Reports from Abroad:A regular column with contributions from wisconsin riders competing in overseas events. |
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Madison Native Rides in BelgiumBryan Smith, 22, of Madison is living the dream. The UW student and member of the IS Corp team is racing as a member of the Cycling Center's ABC Aitos team. What follows is one of Bryan's recent journal entries that explains what a day is like while racing in Belgium. Hello Everyone. I am yet again writing to keep you all posted on my racing here in Belgium. Today is one of those wonderful COMPLETELY-off days. It is really nice for me to be able to sit down and re-think yesterday's race…and kill some time. I am headed towards a period of some light training and less racing to make sure that I am ready for the final part of the season. The previous six weeks have been great in terms of my fitness and racing, but I am now re-building so that I can be on top form again in the end of the year. Yesterday was one of the most memorable days that I have ever had on the bike. I think the only more memorable day was my first race at Greenwood two years ago. The race was called Brussel-Ingooigem, and yeah you guessed it…the race went from Brussel to Ingooigem (In-goo-e-hem). It was a UCI 1.5 185km…but just slightly different in that the race was "Met contract" or with contract…most UCI races are, but often there are more amateurs than professionals. We got to the race, parked, and went to the changing rooms. As I walked into the changing rooms, Wilfred Peters walked in right next to me. That doesn't happen every day. Our director for the day was Eddy from the national team. Eddy said 'hello' to Mr. Peters and in a booming voice Mr. Peters said 'hello'. To that point in my life I have met only a couple of people more intimidating. We change, go outside and get things ready to sign in. There is an abnormally large crowd, but we just sign in like normal. Then before the start we are waiting along with all the other riders…I look to my left, Quick-Step, Vlaanderen T-interem, Marlux, Lambouwcrediet, Bankgiroloterij…all of the big teams. The most frightening part was who showed up from those teams. Musseuw, VDB, Tom Steels (Belgian champ). I think you could see a dozen riders with world champ bands on their arms. I mean are you freaking kidding me? Pinch me now…please, cause this is NOT real. I am lining up against these guys to race? I can't do that…can I? The race rolls out for about 5k of nuetral. Once we are racing, we eventually get a wide rolling two-lane road…I didn't take it out of the 12 or 13 for the next twenty minutes. We were basically spun out, the hardest sections being the downhills! I think my overall feeling for the race was "finish". So with that in mind, a break of about 17 rolled off the front in the first 30km. The bunch was happy to let them go for now, about 150k to go. The pace was hard at times…really hard. At one point we turned right, and we were drilled in the gutter on a flat cross wind section…spun out in the 12…bleeding from my eyes. Then it stops. Thank you! I look over and see Musseuw pull off and take a bathroom break…I am thinking, is he crazy? We are full on right now! At that moment, the pack pretty much stops and goes about 35 for a while. That is respect. This happened quite a bit…we went 35 for quite a long time, most notably during the informal rest stops, and the feed zones. The entire day I had to tell myself not to stare at Musseuw or VDB…If I did, I would probably touch wheels and crash! I quickly realized that they are just like me…I mean they have two legs, two arms…and they pedal the bike just like other people. I mean Musseuw is a big strong fellow…he has something that you cannot see on the outside that makes him the champion that he is…heart, determination, balls, guts, grit, willpower, whatever you want to call it. I can admire that…that is something that is hard to come by, but it is not impossible to have. Your god-given abilities are basically fixed…you can't change those. But your heart, your guts, those are things that you can make larger, and they to can allow you to achieve whatever it is that you strive for in bike racing or in life. OK, back to the race. The break rolling off the front was really a saving grace. Yeah, I know that I should have been in it if I were truly racing. But the peloton wasn't real antsy until about 70km into the race when we got a 2k section of pretty nasty cobbles. The local laps were 90km into the race so that meant that you needed to be at or near the front if you were going to make the laps. I was told by Noel that the back 50 guys out of the cobbles probably wouldn't make it into the laps, but that the front 100 guys or so would probably come back together. He was exactly right, and I was still around in the bunch when we got onto the local laps. 6 laps by 15km each. Each lap was a lot of exposed sections, and the tiegenberg, which is about a 600m climb at 6%. That is not steep, in training it feels very shallow. It doesn't feel so easy when your in the 15 going 40kmh. With four laps to go (60km), the break built up a lead of about 6 minutes. Bernard comes on the radio and says that if the pros want to bring it back, they will need to do it now. That made sense to me, one minute per 10k being the usual rule for bringing a break back. I was sitting there hoping that nothing would happen… and it didn't. I want to make sure you all know that this didn't mean it was easy…just not terribly painful. We still got guttered and we still went fast. The five of us from the national team were sort of in the right place at the right time. I mean the reality of it is that we cannot truly race against these guys…we can try but we are not likely to survive. The belgian national championships are Sunday in Vilvoorde, so many left in the group I was in didn't really want to bury themselves to get the break back. I mean the big time riders didn't seem to really care about the break. They were out for some race speed and kilometers four days before a big day. So the race wasn't brutally difficult. But you know what? Don't care. I was in the right place at the right time, and I finished somewhere between 40-50. Being in the right place at the right time is something that just happens…but you take advantage of what you get. That result doesn't really mean anything to me in the big picture. I will not get a contract to race because of it. I did however learn a lot, and I can say that I raced my bike in the same bunch as those guys. I also found out that those guys are really really fast…much faster than I am, but they are human. I may never be as fast as some of those pros but it is a possibility. Hard work and the right mind can get you very far in cycling. Of course the right break here and there is pretty darn important as well. I want you all to know that I am still cherishing the experience. I am aware of how cool and rare that oppurtunity is. I will never forget it, and I did what I could to remember all the feelings…watch Musseuw as much as I could. I am sort of blind to the fact that I have gone from Greenwood to this in about two years. I have been super fortunate, and I have had very good fortune. Some of that good fortune is made by me…but a lot of the credit goes straight away to all of you. If you are a friend, supporter, or you just want to help out a kid with a shot, some of this goes out to you. Thanks. That is all that I can say. I will finish for now, I
hope you have enjoyed reading this. I am planning on racing Saturday
in the under 25 version of Het Volk, so no doubt a report will come
your way. Thanks for reading and don't forget to use what you can't
see in the mirror…that can be all the difference. For more information:
"Pain is weakness leaving the body" -Steve Fouts I have to give some credit where it is due before I talk about my race yesterday. Many of you know the story of how Steve got me into my first race. After accidentally running into him on a training ride with Ryan Blennert, Steve dragged me to my first real bike race. From then on Steve and I would go out and train together; I would get rides to races, and he would tell me all he could about bike racing. Fortunately, Steve was not able to convince me that sprinters are the coolest bike racers! Seriously, many things that he taught me are still thoughts that come into mind while I am racing today. I still have some of Steve's old tour tapes (sorry Steve), and one of my golden rules comes from Steve…"don't EVER judge a book by its cover"…that helped to explain why some bike racers look really fast, but they aren't. I received an e-mail from Steve on Thursday about my last race report. In that e-mail Steve said a few things that really made the difference in yesterday's race. The most influential thing that he said was the quote above. I don't really know why…I mean I think that I have heard that before…but it struck me in a weird way. Sometimes things hit you in ways that don't really make sense at the time…but later they reveal themselves to have a very clear purpose. The Race. Omloop Het Volk. UCI 1.5, under-25 180km. It is basically the amateur version of the spring semi-classic. The course was really hard, but at the same time super cool. We did one 112-mile loop and then did 2.5 laps on roughly a 25km circuit. Climbs included the volkenberg, Muur (steep paved side…not flanders cobbled side), the eaikenberg, leberg, and finally the berendries three times. There were a few cobbled sections, including the eaikenberg (1.4km), but most noteably a 3.2km section done twice on the circuit. I think I forgot one of the climbs…it wasn't real significant. So I have been here one month to the day yesterday. My mind-set before the race was good, but I was not allowing myself anymore slack while racing. I wanted to go out and actually race…even though it was a big race, pretty long and really hard. I had talked to Thibault (he sets up programs for the cycling center riders) the night before about race. He mentioned that if you can get into a break before the hills and get a good gap, you will be able to have much less stress on the narrow roads and steep hills. So the morning of the race