Welcome to this blog, dedicated to my 2008 cyclo season with Team Agapedia-Münsterland

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Frankfurt am Main, Germany

Thursday 23 October 2008

GCC - The final strait (...)

MUENSTER - Better late than never, a few lines on the final German Cycling Cup race of the 2008 season: the 3rd Muensterlandgiro. An event that changes its course every year and this time we went west of Muenster for what - unfortunately - meant quite a boring circuit of no less than 146 km! On the upside, it was one big lap, on the down side it was pancake flat, windy and the roads went straight ahead as far as the eyes could see..


The perfect recipe for some good old-fashioned bunch crashes, but let's stay positive. I kept myself out of trouble, which also meant that I lost touch with the frontrunners somewhere. Halfway through the race the group was still at least 200 riders thick, and when all the guys of the 110km event joined our course one had a tendency to get claustrophobic. At the end of the day, I came home safely in 114th spot and happy the long season was over. Before the race I knew I would still lose a few places in the overall GCC ranking due to some top guys having Muenster as their seventh event (it was my eighth and only the best seven results count for the final ranking). So, I ended the GCC in 8th place with 1998 points, which certainly makes me feel good. I would have signed for that back in March, especially given I am not a sprinter type. Moreover, I finished on the podium (3rd) in my age group (Masters 1) so that makes for a great conclusion of the 2008 season!

Poor guy Mike McManus, though. Leading the GCC for nearly the entire season and eventually only fifth and off the podium in the final ranking. Mike didn't participate in Muenster, and his results in the seven previous races apparently didn't make up for it. The GCC finally went to Thomas Kapuste of the Radon Cyclepower Team. Kapuste is a former elite rider who has recently found his old passion back. Second place went to Christian Schroth, who not so long ago was still riding for Germany in the U23. Third spot overall was taken up by Andreas Bollessen.

The final German Cycling Cup ranking.


Wednesday 1 October 2008

GCC - Hanging in, getting through

NUERNBERG - Newcomers to the annual Rund um die Nuernberger Altstadt event were warned: this one has crash festival potential. A 13km flat loop around the scenic old town to be taken 8 times with over excited 800 riders. All I wanted is to come through the race with the first group and score points to delete my Erlangen result from the GCC ranking.


It was very cold at the start with merely six degrees, but at least the skies were blue and cloudless for a change. I didn't mix with the breakaway attempts up front and concentrated on staying in touch with the leading group, which would always remain a good 100 riders' strong. My teammate Alexander set the pace for most of the race in fact. He was just as afraid as me of getting involved in a silly incident with his Hawai IronMan goal now just around the corner. I came out of my shell on the penultimate lap when we approached the 300 metre long "hill" - about the only option to try and get away from the bunch. Another guy had the same idea as me and as we took off, Thomas Kapuste and two other riders in our wake. But the hill was just not long enough and our advantage over the peloton was rapidly gone. Then, I just hung in there to finish at the back of the first group, avoiding a big crash in the process. 

I had seen a few, others saw plenty more: Nuernberg lived up to its questionable reputation again. A pity really as it is one of the best organised races on the German cyclo calendar and also one of the cheapest! 

As expected, I lost my third place in the overall ranking to Thomas Kapuste, who finished third in the race this time. I am fourth now, but can expect to lose at least one more spot after the Muensterlandgiro on 3 October. That's alright, I'm not a sprinter and the GCC is a points-based system. I could finish third in my age category, however. 

The race was won by Thomas Wickles, who clearly beat Nico Wernicke in the sprint.


Zuri Metzgete: another wet affair

ZURICH - After a sabbatical last year, the renowned Zuri Metzgete classic event returned on the calendar and I had marked the event as my final real race objective of this season, other than trying to retain a top ranking in the German Cycling Cup. Sadly, Zurich was hit by tremendous rainshowers,which curbed the enthusiasm of the roughly 1, 000 participants who could choose between 104 or 52 km races. 


