The (Semi)Classics

If you've kept up with my not-so-frequent blog posts, you know that CycleOps is sponsoring the Dutch team Vacansoleil-DCM this year. It's a newer team with a roster that continues to improve. So now that the racing season is in full swing, it's time for me to keep my bags packed and head to Belgium for a couple of the early semi-classics. This week it's Omloop Het Nieuwsblad and Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne.

I arrived on Wednesday in Brussels and drove 90 minutes to the service course in The Netherlands. While my handy GPS makes getting there easy, driving around still has it's nuances. The biggest thing I always have to get used to, is the cycle paths. They're everywhere. But the coolest part, is that they're either painted red or use red brick, so you always know where they are. You just have to remember not to stop or park on them. Anyway, after a half day of updating our hubs, I drove down to Geraardsbergen, Belgium, where some of the guys from the team were staying. It was a B and B called Hakuna Matata, which is a little funny to me. All I can think of is The Lion King. Back to my story. They stay here because it's in the middle of nowhere and they can train on some of the cobbled roads/climbs and get used to their new equipment. Speaking of equipment, they're provided with new bikes that are a little bit more forgiving for the classics. They'll probably only ride these a few times a season, but they're well worth the extra comfort after a long day in the saddle and 20 km in total of cobblestones (the races are usually about 200-250 km, depending on the race). After a final training session in Geraardsbergen, we left on Friday morning to our new hotel in Drongen, which is just outside Gent. They use this hotel as their headquarters for the next month or so, while they race the Ardennes classics. It's a pretty nice hotel with good food and internet, which is a nice change.

Once here, I did some work with our new computers, updated some more hubs and before I knew it, it was time for dinner. And as a nice treat, it was steak! With an endless supply of frites. It wouldn't be Belgium without frites, would it? Dinner was good and then I headed off to my room for a good night's rest, before Saturday's race, Omloop. For the race, I chose to ride with the team. It makes life easier and that way I didn't have to worry about parking and all that stuff that's hard when you don't speak the language. With the bus staying in one spot for the entirety of the race, I was able to walk around the city center a little. There's some pretty cool/old architecture in Gent, so I snapped a few photos before heading back to the bus to eat lunch and watch the race (inside the bus). It was a good race, but not without it's share of crashes, that took down a couple of the Vacansoleil riders. They finished, but man their bikes were in pretty rough shape.

Sunday was Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne. It's another 200 km race that starts and finishes in the same place, which is another nice convenience for me. It's called the sprinters race, I think largely becasue the last 35 km or so, is a double circuit of Kuurne. Kind of like a big criterium (for you Wisco-based readers). It's always fun to watch, even if the riders fly past at crazy speeds. The race ended with Kenny Van Hummel from Vacansoleil sprinting for third. Pretty good considering current World Champion Mark Cavendish won. The team was happy with the result and I was happy with my stuff. All in all, it was a good day.

Now it's back to the states on an easy one-stop trip. It's been another great trip to Europe, but after being away from home15 out of 18 days, I'm ready for some down time. Thanks for reading!

Geoff