I thought to myself…"buck up, loose your panties, and get into the early break." I know that is easier said than done, but I would give it a shot, gamble, and if I lose…oh well, at least I was racing. After about ten minutes of racing, I was at the back and playing mind games with myself. All of a sudden, the pack ballooned, and I jumped 100 spots in ten seconds. I saw the three guys up the road, I followed one other guy, and shortly after four more joined us. The group was nine, and it looked good. There were two collstrops, one ABX-go pass, one quick-step, two others on the same team, and a couple singles with me. The group was gone after about 20km, and we built up a good gap…well, never more than 1:30. The pace was not super hard, but not at all slow…I was comfortable. The volkenberg is the first climb followed by a 400-meter cobbled section. Over the top a chase from the peloton began to come up to us…they were eleven guys. They caught us about 25km later after the Muur, but before the eaikenberg. I was happy to see the group come up to us, and now there were two guys from all major teams. It wasn't ideal that I was alone, but the larger group would turn out to be the reason that the break stayed away so long. The larger group was harder to deal with from my perspective…I worked a bit too much and had troubled hanging out at the back. I was happy to put effort into the group because at that point…after about 75km, my only hope was to have this break work. Next up was the eaikenberg (I might be spelling that wrong), and it was the first nasty cobbled climb that I have done. There are paved paths on the sides, but they switch around from side to side. It is not that hard to find the good parts of a cobbled climb…I mean when you are trying to go up those things, the paved sections seem to have flashing lights on them. I was too far back at the bottom, and over the top I had a sizeable gap that took about 2k to bridge…it was almost over there. I stayed with it, and next up was another long cobbled section before we went to the leberg, and 2k later, the berendries on local laps. I made it to the berendries the first time without too many problems…the group was still together…and there was about 70km to go. At this point I was dying many deaths…I didn't really think I would make it to the final lap. At this point, I began to remind myself of what Steve said in his e-mail…"pain is weakness leaving the body"…over and over again. That was probably kept me in the race. On the second lap…so about 40km to go, the group was getting antsy…after all, our largest gap all day was 2 minutes. Attacks came left and right, and I didn't really know if I could go away again with another group, but I followed wheels in hopes of staying in the front. We got around to the berendries for the second time, and I was dropped…but I clawed back to close enough over the top and got on quickly during the descent. At that point it was all about survival…I knew that I wanted a good result, but it was clear that I didn't have the legs to win the race. On the final lap attacks kept coming hard and fast. I missed the one that got away, and at this point it was six chasing five. We were about 20km out, and our group of six pretty quickly started working to keep the gap close, but more realistically to stay away from the bunch. We had sort of a mutual piano up the berendries…which was good for me, cause I didn't know if I could get up it the last time! After that we chased hard, and I did more work than I should have. Especially in the final 5k…we were being chased by ten guys, and they clear out the cars. I really didn't want to get caught so I pretty much drove our group to make sure that at worst I get 11th…not 22nd. That is pretty much how we finished…the final km was 300 meters up hill, false flat, then 300 pretty straight to the finish. As soon as we turned the last corner and went up hill, one of the guys who had been sitting in for the last 15km, jumped and took pretty much everyone with him. I was left to roll in for 10th. This was by far the hardest day I have ever had on the bike. Around 160k at the front is pretty darn draining, and afterwards I was in true pain…not really good pain…but after some food and drink…and shower…more food…more drink…I felt "OK". The difference for me yesterday was the quote that Steve sent me in that e-mail. No doubt about it. I said that to myself all day…over and over again. The pain wasn't really any less, but I drove through it more and more. These days are so important and I am more than fortunate to have had such good fortune…or maybe no bad fortune. From now on I have no excuses. I can race here, in just about any situation, and pack finishes at 50th place are no longer OK. You do not get great results every race, but I now know that I can make things happen, and I can stay in breaks for 160km. It is a big day here in Belgium. The national championships are being held in Vilvoorde north of Brussels. I am going to catch the race on TV and probably won't even get on the bike. This will be a longer season than expected for me, so now I must back