I wrestled my way to the front of a large peloton on the first and rather steep climb, but I came 10 metres short of attaching myself to the leading group. They didn't wait up front so I had to take risks to bridge the gap in the fast descent. When - in pouring rain and with risk of aquaplaning - I missed a bend, I decided I didn't need this anymore so deep into the season and called it a day after 1 lap. Ironically, I got ranked 18th on that distance but in reality it's a DNF. 

Rebecca wrote a great report for Challenge Magazin. Please follow the link to that website.

Monday 1 September 2008

Rad am Ring: 15th; Gerolfingen DNF

NURBURGRING - Last weekend I just managed to finish in the the top 15 of the German Cycling Cup race 'Rad am Ring' on the renowned Grand Prix circuit of the Nurburgring, by far the toughest event on the GCC calendar. Considering the level of competition and the scalps I took, I was reasonably happy with the result, which also boosted me back to third place in the overall ranking. A more detailed report on the race will follow in due course.

GEROLFINGEN - Yesterday I took part in the Deutschland Tour Race Day in the Bavarian village Gerolfingen. A 80km flat event BUT ending with an uphill finish, in casu the 2 km long and fairly steep Hesselberg. For once the kind of finish I like, so I gave the event a shot. Unfortunately I only got to climb the Hesselberg during the warm-up. Halfway through the second of four laps, two guys made a braking manoevre for I don't know what and took me down with them in their crash. Another rider fell on top of me. A small but deep cut in my right shinbone and a destroyed rear wheel: game over.

Finishing 15th in Rad am Ring (thanks to Wolfgang Schaaf -Challenge Magazin- for the pic)

Tuesday 12 August 2008

Bochum: Schadenbegrenzung


BOCHUM - Last year, when I came back from a holiday down under, friends and cyclist acquaintances fed me accounts of horrible crashes, painful injuries and broken bikes that summed up a 58 km circuit-race in a Western German town called Bochum. An event to avoid in other words, and I set my eyes on the Chiba Alpencup cyclo in Landeck for the first weekend of August. But then I ended up fourth in the German Cycling Cup ranking, leading my age category even, so what else was I supposed to do but erase my memory of Erlangen and forget the Bochum stories of doom.

Luckily, things weren't as awful as feared. Not at all, in fact. Bochum breathed cycling from Saturday afternoon till Sunday evening, with races taking place continously, live music and loads of festive and promotional stands. Everything was perfectly organised, and the race circuit wasn't that dangerous if riders behaved properly. Unfortunately, crashes did happen again, but it seems to be unavoidable with over 2000 people participating in a nervous race, with a few tricky corners and fast descents. In my view, the biggest issue remains that the majority of participants in the German jedermann races is not used to riding in a group. Not a lot an event organiser can do about that of course.

Rebecca and I lined up at the starting line pretty early, soon accompanied by other Agapedia riders Britta, Holm and Ingo. I had been training properly again for merely 2 weeks and I was in no mood to start a chase from the gun to ride to the front of the group. My shape of the moment was too questionable for that. Joerg pointed out that I should be careful because of the netto time-rule (only the first 15 across the finish line are ranked accordingly, as of place 16 the race result is based on each rider's individual transponder time), but I decided to gamble. As such, I had a relatively relaxed start of the race, also because Holm Barkmann, my team mate, immediately showed his excellent form by attacking after 1 kilometre already!

Each lap had 2 climbs in them. Not very long but quite steep in parts. When we hit the first climb I shifted from the 53 to the 39 a bit too drastically, I guess, and my chain rolled off. Almost a copy of what happened when we hit the first mountain during the Berchtesgadener Landmarathon. With the whole pack still tightly grouped together it was not so straightforward to get off and put the chain back on. I was in the middle of the road with everyone zooming past left and right. As soon as I got back on the bike I sprinted up the two hills and caught up with my teammate Elmar as we began the descent back to the start and finish area. Thanks to him we managed to keep the first group within sight and when steam train Alexander Nikolopoulos, who had started all the way at the back of block 1, took his lead we bridged the gap to the leading group about a kilometre into the second lap of the race.

