Our race in Tremelo this afternoon wasn't until 5.00pm so we had plenty of time in the morning to do our usual hour recovery ride. We rode along the canal up to Geel and back down through the town back to Martijn's apartment. Most of us didn't have a few good sleep so after some breakfast we all went upstairs to rest for awhile. Brad went back to sleep while Matt and I watched a movie. We spoke to Wim and organised to meet him at his house in Rotselaar before the race as he lived only 10min from the course. The fridge was looking a little bare so we rode down to the Colruyt with some backpacks and stocked up on some groceries. Like usual we had a coffee or two and made the most of the free sample displays. We also bought Martijn a chocolate cake for his birthday but when we returned home we were devastated to find he didn't have a baking tray suitable for the oven! It was nearing the time we had to leave so we put the packet aside and would resolve that later.
I made everyone some oats while Brad and Matt packed the car and Glenn revised the directions to Wim's place. We were running a bit late but 'strategic' driving by Glenn helped us dodge some road works and arrive just on time to meet Wim and his two son's in Rotselaar. Wim had organised with some friends for us to use their house to get changed before and after the race as they lived a street away from the course. The 3 of us quickly got kitted up and rode down to the inschrijven to collect our numbers. Nominations were a lot quicker then usual so we still had a bit of time to roll up and down the finishing straight before the start. A problem with the support vehicle left 90+ riders waiting on the line but shortly after with a wave of the flag and blow of the whistle we were off.
Today's race consisted of 18 laps of a dead flat ~6km course. The race started quickly and by the second lap the entire 90 strong peleton was in a single line. Their were only 5 corners on the course with 2 very long straights were the pressure was really put on. I rode very aggressive early determined to make the break. However frequent premis of about ~30 euro were held every few laps keeping the bunch together. Several times throughout the race a break would move off the front but each time it was swallowed by the peleton a lap later. Brad and I worked quite well together countering attacks and jumping out of the bunch to bridge across to break aways but the bunch wouldn't allow anything to escape out of sight. With each race we have gotten better at using the courses to our advantage like the Belgians do including attacking down the footpath! Matt rode good position in the beginning of the race but slowly made his way to the back of the peleton and raced the hard way in the back half of the bunch. After yet another break away was pulled back with 3 laps to go the bunch was still together and things were looking very promising for a bunch finish...
To give you a better indicator of the course profile; within 200m of the finish line was a sharp left hand corner which came back on itself before 800m to the next sweeping left hand and then a long section approximately 2-3km long. At the end of that road was another sharp left (many riders used the footpath to gain better position before the turn) for a kilometre before a sweeping left then the last 2km down a main road until the last left hand turn 250m from the line. We zigzagged through the first 2 corners and were swamped by 1/3 of the peleton through the tight bends. A moments hesitation by the bunch allowed 10-12 riders to slip away on the long section after the corner. The bunch would chase hard and then stall for those remaining laps getting ever so close to catching the tail of the break. To the break away's credit they rode hard and didn't look back until the final kilometre.
Brad worked like a dog on the front to help bring the break away back but several attacks and then hesitations disrupted the chase. On the bell lap with only a kilometre remaining the break away was just ahead of us and we were getting closer and closer. I followed Brad as he tried to bridge the gap but an optimistic attack from about 10 wheels back looked very dangerous. The win was still a possibility so I made took the chance and followed the rider as he attacked down the left hand side of the road. As most Belgians do if they attack and are followed they quickly sit up as they would rather go back to the bunch then give someone a 'free ride.' He immediately borked and I was left horribly out of position. My gamble hadn't paid off and the bunch quickly surrounded us on either side. I took the last corner with a good line but there were simply too many riders to weave between that I could only manage 20th. The break away crossed the finish line a mere 15 seconds earlier.
After the race we got changed and showered at Wim's friend's house before walking back to return our numbers and collect our prize money. The results sheet had Brad crossing the line in the top 30 with Matt a few positions behind. Both Brad and I once again collected a small amount of prize money which would become our dinner money later on. We were thrilled when we arrived back at the car, Wim had bought us all a carton of Chocovit (like Cecemel) to share so we sat by the car and had a bottle each while chatting with everyone. By this time we were all pretty hungry so we drove to a nearby Frituur bar which also makes incredible rolls. After a short wait we collected our food and drove around the corner to Wim's place to eat. As soon as we sat down at the table we devoured our dinner and put our legs up for awhile. Wim's kid's were very excited to show us their signed Rabobank jersey from Oscar Freire as well as many other things their uncle Tim had acquired for them (one of the many perks of working as the Rabobank mechanic I'm sure!). We watched a bit of tv and lazed around, Wim had been invited to ride along in the team car for a recent race so we looked over a few photos he'd taken before we started the long journey back to Mol.
When we arrived back at Martijn's house he was out celebrating his birthday at the pub so we left him a card and the box of chocolate cake and his bed promising to cook it for him when we had the right utensils! Most of us were in bed very soon after and we apologise for the late blog entry :P . Tomorrow we will have a cruisey ride in the morning and hang out in the afternoon before going over to Martijn's parents house to celebrate his birthday with a big dinner. The best mussels and fritz in all of Belgium were promised so we look forward to that! Thanks for catching up on the blog and we hope you've enjoyed following us so far.
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