off the racing quite a bit, and make sure that I am good through the end of the year. I should mention that as I sit here in the kitchen, I have seen about 50 people on various group rides go by our house…and we live on a dinky little road in the middle of the country! The amount of people out on rides right now is probably huge…most have their favorite team kit on, and most aren't even close to racing their bike…they just love to ride. Very cool. Well…I guess this is the most significant result that I have had in Belgium. Let me thank all of you for your support, and don't forget that I am racing with the courage, emotion, drive, desire of many people. I hope that the next time my legs won't go around anymore, that can be the difference maker, and I will have the only result that really matters…a win. Thank you. bryan
Hello Everyone. It has been a while, a week since my last report. The past week has been pretty long. I didn't race at all, which was very nice, and I took time to chill and sit around. My week was basically recovery from last Saturday. I am finally feeling normal again, and the coming week is full of longer training rides. I also managed to get a few entries up on the cycling center website…www.cyclingcenter.com…so hopefully more people can see my diaries and get the feel of racing in Belgium. I also realized that the diaries are really long! I am going to try to make them a bit more concise…hopefully people won't get lost in the middle! Sunday the ABC-Aitos team went to race in Willebroek, north of Brussel. The race was a UCI 1.6 covering 176 km's. it was a pretty interesting course route. We began with a 50km loop, crossed the finish, then onto a 16-km loop crossing the finish once more. Then it was onto a 60-km loop, cross the finish…and then finally three local laps. It seems super confusing, but you just sort of follow the race! This was only my second race with the Aitos team, but we are now focusing on getting results; it is not about finishing races. We have the riders that it takes to get some good results; now we need to make it happen and believe that it can happen. For the race this meant that we needed to get riders up the road early and try to get into breaks. If it were only that easy…then bike racing wouldn't be quite so hard. We definitely did too much too early; the first hour was pretty fast…46 kms covered. More importantly, the peloton was really antsy; there weren't really any breaks that could get anywhere. Our team was definitely racing for the first two hours. Unfortunately, Matt had a nasty fall when he unclipped a pedal at 50 km/h…I looked back and saw Matt hitting the deck…it looked bad, his foot actually got stuck in his front wheel! Matt is not seriously hurt; other than some nasty road rash and stitches in his elbow, nothing broken. Justin had a double flat…front and rear at the same time, and couldn't manage to catch on. So we were down to four guys racing. Whats more amazing is that when a 25-man break rode off the front after about two hours, we completely missed it. It was nothing other than our fault…all of us were too far back, and that is no excuse. So once the break had gone, the gap grew, and with about 40km to go the peloton had stopped chasing, and the split was 2'30. At this point Nat and myself were the only two guys left…Sean flatted at some point…didn't catch back on. This was pretty demoralizing. It was disappointing to have lost four guys…maybe it was "bad luck" but that is an easy excuse…it may be true…but in the end of the day, only two of us were left. We rolled into the local laps, and I began to feel much better. My legs came around a bit, and I did some work to try to get into a little break. At this point everything was up the road…I think we were racing for like 25 or something. Never the less, it was worth some effort. None of the attacks I went with panned out at all, and the field sprint was pretty uneventful. I was probably 20 guys from the front. No result to speak of yesterday. I guess sometimes you can't do everything right…or anything for that matter. I am very pleased about the day. While we didn't get a top ten, and I don't have anything to show for the day…I am NOT happy. I hate the fact that I missed the break, and finishing the race doesn't feel like an accomplishment at all. That is exactly what needs to happen if you want the big results. You have to be unsatisfied with being "pack fodder"…even if the race was pretty long, pretty fast. There are no more excuses, and there is no frosting on the situation. I missed the move…and failed to get ANY result, and that is no good. Today is a new day, and there will be plenty of opportunities to make things happen this season. Those opportunities don't come all the time, and when you get them, it is crutial that you put everything you have and more into that chance. Winning takes an effort that is way beyond your perceived capabilities…but the guys who win a lot, are always able to push harder and go way past what they thought they could do. That is the goal from here on out. Whether it is realistic or not…that doesn't matter at all…thinking you can win…that will never hurt you. What really hurts is when you think you CAN'T win, then you might as well take off your numbers and stop wasting your time. Nobody wins a race until he crosses the finish line first…that is plain and simple fact. That means every rider at the start has the same chance to make it happen, and that is the beauty of racing bikes. Until next time, bryan
