Just finished up the tt here in Belgium and noticed that my flickr update didn’t post a few days back. So…
Been a lame arse few days. The first stage was pounded by a strong steady wind and the fight for the front, even in the neutral, was insane. 5k into the race the field was in pieces and I somehow ended up sitting right in the sweet spot in the first echelon. Then I got a flat. Bad. I peeled right, looked back to see the race in tatters and the caravan behind it all. 5k into the week and my race was over. A bit of a downer to say the least. The rest of the guys had missed the front split unfortuna
tely so we ended up riding the front of the second group all day long just to avoid time cut. Pretty damn embarrassing. Very actually. Right up there with the most embarrasing days i’ve ever had on a bike.
Guys were pissed at us for riding the group so hard all day and let it be known yesterday. About 60k in I snuck into a break of 6 that quickly pulled out a minute on the field. All of a sudden the field came back on us crazy fast, the group started attacking each other and it was made clear that I wasn’t really wanted up front. A few of us drifted back to the field, 15 seconds behind, two other guys hail Mary moved it up the side to join the remaining 3 and the move was gone all day. Super.

Today was the tt, 17k. I took it pretty chill riding a comfortable pace until about half way in when all of a sudden Johnny came up begind me in the car and said to give it a nudge to the finish. I went hard the second half and cruised it in. The legs feel really good and I might have actually been able to pull out a decent ride, but with Philly right on the front of my mind the next two tough, days are important for preperation.

Enough race bs and whining…

One thing that does amaze me every time we come up to Belgium however are the people. They love their bike racing. Middle of the day on Tuesday: people everywhere, waving flags, faces painted, and generally pretty drunk. Good times. That, and the fact that the roads SUCK and could all use a fresh coat of asphalt… Cobbles are cool, very, but cracked up old concrete with big gaps between slabs makes for a sore, well, yeah. Some nice smooth roads stateside in a few days are going to be more than welcome!