That was actually the most exciting part of my race. From then on I was happy to follow the pace and save my energy for a potential move on the climbs during the final lap. Meanwhile, Holm, Ingo and Michel Rademacher from Team Siemens put in solid attacks but nobody got away - as usual. Last time on the climbs, I accelerated but got blocked twice by slower riders who were being lapped. Alexander then went all-or-nothing in the long and straight descent to the finish and actually looked like he could make it! Unfortunately, he got caught some 800 metres before the finish. I kept out of the sprint, which wasn't too clean but at least for once crash-free. Nico Wernicke took top honours and becomes a major threat for Michael McManus' lead in the German Cycling Cup ranking. Wernicke is a fast and fearless sprinter, who won in Muenster last year and grabbed second place in Nuernberg, two out of three remaining events for the Cup... Christian Schroth finished second and Holm took a brilliant third podium place.

I crossed the line in about 25th place, right behind my main competitor in the Altersklasse at the moment, Andreas Bollessen. Due to the netto time I got ranked 39th, however.

Rebecca also enjoyed a good weekend and a fine performance with 24th place out of 78 women.

As regards the overall ranking of the GCC, I retained fourth place, but Holm (fifth) and a few top sprinters with one event less like Schroth and Thomas Kapuste are gradually moving up as well. The next stop is the Nurburgring on Saturday, 23 August. The toughest race on the German Cycling Cup calendar, with 140 km and about 3500 Hm...

Sparkassen Giro Bochum

Challenge Magazin with a great report and picture archive



Monday 28 July 2008

Carnia Classic: Raindance

TOLMEZZO - Two weeks after the Dreiländergiro I hopped back on the racebike in Italy to assist Rebecca at the Carnia Classic in the rugged region of Friuli-Venezia Giulia. Two weeks of resting and worrying: would the knee recover? Can I still pursue my German Cycling Cup ambitions? Should I rest even longer? The mediofondo race of 107km (1970Hm) would answer many questions.

The Carnia Classic was part of the famous Prestigio series in Italy this year. It showed in the total number of participants, which quadrupled to over 2000. The granfondo course offered the ultimate challenge of course, the ascent of the fearsome Monte Zoncolan, 10km at an average of 12.1%. No fewer than 1182 athletes conquered the climb, showing a lot of dedication, not in the least given the apocalyptic weather conditions on the day! Antonio Corradini proved to be the best climber once again, one week after grabbing a slick victory in La Marmotte as well.

Our event did not feature the Zoncolan, but nevertheless offered close to 2000 Hm, thanks to the long (24km) and irregular climb of Sella di Razzo and the ascent to Ravascletto. For Rebecca an interesting testcase, following her good result in the Chiba AlpenCup event in Zernez the previous weekend. In Switzerland, after a forced break from cycling due to exams, she arrived easily within the first third of 107 women in a race that covered the awesome Bernina pass. Zernez and Tolmezzo were her first ever experiences in alpine cycling races.


As if scheduled, the rain began to fall as the start was given at 8 a.m. And what kind of rain it was! The biggest drops I've ever seen! I immediately pulled the brakes and put on my raincoat. It didn't prevent me from getting soaked to the bone, but at least it kept me a bit warm. Rebecca - without rainjacket - had a good pace uphill straightaway. As we were entering a major thunderstorm many people took shelter under any roof they could find. It kept raining hard for the largest part of the Razzo climb. Meanwhile, I was paying the price for the nerve-wrecking car drive through traffic-overloaded Austria the previous day (we left Munich at 10:30 a.m., we arrived in Tolmezzo at 19.15). Terribly bad legs, half asleep and happy to find a ristoro halfway up the climb and take a breather. But Rebecca kept going strongly. Even the 19% section 1km from the top posed no problem for her. Down we went through dense fog initially, and then through forests on often damaged roads. Yet, the descent went smoothly and we settled in a good group. The Enervit bars and drinks seemed to work for me. I gradually got some punch back and started pulling the group to the climb of Ravascletto. We hit a bridge, turn right for Monte Zoncolan, turn left for Ravascletto. Next time I'll turn right is what went through my mind, but right then I was more than happy enough to be riding without any kneepain.