Well I am back. It has been over a week since my last update, and I hope you aren't mad or thinking that I am just too lazy to write! We raced on Sunday in France, and last night was my first kermesse right down the road in Oostkamp. I am going to get right down to it, and while I would like to write about something other than a bike race…that's pretty much all I got…bike races, bike riding, bike mechanicals, bike humor, bike gossip, bike parts, bike handling, bike cleaning…I guess I have a one track mind…no maybe a two track mind…bikes and food! Sunday. Dourges UCI 1.6 in France. 185 kms consisting of 14 laps. The field was pretty small, say 100 riders. There were some pretty decent teams there, and it was looking to be a tough race with a million corners and nowhere to hide. ABC-aitos was active early on, but we managed to miss a break of 11 riders including some of the big guns. Our only saving grace was that Credit Agricole had also missed the break. They went to the front, and eventually brought the break back. At that point everyone knew that the race would self-destruct and some type of break would roll away. I was able to get into that move…well more like that split. The group was 25 guys, and we quickly gained time on a no longer super-motivated "peloton". It was around 30 degrees, so it was super hot, and many guys didn't finish…I think 30 in total finished. The break being so large was hard for me to handle…I didn't want to do too much work, but I also wanted to be near the front half so that I could be ready for attacks. I didn't take much, but after a little amateur stupidity…doing WAY too much work…I was just trying to last as long as I could. I knew at that point it was about survival. When the attacks came fast and hard, I got dropped from the group. Fortunately for me, the officials screwed up, and the caravan of team cars got held up…letting myself and two other chase back onto the break. As soon as I got back in, I was gone…no more legs…dropped again…twice from the same break! At that point there were about three laps to go, and I was by myself. I rode what was kind of like a time trial…but not even close to the speed. I guess I was lucky that what was left of the field was WAY back…I made it to the finish after complete and total suffering for what felt like two hours. I thought I was going to fall off the bike. I finished in 20th. That's a heck of a lot of effort for a 20th! But of course it is worth it, and the race was another good hard day on the bike. I don't think this ever gets easier…maybe you just get used to suffering more and more. That takes time…years…I will get there…in time. Yesterday. My first kermesse. I had only heard of these kermesse races…they had almost built themselves up in my head to be something other than a bike race. I found out quickly that kermesses are hard, technical, but they are still bike races! The course was a 5k loop done 25 times. It had a bunch of ten-foot wide farm roads and a cobbled section. There were about 100 guys on the start line, and our team had 12 of them. The pressure was on for us to get a result. I found myself in a break of three about five laps into the race. We were looking really good for a long time. Our gap grew to about 1:20 with 10 laps to go. I thought that we had a really good chance to stay away, but I also knew that because of the nature of kermesses…we could be brought back by a few accelerations in less than two laps. We stayed out until three to go. That sucks. But that is bike racing. The break was really interesting…there was some "talk" between the three of us…but none of it mattered since we got caught with a few laps left. It was awesome to be in there. The start finish was lined with people three deep enjoying a leffe or duvel…and I bike race. Once we were caught I was basically done, although I was able to get into a few more late attacks and made sure we had guys in moves. In the end Pete was out best finisher in 9th. That is not so good for us, but the team was really active, and I think in general the race was OK. Personally, I felt really good. I was I bit to tentative as I didn't know what to expect in the race, but that is all a part of learning! I think that big things are to come; now we just need to keep working hard and making good things happen. On a personal note…well maybe a food note…I had an awesome week this week. It all started with a mistake at the grocery store. I wanted to get some ketchup for my eggs. I accidentally grabbed something called "mexican ketchup". It is made by heinze 57…and it is basically spicy ketchup. Let me tell you, that it is freaking awesome! Not many days have gone by without me eating eggs smothered in mexican ketchup. I also got a huge box from my wonderful mom…the box was full of grapenuts. Let me tell you again that I am one happy bike rider! I think that it is really pathetic that I am so happy because of these small things. But I think that is how it goes when you're working hard on the bike and racing hard…sometimes little things just make you feel really good. Thanks mom. Well you know I have a lot more to say, but I am going to go for now. Thanks for reading, and I will keep you all posted after we race this weekend. bryan
