Sparkessen Giro

So the Summer racing season here in Belgium is in full swing. Most weeks there are at least 3-4 Kermesses on, plus there's some UCI racing on the calendar dotted in there too. So after getting back from Limousin it was straight back into it with a Kermesse in Strijpen/Zottegem on Tuesday afternoon. The race was supposed to be 90k, however due to the 35 degree heat they cut 2 laps off the race which gave us about 75k to race. 10 laps on what turned out to be a lumpy course with a nice little kicker of a hill out the back. Although the ride there my legs felt like lead, I knew I'd work into it so I was looking forward to the race! It's not often you get any hills in the Kermesse' here! Had a good race, with each lap feeling better and better and tried to split things up on the hill.. We managed to halve the bunch by the end, both through the hills and the heat taking a toll, and I did my usual trick of avoiding getting mixed up in the sprint and rolled in just inside the top 20. 

On the descent - Strijpen Kermesse

A couple of days later and it was off to Bambrugge for another 90k race! This time we were lucky enough to have Graeme drive us, which we were extra thankful for once the heavens opened resulting in the last 5 laps being in torrential rain. My slow to wake up legs had me sitting too far back early in the race and I missed the break of the day which ended up sticking, and then every move I went with was the wrong one so I rolled in with the bunch happy to be able to dry off..

Lucky I wore my black socks....

The next day we were picked up by Rene for the trip across the border to race the UCI 1.1 race, Sparkassen Giro. This race is an all day festival in the town, with participation rides, the womens race, a Men's Post Tour Crit, Derny races and then fireworks at the end of the night. It was a great atmosphere to race in! Our race was short for a UCI race, at only 78k, and it was very straight forward.. Go around the town centre, head out on a main road slightly uphill for 5k, do a U-Turn, and motor back down the other side of the road. Repeat this 6 times and you've got a sprinters dream race. The team were keen to come away with a result, and having 2 sprinters we were in for a chance. Coryn and Eileen are both on form with some good results lately, with Jane, Lucy, Gaby & myself to support them. With Kirtsen Wild & Chloe Hosking in the bunch, there were lots of teams hoping to force a break away, so it was an agressive race from the start. We were well represented most of the moves, with Lucy doing her trademark solo attack which lasted about 1k before she was reeled back in. In the end the inevitable sprint happened, except the difference being the first person around the corner hit it too hot and came down disrupting things a bit. Coryn recovered well and sprinted to an impressive 5th, with Kirsten Wild only just pipping her on the line. Eileen had a solid 14th place in what was her first European race in a long time. I felt good during the race and made my way into a few moves, but being the scaredy cat that I am when it comes to a sprint, I sat well out of the argy bargy that was going on and stayed safe.

Skinsuit Sunday!

 

So basically from what was a very disappointing start to the second half of my season, I'm happy with where I'm at now. Racing into some form and being active and actually being a part of the race instead of pack fill is definitely good for the head, because I have to admit there were a couple of times a few weeks back where I'd started doubting myself and questioning if I should be here. I keep reminding myself that this is my first season out here and that every race and every challenge that comes my way is a learning experience and will make me a better rider and racer. I feel so young in terms of cycling age, especially when hearing stories from team mates who are almost 10 years younger, yet have twice as many years racing experience!

Rolling to the start of Sparkessen Giro

 

Next up for the team is the Lotto Cup race Erondegemese Pijl which is a UCI 1.2. Another flat, fast Belgian race where hopefully we can improve on last weekand hit the podium!

My first win!

After Krasna Lipa it was time for some well earned reco days in Germany with Jo and Emma before the next few races. On the plan was to head to Belgium again on Friday morning, race a Kermesse Friday afternoon and then Jo and I would race the Dwars door de Westhoek 1 day UCI race on the Sunday. This is the week I also discovered I don't hate coffee as much as I used to, and as long as there's plenty of sugar in it, I can actually drink it! UH OH....

Driving Glasses - only able to be worn by the person in control of the road trip vehicle

The first great start to the weekend was getting to the car rental place and picking up a brand new BMW 5 Series Station Wagon that would be our 'Team Car' for the weekend! It was an absolute blast to drive, especially through Germany on the open highways. Wow that thing could go! And it practically drove itself.

Road Trip buddies!

So we headed off in the rain to Belgium and ran in to a fair bit of traffic. By the time we actually made it to the race site it was only 45mins until race start. Quick rego, unpacked the bikes, pumped up the tires and it was time to get on the start line. Talk about cutting it fine! Todays race was in Vrasene - Beveren, and was 96km's around a 6.5k loop. Having missed out on a warm up, Jo went straight to the front and had the pace high, whilst I was still trying to find my legs! The wind was up a fair bit today, but thankfully the course was dry and no more rain came along. It was quite an attacking race, with all 3 of us making sure we were involved in anything that attempted to go. There were sprint primes for various amounts of money every lap, so many tried to get away to soak these up. The most promising move of the day happened when Jo attacked with 6 laps to go and was joined by 1 other. They got a large gap, but some strong work from a Rabobank rider and a few others within the bunch that had missed the move saw them reeled in with 3 laps to go.

Yes Pippa - Black Socks.

