your parents, so I think I performed better this weekend because of them.

After these races, all the riders’ legs are dead. Everyone just wants to sit around and either watch TV or sleep. Crepes or waffles or chocolate are eaten as rewards for completing another race. The U-23 guys get to go down to the town square and drink some beers for celebrations. Juniors aren’t allowed that privilege, but next year…

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Grant,
Congratulations! Sounds like things are finally going your way. Keep up the good work.

-Hutson

zthomas said...

Sounds like you're finally start to get the hang of it.
Aren't you disappointed you can't take the chem test tomorrow? i know i'd be pretty pissed

zach

Anonymous said...

Grant, your are a cycling madman!!!! All of our wishes and thoughts are with you, enjoy! You are living the dream!

Anonymous said...

Hi Grant, Keep up the good work & enjo it. samit