It started raining again on the climb, which wasn't too difficult. But the final stretch to the finish, about 15km from Ravascletto, turned into a genuine waterfest. The skies opened big time and we just got drenched again. It got increasingly treacherous to take corners due to aquaplaning. And then it happened in the penultimate corner. I was leading a group of about 12 riders with Rebecca in my wheel. As I turned right, Rebecca couldn't make the corner and went straight on. There was no danger as there was no oncoming traffic, but the traffic guard basically slammed Rebecca off her bike in a reflex. Luckily, she was sliding and didn't really hurt herself and after a minute or so we proceeded and crossed the finish line in 4:32:52 (avs 23.53 km/h). That translated in rank 20 out of 66 finishing women (AK 10). A solid performance by all means, also considering our travel companion Elin Amundsen - an experienced racer with several wins on the German jedermann circuit - was 8th in 4:01:33. Lorenzo Borghini, also with us on the trip, finished in 4:53. He did shelter during the thunderstorm, though, not wanting to risk anything with a triathlon goal only a week away.

In the afternoon the sun returned to Tolmezzo and Friuli, and so we were able to spend a relaxing evening in Udine, the capital of the province and toast to the end of a fruitful first part of the 2008 cyclo season. Time for a break!

Links:

Monday 21 July 2008

Dreiländergiro: torture on the Stelvio


NAUDERS - After a full week of ignoring the bike, I had hoped my right knee would have recovered sufficiently to go for a strong result in the Dreiländergiro, held in Nauders, Austria. An easy-paced ride with my companion Guus van Domburg and the sunny weather on Saturday had in any case given me some morale. Unfortunately, I underestimated the difficulty of the Passo Stelvio (2757m) and halfway up the very long (24,6 km) and steep climb my knee felt like it was being stabbed.


I was riding comfortably in the top 10 of the leading group at that point, but had to let go. The final 6, 7 kilometres of the Stelvio were probably the most painful of my cycling career and I could only still use force with my left leg. I remembered from my participation in 2006 that there's a big Verpflegungstelle with medical assistance in a Swiss valley town following the descent of the Stelvio. Better to retire there than do a U-turn to Nauders, which would have meant going up another climb at the Austrian/Italian border. To my astonishment the two medical assistants at that post could not offer me anything but a massage and a plaster! An ambulance was no option and they also couldn't organise any transport back to Nauders. Amazingly, there was also no "besemwagen" - a bus following the race to pick up those who give up. A bit strange for a mountainous event with 3000 participants. So, my choice was: either continue on the bike for another 100km or hitchhike. Wunderbar.

I got back on the bike and pedalled slowly towards the Ofenpass, avoiding to apply any pressure on the knee. At the foot of the climb I got caught by a group of 15 riders and was able to attach my waggon. I discovered that when I pedalled on souplesse and at a constant rhythm I could still develop a certain speed. As long as the gradient wasn't too steep, of course. This way, I managed to stay with the best riders of this group. After the Ofenpass, there's a descent to Zernez where we had to halt twice for red traffic lights. That cost a few minutes. Then, it was 40 km saliscendi towards the Swiss/Austrain border and the Reschenpass, which would bring us back into Nauders. I got dropped once on a steep bit where some guys accelerated, but apart from that moment I surprisingly had no problem keeping up with the constant high pace. On the 5.5 km long but fluent Reschenpass I somehow had no pain whatsoever and dropped all 20+ riders of my group and came in 63rd at the finish in 5:51, only a fraction slower than 2006 - despite everything.

Classic ueberlastung is what I was told afterwards. Rest and some good local massages would be the key to recover. I could forget about my two main goals of the season, La Marmotte and the Granfondo Zoncolan (Carnia Classic).

Link to Dreilaendergiro

Wednesday 9 July 2008

Berchtesgadener Land Radmarathon: Pain & Glory

BAD REICHENHALL - A crazy idea, yes exactly. The day after my intense ride in Les 3 Ballons I was again on the bike 600km further west in Bavaria, close to Salzburg. Objective was two-fold: 1) assist my teammate Annika Grueber in her attempt to take the overall lead in the Chiba Alpencup ranking and 2) check out for myself whether these Chiba events are worth focussing on in 2009.