Hello again from Flanders. It feels like the last time that I wrote was about two weeks ago, but I guess it was just last week. Life in Belgium carries on with a sort of mind-numbing rhythm. We train, race, eat, watch a movie, sleep, do it again. We have been doing kermesses recently as the UCI schedule for us has slowed down. We have a super-full calendar in August, so I think all of the guys will get their fill of racing. On a note other than bike racing, I was riding through the woods near St. Maria-Aalter yesterday with Nat. We came upon a group of about fifteen women aged 45-55 riding somewhere…I have no idea where. When we rode up to them, they were in two lines taking up the entire path. As soon as they realized that we needed to pass, the lady in the back yelled and with no hesitation the group was single file. I could not believe it, I mean these women were on city bikes…going to who knows where on a Tuesday. The thing is that people here ride bikes their ENTIRE lives, EVERY day. I think that is really cool. Maybe if America were Belgium…well forget that. Lets just say that so many people on bikes is pretty cool; all of them completely understand what it means to ride, and race…whether they have done it in the past or not. OK, now to the racing. Last Sunday the espoir aged riders rode down to Aarsele for an espoir only kermesse. An espoir kermesse in Belgium is actually called a "beloften" kermesse. I was previously un-aware, but according to Jed…"beloften" actually means "hope" or something similar. That is pretty cool; I suppose that the young riders are the "hope" of the future. We rode to the race, paid 4 euro…yes 4 EURO'S…and got the number pinned on to race. I found myself in a group of 9 chasing three leaders. The three leaders would never come back, and I didn't quite have the legs or the head to finish with a good result. I am learning a lot over here…being strong is only half the battle…I probably could have contended for 4th, but I did too much before things really mattered. When there are no big huge hills, and you are forced to make quick decisions and conserve energy, it is a tough time for someone who lacks experience with the small stuff. I finished the race 12th. That is fine, but I know that I could have been more fresh at the finish simply by using my head better. Next race. Yesterday, a beloften kermesse in Oostkamp. Oostkamp is like the bigger city right up the road from Hertsberge, we know that when we race there a good result is a must. I set out to make sure that I did whatever I could to be smart in the first half of the race--not doing to much, and yet making sure that I was watching the race. A big group of about 25 rolled off the front with me in it. Nat was also there with me, so this time we could try to help each other out and go for a big finish. The group was big and pretty calm. A group of three stayed out for a long time, and we caught them with about 4 to go. Now our job was to get into the next good moves. The thing is that nothing really got away; it was more like the bigger group splitting into two groups. I was usually in the second…maybe because I didn't make the right decisions. I had more left today, and I was able to get back in the race on a few occasions. Unfortunately on the last lap, I was chasing onto the group while the winning break of four took off. I got into the group and went straight through. In a group of about four, we chased for half a lap, and finished a bit ahead of "the group". I finished 8th. That is fine, but I should have been able to use my energy even better than I did. One of these days, I will hit it on the nose and get that big result. If it seems like I am being really vague with my reports, it is because racing kermesses is super confusing. I mean, to remember more detail is almost impossible. There are attacks everywhere, and usually accelerations by the field bring them back….over and over until the race is splitting up and the real break is formed. I don't think a kermesse has ever finished in a field sprint. The racing is really hard. A bunch of corners, a ton of accelerations, and smaller fields (60-70). With small fields…there are fewer places to hide, and it pretty much goes real fast for 120k. If you came over here to race and did kermesses the entire year, you would become one heck of a strong and super smart bike racer. I didn't mention that the races cost around 5 euro…and you get back 2.50 when you turn in your number. The races often pay 30 deep…I got 37 euro for 8th yesterday. That isnt so bad, a lot better than some races in the good old US of A where it costs….choke…cough…cringe….dry heave…$35 USDollars to enter! Ouch, I don't miss that. I think that about does it for my weekly ranting…I hope that I have given you a good idea of what is going through my head while I am here…don't forget that all of this stuff is just what I see and feel…it doesn't mean that's what the next guy thinks…and it certainly doesn't mean that I am right about all this stuff. This is the experience of my life, and bike racing aside, worth all the hard times. I will keep doing my part here, I hope that when I write you again I will have a better, more interesting story to tell! Keep racing hard and don't lose sight of whats important…riding bikes! bryan
