Day 9 - Schriek Kermesse

Written by Stephen Hall with Brett Schnitzerling & Glenn Harris

Day 9 was up and down for the Arbitrage boys. It marked the very first day since arriving that we've had to roll out with "soggy sidi's." Luckily it was only a short morning roll to Turnhout and back to get the blood moving before our 6.45pm kermesse in Schriek. The ride was cruisey and we all felt pretty fresh. We did a quick food shop to stock up on supplies before sitting down to a bland salad roll for lunch. Our bikes needed a tune up, Brett needed a haircut & I needed to visit an ATM but we all got comfortable on the couch and one by one fell asleep. 4 o clock came around so we packed the car, had some food then set off to borrow a Garmin from Michael Simms in Diest. It wasn't a long drive but traffic was a nightmare so it took us over an hour.

We had a brief stop to grab the Garmin, caught our bearings then took off again headed for Schriek. The Garmin finally came to the rescue as we arrived one hour ahead of race time which was far less stressful than rolling up to the start with numbers in hand. Thick black clouds overhead looked threatening but luckily the rain held off for the majority of the race. The kermesse was run over a very fast and flowing circuit which made it difficult for any attacks to last longer than half a lap. A 4.8km lap with 7 corners would usually be pretty tricky but with the exception of one they were all maneuverable and smooth sailing. The first corner of the race had a lengthy chicane through the apex which left riders either choosing the inner or outer path. Glenn was on the receiving end of a nasty hook through the bend but easily held it up before flashing the universal 'middle finger' salute.

I felt fantastic from the very first lap so I rode the majority of the race comfortably in the top end of the field alongside Glenn. Brett had an unfortunate mechanical halfway through the race and had to abandon as his cluster crumbled in the middle of the bunch. I managed to earn myself some pocket money when I easily claimed one of the primes held towards the end of the race. Throughout the race the attacks were furious but the bunch wouldn't allow anything to escape until 3 laps to go when a small group of 3 snuck away. A moments hesitation from the bunch was all it took as they fought off the fast finishing peleton.

It was a messy bunch sprint with both Glenn & myself experiencing some 'gutter action' 2km out from the finish. Riders were everywhere coming into the sharp right corner 500m from the finish, I had no choice but to lead the bunch into the home straight while Glenn was tucked in neatly several spots behind. I stalled the sprint for as long as possible before I glanced over my shoulder to see Glenn making his move. I followed him as he came past and we easily took first and second in the bunch kick by a clear margin. We thought for a moment we had won the bike race until we saw the 3 riders off in the distance. After the race we were disappointed we couldn't take the win, but still optimistic with 7 races remaining on our program. Funnily enough we were informed later that the eventual winner was an old pro with a resume boasting a top 20 finish in the Giro d'Italia many years ago.

Our next race is set for Sunday in Montenaken which promises to be a very challenging day for everyone and a good indication of our current form. We stayed behind after the race to collect our prize money and have a chat with some friends of Glenn's before we made our way back to the car and headed for home. The late finishes often make it difficult to unwind so we stayed up for awhile eating dinner & relaxing until we called it a night.