After the battle in the Vosges I actually felt quite okay at the breakfast table with Annika, Achim and Rebecca, who did a double too with the 100km event in Bavaria. Once in the starting block, Annika pointed out the girl to watch, the Swiss Ylenia Polti - winner of the Amade Radmarathon by nine minutes in May. We wouldn't see her again all race.

The first 100km of the race are by far the toughest, with two major climbs to conquer. The second part of the 201km (3400Hm) long course is a rollercoaster. When we hit the first climb after hardly 10km I started fearing the worst for my day as my chain rolled off. That meant I was doomed to chase Annika down straightaway and she was not particularly slow! In fact she had a very good day and was basically unchallenged by the other female contestants. She would win the race by over 14 minutes and grab the lead in the Chiba ranking.

Unfortunately, my ride got a bit spoilt after 130km when my right knee suddenly began to hurt on the outside. Ueberbelastung. I might have been slightly too enthusiastic, after all, doing two 200km events back-to-back. Anyhow, 20km later every acceleration on the bumpy course gave me a sting in the knee and I considered it wise to slow down. Annika was safe anyway, so I dropped myself off the little group we were in and cruised the remaining 50km home at my own pace, even taking a little picnic at the last verpflegungsstelle.

Annika's report on the race can be read on the Agapedia website.

My knee issue would keep me sidelined for a whole week until the Dreilaendergiro a week later. The report of that event is coming up soon. Rebecca rode backwards for the first hour, as she explained herself, and by the time she got into a good rhythm the race was over. Still, 40th place out of 97 women is surely not bad for her second hilly race of the weekend! Rebecca's report can be read on the TuS Griesheim website.

Concerning the second objective, we both felt that Sportcommunication did a down-to-earth but ultimately better job in the Vosges, and on the basis of Bad Reichenhall we were not too keen on turning the Alpencup into a goal for next season. The venue, atmosphere, local enthusiasm and verpflegung were all excellent, but several crossroads were left dangerously unguarded, there was Gegenverkehr on the road right after the start (a novelty for me), some signs were dubiously located or simply lacking, and the descent of the Rossfeld climb is absolutely horrific under racing conditions and almost begging for accidents. Then again, this was just our first introduction to the Chiba events. Meanwhile, we've been in Zernez for the Engadin Radmarathon and that organisation was immaculate.

Les 3 Ballons: Surprising myself

LA PLANCHE DES BELLES FILLES - I'll remember my fourth participation in the classic French cyclo Les 3 Ballons for a long time. In fact, it was probably my best ride ever in a granfondo or long-distance event of this kind. After 205km and 4300Hm I crossed the finish line as 32nd in 6:58:06, an improvement of 41 minutes compared to 2005!

As it happened, I actually lost 13 places in the final 4 kilometres climbing up to La Planche des Belles Filles, a steep climb that ends the very scenic tour through the Vosges mountains. Defenceless, no juice left in the legs. That didn't really surprise me after pure racing for 200km, given the German races are basically at most 130 km long. What did surprise me was that I was still there up front at the end. I know now for sure that this is what I will focus on increasingly more as of next season.

I positioned myself towards the front of the pack on the way to the Ballon de Servance. As usual the pace was high on the first difficulty of the day. After the dangerous descent there were a few playful attempts by some of the circa 30 riders in the leading group. When we hit the Col d'Oderen I pedalled away from the group together with a French rider. To be honest it did feel good to be leading the 3 Ballons race after already having done the Ballon de Servance :-) A while later I would actually lead the group to the summit of that climb. Next was the Col du Bramont, which led us via le Markstein eventually to the famous Route des Crêtes. Race favourites Jens Volkmann and Michel Snel set the pace with myself in their wheel. After a short descent, the road went further up towards le Markstein. Snel accelerated and rode slowly away with six other riders. Their pace was slightly too fast for me and I had to let them go. I settled in a second group with seven others and the eight of us would race together for the next 60km until the Ballon d'Alsace.