Hello again. I am back at it again; I hope that all of you are still enjoying the updates. I have truly enjoyed writing to all of you after each race. I feel very fortunate to have so many supporters at home; it makes Belgium feel a bit closer to good old Madison. I am writing to update you all on my last race, GP Wallonie. First, I need to give a big thank you to the ISCorp cycling team. I have forgotten to mention my team back home in maybe all of my diaries. That is a true shame. Last fall when I looked into coming to Belgium this summer, ISCorp…specifically the members of the board, were more than willing to allow me to race with ISCorp for the spring. My friends at ISCorp knew that I would not be in the states for the entire summer, yet their support was just the same as if I had been racing for them all year. Their support, not only morally, but also physically (a nice Colnago frame), has allowed me to focus on what's important this season…racing my bike. I cannot say thank you enough; I will not forget what everyone at ISCorp has done for me. I also need to give a quick shout to my friend Nick Reistad. Nick is pretty much a superweek-freak. He is and always has been a HUGE fan of the entire series…this season he set out to get some big results…I think he had three top-tens…inlcuding a sixth place and two 8th's…that would definetely be considered big results. Great Job Nick. One of these days you will get your butt over to Belgium and really learn how to corner!!! By the way, I want a freaking update…so get on it! OK…GP Wallonie. UCI 1.7 180km, US national team. The race was an espoir world cup so that means hard, big teams, and yesterday it meant one word….GUTTER. The race started out really fast and really hard from the gun. There was no one who wanted to chill out for 40k…I mean it was balls to the wall from the go. The race took 4.5 hours, and I think I was in the gutter for a full two hours. I was almost certain that I would be off the bike after the first hour…I felt like crap. On one cross wind section the field split…in half…and I was in the back. I assumed that it was all over at this point, but not long after the split there was a big descent followed by a flat stretch. The race had 9 or 10 GPM's (hills…basically) and they included one on the finishing circuit that was 15% for about a kilometer. I needed the 23 to BARELY get over it each time. Honestly, I don't remember a whole lot before the local laps…other than I felt like stopping the entire time. Funny thing is that I rallied and on the locals I found myself in a decent group. Pat McCarty had gotten into the break of the day (finished 13th) and that let the rest of us just cover the attacks coming from the pack. The pack really didn't stay together too long…and on the locals I was in a group with Saul, and Stu…I think. We tried to make something happen and after a group of about 8 got away, we tried to chase a bit. I think we were all a bit spent, and Saul finished around 20…I finished around 30. The day was only OK. On a good note…that was the hardest race I have done, but my legs were pretty good for the second half. It is a good sign that my fitness is coming around again, and one of these days hard work will pay off. That might not mean that I win….or I get a top-five…but if not, hopefully I can help someone else win or get a big result. Well you know I am trying to keep these a bit shorter…I guess for the sake of not writing novels….but I get to this point, and I just don't feel like I have done the job in giving a decent update of the previous days race. There is so much emotion and pain in a race. I really wish that I could put you all into my head for a race, then you might be able to see what I am trying to talk about! Never-the-less I hope that you are enjoying, and I am going to try to bring better news with the next report. By that I mean…writing about a win. I am not going to settle for a top-ten or a top-five…how about a win? Why not? No reason not to go for the gusto! I suppose I don't have anything to lose, so I will try to hang 'em (yeah those) out on the line and see what happens! Thanks for reading. Until next time, enjoy the bike and don't be afraid to get lost. bryan
