Matt Shriver

Loenhout, Belgium

Yesterday was a classic Cyclocross race here in Belgium. We raced in Loenhout. The average speed was so fast at 31k/hour which is very fast for a cross race. The course was very fast and lots of slick turns on ice in the corners. I have never seen a course turn to black ice in the corners through out the race.
My start position was descent with the largest field of the week. I think I was 5th row, behind the big boys of Belgium. With 500 meters of concrete I knew it was going to be a sketchy start. After about 200 meters I started to hear the sounds of wheels touching and brakes squealing. The next thing I saw was the Luxemburg Champion underneath me and bodies going everywhere.  I steered my way through and didn’t panic, a reflex you learn from racing on the road. YOu have to react but stay calm and just roll with it.  I have ridden through so many crashes this way. The legs felt good, but the head was not there after watching that carnage on the start. When we came around 7 minutes later at the end of the lap they were still picking the guys off the pavement. It was bad.

That course was no good for me.  I really like the race and the spectators were awesome, but the start was critical and guys are just strong enough to fight you  for every inch for the first 5 laps then they blow taking you right off the back of the groups.  It is tough getting used to not being able to just blow by guys and chase the leaders.  It is frustrating for sure.

Watching the leaders in the highlights was impressive. They take the corners on the black ice so fast and make it look like a dry pavement corner in a crit. Fast!  I am definitely getting better, but with two races left, my patience and time is running out for a good result here in Europe.  Like I said, the legs are feeling good again, just was creeping yesterday mentally.

Tomorrow we race in Baal.  This is Sven Nys’s (multi time World Champion) home town and his training course.  The course looks to more like my style with some turns, elevation gain and some drops and technical sections.  I am looking forward to it for sure.

My time in Belgium is winding down.  The new year is hear tomorrow. Who knows what it will bring! I will have a new years post up soon.  Thanks for stopping in and for the support.

Posted in: Just Squawking

This entry was posted on Wednesday, December 31st, 2008 at 5:27 am and is filed under Just Squawking. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.