On that climb I was initially able to ride away from the group, but just over halfway I suddenly got a knock of the hammer. The final 2 kilometres were just endless! I took another gel and drank my bidon empty, hoping I would regain some strength. Six guys of my group were gone, but one I caught back in the descent. Being just two in the 40km rollercoaster back to Champagney and the foot of La Planche is not enough, and we were caught by four riders who were pushing hard. I was in total survival mode but could hang on until 5 km before Champagney. There I had to make a brief stop to refill my bidon, which cost about a minute, and then I rode the 12 km to the foot of the mountain by myself. The first kilometre is the steepest, with a stretch of 17%, and as I was struggling my way up, a group of over a dozen riders caught up with me. For the remainder of the climb, I was overtaken by several and had to settle for 32nd spot.

Hanging over my handlebar, I could not remember the last time I had been so dead after a race. But the experience of racing inside the top 20 for as long as 200km gave me a big psychological boost. My first goal for the 2009 season is therefore set: staying in there for 205 km !

Jens Volkmann edged out Snel for the win in 6:28:24. Number 10 had a time of 6:50, number 20 - a known Belgian cyclo rider from Bruges - had 6:56.

Rebecca enjoyed a great introduction to this type of racing, finishing 11th out of 47 women in 4:55:37 on the 109km distance.

There were over 2000 participants in this year's edition of Les 3 Ballons, with 1031 completing the granfondo.


Links:

Monday 30 June 2008

Spring campaign: race overview

Just a quick round-up of my German spring campaign:

27.04.08 - Tour d' Energie, Göttingen - 80 km (1000Hm)
Rank 22 (1284 finishers); Time: 2:12:55

01.05.08 - Henninger Turm, Frankfurt - 102km (800Hm)
Rank 14 (1286 finishers); Time: 2:33:44

11.05.08 - Lohmar Challenge, Lohmar (Cologne) - 105km (1300 Hm)
Rank 19 (257 finishers); Time: 2:29:22

12.05.08 - Neuseen Classics, Zwenkau (Leipzig) - 130km (500 Hm)
Rank 30 (694 finishers); Time: 3:10:52

01.06.08 - Bayern Rundfahrt, Erlangen - 742km (800 Hm)
Rank 57 (429 finishers); Time: 1:56:32 *

* Involved in crash 150 metres before the finish line.

Tuesday 24 June 2008

GP Schwarzwald in Triberg


The high mountain events are looming around the corner, which always makes the weekend in black forest town Triberg an attractive option. The Saturday jedermann race, including 3 ascents up the steep Geutsche, is no longer part of the German Cycling Cup (last year called T-Mobile Cycling Tour). I had survived the crash in Erlangen quite well, but pain in my left calf withheld me from doing any training during the week. The plan for Triberg was: see what happens in the race, and gain important mileage in the RTF on Sunday, which I would be riding with Rebecca and Guus.

Upon arrival in Triberg, it became clear that my bike’s headset was not in optimal condition. During warm-up I felt very uncomfortable. The bike was unstable, the steering was awkward and I was wondering whether I needed a proper check-up first, before doing another race with it. Thanks to Rebecca’s help in fine-tuning, I got more optimistic and joined the small field of participants (about 70 for the 69km and three-lap race) at the starting line. There I saw Alex, who had also made his way to the Black Forest.

There’s no time to get into rhythm in Triberg as the start is uphill and straight onto the Geutsche climb. I ran at the front initially, but after the steepest section - when the climb becomes more of a rollercoaster - I had to let the frontrunners go. I fell back to a second group, including also Alex. Basically, from then on I kept feeling uneasy riding my bike, especially in the fast descents, but as soon as the road went up I was able to hurt the other riders in the group. I went solo the second and third time over the Geutsche, but I didn’t manage to stay ahead in the subsequent descents. On the final lap, only five guys came back to me, though. I was confident of beating them in the sprint uphill to the finish, but a cramp decided otherwise and I had to let three guys go. In the end I finished 27th, which felt rather disappointing. My time was also nearly 2 minutes slower than in 2007...