Hello. No I am not dead, or missing. I know that it has been a while since I last updated you all on my racing. Life is rolling along at an alarmingly fast rate…I mean it is August 7th! We have been getting into the really busy month of August, with races all over the place. I raced last Sunday, again on Tuesday, and yesterday (Wednesday) also. That is pretty much why you haven't heard from me lately…I don't really want to overload your e-mail accounts. The racing is hard…that doesn't change…and I have been enjoying some good form more and more. I apologize if I am brief, it is not for a lack of desire…rather a lack of details that I actually remember! The past few days Belgium and all of Europe has been really hot. I am talking upper midwest heat. Around 35-40 degrees celcius…I guess that would be around 85-95f. last Sunday we raced in Hollain near the French border. It was a 1.12 155km's. The race was a big loop with some smaller laps at the end. There was a nasty little cobbled hill that was typical chaos…all I remember is that there were riders everywhere…things didn't return to normal until well after the climb. Our team had a pretty decent day, although with a little more fortune things could have been a lot better. Jed Schneider rode like a madman…did his job to make the early break and then stayed in it for two hours. That was great, but what's more impressive is that he then proceeded to cover more attacks and get into the next big split. Mark Fitzgerald was also in the move. I later bridged up to Jed's group with Mark already gone with two others going for the win. Unfortunately, a group of seven rolled out of Jed's group before I got there and eventually caught Mark and the other two. Mark had a good result…9th or 10th…but he knows that could have been better. It was my job to lead out Jed for 11th place…we botched it a little…well a lot, and I finished 20th with Jed at 25th. The team was forth in the team classification, so that was really good for us. After an easy day, I was off to race again for the national team at an espoir race 1.7 180km's in Willebroek. The race was super flat, but fortunately there was a long cobbled section that completely blew the field apart. The big break of the day was about 25 guys, and we had three in it. Following the cobbles I was in a group of about 30 chasers with Shawn and Saul. We didn't really have to do much except make sure that there werent any big groups that got up the road. In the end Pat finished 12th with Stu and Tyler also in the top 20. Shawn and I were in a group of maybe 12 going for the leftovers. Shawn won that sprint to be pretty close to 20th. That was a pretty good day for the team, winning would have been better…but you can only give it your best shot. I didn't realize it…but I found out after the race Tuesday that I would race again on Wednesday evening. The heat was oppressive…I have been drinking a ridiculous amount of water…but I actually really like it! After Wisconsin winter's…I don't ever like to complain about the heat! The race was a 1.12 in Zillebeke…with a 4pm start. Pretty weird…it was also short at 130 km's. There weren't really any flat parts to the race…but there was only one real climb…pretty steep…but not really long. It was a pretty fast race, not easy (they never are!) and it sort of felt like a big kermesse. We got four guys in the big break (yeah another big break) of about 40 guys. From there we took turns making sure that we had guys in the next little moves that rolled off. Usually these little breaks from a bigger group happen pretty innocently…so you need to make sure that your guy's in the front. A group rolled off when we must have been too far back…fortunately Nat did a heck of a job to help Saul get into that move…and they were gone. Pretty weird how bike racing works…there were a hundred little breaks just like that one…and that's the one that works! Fortunately Saul got into it…Unfortunately, there were 8 guys. One out of eight isn't very good, but the three of us in the pack weren't even thinking about chasing. We just made sure to keep an eye open for attacks, and hope that Saul could stay up front. Saul finished 7th, and I managed to screw up the sprint for whatever was left….but still finish in the money at 25th. We all made some Euro's…so that was nice…now I can blow it on something…maybe a massage from Natalie! I guess that is what I got for race recap's. I am supposed to be home on August 27th….which is like 20days away…that is crazy. I don't know for sure if I will be back…but either way I will keep the updates coming. I apologize for the lack of adventure and excitement in my report this time…I think racing here has turned into much more the norm…I am no longer wide-eyed and amazed when I line up. Things are normal and not much happens that is too surprising. I suppose the guys who crashed right in front of me yesterday was exciting…I almost took a concrete slide…and just barely missed running over his head! Thankfully I was lucky to miss him, I guess that's how fragile racing is sometimes…a few inches or slower reaction on my part, and I could have been in the stretcher next to him after the race. OK so on that note…(!)…I will say good-bye. Until next time, enjoy your bikes, and the rest of the summer! bryan
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