Road Racing in Belgium
I got this email from Kiwi cyclist Andrew Macfarlane who recently packed up his bags and headed to Belgium. Andrew is a very talented rider and one of the nicest guys you’re ever likely to meet on the Sunday bunch ride. His email is a great laugh and might give an insight as to what life as a racing cyclist is really like:
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Hello Everyone,
I have been here cycling for 6 weeks now. I have lost count on the
number of races i’ve done. There have been good ones and some really
really bad ones! I was improving for two weeks and then got sick, it
took me two weeks to get over that and now I am just starting to find
some ability/form again.
I had a good race on Saturday in a town called Melle, just south of
Gent, where I am based. The NZ Olympic track squad turned up so it was
quite intense. The race was a grade up from what we normally race, it
was a 1.12A as opposed to a 1.12B. This usually means the races are
slightly longer, they attract a larger field and offer more prize
money. The A races seem to be slightly faster than the B races and a
bit more settled. Anyway, Mark Ryan of New Zealand won in the end, I
finished 1:30 back in 44th place. Out of 120 starters and 70 odd
finishers I was happy but alas out of the prize money.
Some of you may have heard of a guy called Staf Boone and Kingsnorth
International Wheelers? Well that’s who I am racing for, he has a
history of taking in English speaking riders, giving them a place to
stay and getting them starts in races. Currently there is myself, four
aussies, a Canadian and a pom. I guess the best way to describe Staf
is that he is a ‘Character,’ yelling at us for what seems no reason
and generally just trying to make sure we know who is boss. He has a
booming voice which can be heard for kilometres. “Follow the wheels”
and other words of ‘encouragement’ you hear him yell as you ride past
the the start/finish pub at 60kph glued to the wheel of the bloke in
front of you! The volume of his voice is directly proportional to the
number of beers/whiskeys he has had. Races are generally 2.5 to 3
hours, so just imagine what his post race ‘advice’ is like! I have
learnt not to question him, that just gets you into more trouble.
Reason is a word that seems to have failed to reach the Flemish
dialect.
We’ve got another guy Eddie who drives the derny (A special motor bike
you ride behind to simulate riding at high speed, it seems to be the
staple of a Belgian training regime). Eddie is the proud owner of not
only his sparkling derny but also of a very impressive pot belly, it
is so big his jersey has four pockets across the back as opposed to
the standard 3!!! His belly is due to ’stress’ he claims and nothing
whatsoever to do with the number of beers he drinks and deep fried
food he eats at races. Whenever we go over to his house to meet him
for derny training he breaks out his training manuals from 1982 and
offers us words of wisdom like “Tomato, don’t eat before the race but
after because of the acid,” and “salad (lettuce) is good for the
sleep.” I have a few other gems as well like “melted cheese has more
calories than solid cheese” and “eat Pigeon the evening
before”…….. His answer to all problems cycling wise is to ride
behind the derny. “Monday – Derny at 42/43 kilometres for 2 hours”
“Tuesday Derny……… ” “Wednesday Derny……….” you get the
picture! There seems to be a never ending list of great Belgian
champions he has been associated with. This is all communicated in a
mixture of Flemish and English so I must miss the point half the time,
I am sure his stories are very interesting… If only we could
UNDERSTAND! There is also Freddie the team car driver, he communicates
to us in a mixture of Flemish, wistles and other strange noises. He’s
a good bloke. Finally there is Jan, a chain smoker, but also all round
good bloke and always willing to offer advice. He is very
knowledgeable on all things Flanders. Some of the stuff that goes on
here, you would not believe it unless you saw it or heard it! I was
told off the other day by two old fellas for riding along the canal
too slowly. I rode them off my wheel of course but recovery is another
word that has no meaning here!
I guess you are interested in the racing as well?? As I said earlier,
I have lost count of the number of races I have done. We seem to be
mostly racing against the same guys so you quickly learn who the good
riders are. In most races we have the Belgian amateur champion (Tony
something), Patrick Coquert (a 48 year old former professional) and
Mario Williams (Why is there always a guy called Mario?). There are a
number of other riders who frequently fill the top 10 places, but
these three are always up there. In general I have decided that your
average Belgian cyclist is comparable to a beer bottle, that is empty
from the neck up! They yell at us in Flemish when they know full well
that we are English speaking, although some words are universal across
all languages! Anyway they seem to just constantly thrash themselves
to get 100m up the road only to be brought back 30 seconds later. But
then there are others who are very good riders and very tactically
astute. They’re the ones to watch, if you get in a move with some of
them, do your share of the work and get to the finish you are
guaranteed a good result. It is just the simple matter of chasing down
and getting into that winning breakaway. Yep, easier said than done! I
have had some shockers of races, generally when it has been windy and
with small fields. But we race so much that you can put a bad
performance behind you and focus on the next race in 24 hours time or
two days time or whenever……
We have raced on some good courses, laps tend to be 5 to 10km in
length (just enough time for the spectators to get a beer, drink it,
watch the race go past, and get another) and mostly wind through the
host town and then out onto farm roads. They’re not all flat either.
They call these races ‘Kermesses,’ Kermesse is a Dutch word for
festival and the cycling race is only one part of the celebrations.
Other attractions include a portable casino, bumper cars, a concert
(along with a dance floor and several John Travolta impersonators
trying their best), Belgian ‘Cuisine’ and of course the local pub,
usually the focus of the gathering…… along with the dozen other
pubs in the street come to think of it! Some races have sectors of
cobbles (what the Roman’s used to build roads), some have had cobbled
climbs (both of which are a bit dicey in the wet, guaranteed crashes).
Cobbles add another dimension to the race and really sap your
strength, you just have to hit them at speed (40kph +) and you’ll be
right, just ignore the groans and twangs coming from your bike…. and
body! Rider’s seem to scatter in search of any smooth surface around
the cobbles, whether it be the gutters or footpaths (sending
spectators scattering). I saw one guy stack it into a lap post last
week…… we had only ridden past it 5 or 6 times…. Joking aside
you really have to concentrate otherwise you’ll loose your position in
the bunch and possibly stuff your race if you make an error in a
crucial part, Cobbles are good places for the stronger riders to make
their mark on the race.
I’ve been in races with 30 people and some with 120 riders. Some have
been a bit more relaxed than others. I can’t say every race has been
fun, but I am enjoying my time here in Belgium and, like any new
place, it is different from what you are used to back home. But they
love cycling here and you get really motivated to improve your
performances. It’s pretty cool doing nothing other than cycling, the
difficult bit is the downtime, usually taken up with sleeping, eating,
internet, watching movies and watching your dwindling finances
dwindle. I seem to do everything else apart from clean my bike….
Well we race again tomorrow evening. 100km. Just up the road near
Brugge. It is an evening races, nice for getting a good crowd of
punters but a nightmare to recover from. Start at 6:30, finish at 9:00
back by 10:30/11:00, food and sleep by 12. No doubt we’ll get the call
from Eddie to have a derny session at 9 am the following morning!
“Derny 42/43 kilometre………..” “Tomaten after the race….” “Sucre
(Sugar) good…….”
I am planning on staying here for another four or five weeks, so there
will be plenty of time for another email and no doubt more fine words
from the pot of Belgian cycling ‘wisdom.’
Until then.
Tot Ziens,
Andrew.
). Course was perfectly marked and competitors were all very polite and passed nicely!! Talk about culture shock!