Talking to Emma in the bunch, she'd decided by then to have a go at the sprint at the finish, so it was up to me to counter attack. I didn't get very far though, and so thought I'd stay on the front to keep the pace high. Jo tried again on the 2nd last lap, but was quickly brought back again, which was when I found myself in an ideal position to try and get a gap leading in to the final sprint prime to at least get some cash. Attacking hard and getting a gap in to the corner, I won the prime and decided to keep going with the gap for as long as I could. The first half of the course was crosswind and headwind, so I felt like I was going no where, but the bunch appeared to not be chasing. I kept going with the thought in my head to just get to each corner, and then get to the tailwind section. A little bit of me was thinking I might actually be able to do it, but I didn't want to get too excited too soon and just kept pushing as hard as I could. Getting to the final corner and hitting the tailwind with only 500m to go, I looked back and knew that I had it. I could barely believe it, I'd finally won a road race, and on European soil no less! It was the best feeling going in to the finishing straight with time to enjoy the moment.

Standing on the podium, getting flowers and a trophy, being interviewed.. It was the real deal. Even though I still wasn't sure I believed it had happened, I couldn't wipe the smile off my face.

Belgium - Race 2

So after Steenokerzeel I drove to Roubaix to my accommodation for the night. Typical of Belgium it went from 28 degrees and sunny, to 17 and raining on my trip there. I was pretty excited that I would have the whole morning the next day to explore and visit the famous Velodrome, so had a makeshift dinner and went to bed.

Heading off in the morning for my adventure, i'd forgotten about how lax the French were with labeling roads. And so many u-turns and detours later, I made it to my destination and proceeded to cut a couple of hotlaps of the track. It was pretty damn cool being there and can only imagine what it's like when the race is on! It was concrete and bumpy, so I can't think it'd be nice to race an actual track race there, but they were building a new Velodrome just around the corner. After some happy snaps I headed off, content with the mornings activities.

Then it was time to get in to race mode again! Todays race was in Zwevegem, south Belgium. I wasn't too sure how I was feeling, and the wind was up, so I decided to start with no expectations (and a lot of caffeine in my system!). On tap today was 20 something laps of about 3.5k. Primes every 2 laps from 3 to 21, and then the finish! The course was pretty standard, bumpy, cobbled, but fairly wide roads which makes moving around easier.

Todays major presence was from the Lotto Belisol ladies team, with Topsport only having 1 rider. Sengers Ladies were also present, and a lot of the faces I remembered from the day before were there. That was good, because it also meant I had an idea of which wheels to be near/away from!


With the wind up, it was always going to be a harder race. Lots of time spent in the gutter! An early break went about 20k in, and managed to stay away for about 30k. Sengers missed it so had to chase, and them along with a couple of other girls brought the break back. I helped out a little, but was struggling in the headwind section and knew I had to conserve a bit if I was going to make it to the end. More attacks came after they were brought back, and I just tried to make sure I went with anything that looked threatening. By 60k I thought I was done.. So broke out the emergency TORQ Banoffee and within 5 minutes I came good. Rocket Fuel!

It was perfect timing as a break of 5 went up the road, and I managed to get in the chasing bunch of 10 or so. We worked to get across, and this unded up being the winning break! So given that I was feeling ok again, I worked a bit to help make sure it stayed away. I knew the move was coming from the eventual winner. But missed it. Just over a lap to go she launched solo and managed to hold off the bunch. About 500m later I had a go at getting across to her, but when I turned in to the headwind section I went backwards and was picked up by the chasing pack a short time later.
More attacks went and a couple got away to take the minor podium placings, but by then it was all I could do to hang on to the end! I sprinted as best I could, and managed 11th over the line. So close to the top 10 that I would have loved to have got, but a massive improvement than on last time I was here! And it leaves some more room to move up too :-)

After the race it was straight back in to the car for the 3hr road trip back to Germany! Great recovery.... Nothing like lollies, chips and a protein shake as a post race meal whilst cramped up in the car!

Next up is the Tour Feminin Krasna Lipa in the Czech Republic. Racing with the team CK Victoria from Norway, I'll also be on the same team as Jo and Emma which should make things pretty fun! It'll be good to catch up with a few other girls I know that are racing too!

Back to Belgium

Well I made it to Europe! First stop - Germany.

After just 2 days here, I picked up a zippy little Audi A1 from Europcar and headed cross country to hit up some Belgian Kermesse racing!

I want one. So much fun to drive!

Well there's no better way to get your race legs back than to just get out there and race..
First up was Steenokkerzeel, 16 laps of 5.5kms. Non typical weather greeted me, with a shining sun and 28 degrees! The wind was up like normal though, but would be mostly head/tail with not much crosswind action.

I met up with Jo at rego, and it was nice to see a familiar face amongst the crowd! We commented how weird it felt to be racing together again.. It was almost like being at a St Kilda crit! Just with 3 times as many girls racing.

Race numbers go back at the end of the race, and you get 5 Euro back!

After checking out the course and waiting for ages for the juniors to finish their race, we were finally underway about 45 mins late. The first attack came about 20m into the race and that's how it continued the whole time. Jo was stomping and very active up the front.. I let myself have the first few laps to get used to the bunches again and then worked on staying in a good position up front. Much easier said than done, but it's something I'll improve on with each race.

About half way through I finally felt like my legs were waking up from the flight over, and started to get a bit more active, having a go at getting off the front etc.. But nothing I was in would stick. Topsport Vlaanderen were the dominant team at the race, and nothing was let go without them in it! Eventually with 3 laps to go, a break of 2 went up the road and it looked like the one. Jo broke away from the bunch and bridged across, and it was the winning move! Unfortunately she didn't have much left for the sprint, but managed 2nd which is awesome!

I rolled in on the back of the bunch, happy to have the first one out of the way and to have felt pretty good all things considered. Looking forward to Zwevegem tomorrow!