Soit, it cannot be party every time, and in any case spending the whole weekend in Triberg was very pleasant indeed. The area is superb for cycling and the RTF, albeit expensive, is certainly worth the trouble. The three of us signed up for the 175km long Kandel-Runde, which offered the tough climb of the Kandel, and over 3400 altitude metres in total. The ride went very well and we kept a solid pace, too. As we progressed on the Kandel, it got more and more foggy so there was little scenery to enjoy. But reaching the top of the climb was a relief as we knew that the biggest difficulty was already behind us. I had tested myself on the Kandel, thinking of Les 3 Ballons already, and wasn’t unhappy about the pace I could do. The day went on smoothly (apart from Rebecca suffering a short crisis between km 110 and km 125), but unfortunately the sky gradually turned darker and darker until quite a fantastic thunderstorm broke out. That meant pouring rain and scary lightning for the final one-and-a-half hours of the RTF. Bit of a bummer, but the ride had definitely been a great training exercise!

Tuesday 17 June 2008

Erlangen: crash spoils top 15 result

ERLANGEN - After spending 12 days in the Far East I played the jetlag to my advantage and took the start at the next German Cycling Cup in Erlangen (Bayern) only 15 hours after my landing in Frankfurt. The 72km race had always been on my schedule as a solid exercise to get back into the rhythm after the holiday, but being ranked 3rd overall and 1st in the AK slightly amended my perspective of course. The race, which was very well organised, went great but ended on a very sour note.

Six laps of 12 km containing an irregular climb that felt different each time we hit it. The first lap went smooth, the second was downright painful and another lap later it was as if it were nothing. Choosing a gear was not easy. The legs felt good and apart from the climb on lap 5, when the pace increased due to several attacks, I had little difficulty staying up front. Eventually we were heading towards the finish line on the final lap with a group of about 35 riders. Michael McManus, second in the standings, made a superb attack and managed to bring his advantage home for a stunning solo victory. A double win, as McManus also grabbed the German Cycling Cup's leader's jersey! The defending leader, Andreas Bollessen, unfortunately got entangled in a spectacular crash 150 metres before the line that also took me down hard. In full sprint, a Strassacker-rider collided with someone causing both to go down. Bollessen, myself and another guy or two had nowhere to escape and flew over them. As the dust settled, it appeared that nobody got seriously hurt apart from bumps and bruises and bike parts that require checking or substituting. I was groggy for a minute but crossed the line three minutes later and got ranked 57th, which at least still gave me some good points. I am still fourth in the overall, and held on to my lead in the AK by 2 points.

For a day or two I had pain in my left calf muscle and the bump on the left side of my hip is quite impressive, but all in all I can consider myself lucky. Rebecca, Britta and other people who saw it happening all said the crash looked scary. My Red Bull racebike seems to have survived the shock relatively well. It does not look as if any part needs to be written off. So, the biggest consequence of the experience is that I will need to participate in Bochum on 3 August as well. Otherwise retaining a top five position in the final GCC ranking at the end of the season is unlikely.

It was a hot and humid day in Erlangen, which left Rebecca chanceless as her asthma prevented her from scoring a good result. My teammate Alexander Nikolopoulos on the other hand had a solid race and crossed the line in 22nd spot.

RESULT:
1. Michael McManus
2. Thomas Kapuste
3. Nico Wernicke

GCC Ranking:
1. M. McManus 1237 pts
2. A. Bollessen 1187 pts
3. N. Wernicke 1162 pts
4. K. Van de Velde 1145 pts
5. H. Barkmann 1088 pts

Monday 16 June 2008

Le Nove Colli : Always a must

CESENATICO - My second participation in the biggest Italian granfondo of the season, Le Nove Colli, confirmed the good vibes I felt four years ago. This event is highly recommended, especially in conjunction with a week of holidays/training camp. I wrote a report on the Nove Colli for Challenge Magazin, which you can read following the link below.

Nove Colli - Report (in German) on Challenge magazin June 2008

Wednesday 4 June 2008

Hürth, Lohmar, Leipzig

The long Whit weekend was by all accounts an intense experience. Racing-wise, I had no fewer than three appointments on the agenda: Huerth, Lohmar and Zwenkau. The first two in the Cologne area, the latter in Saxony, the East. The tricky thing was that, actually, Zwenkau was the most significant event of the trio, given my high ranking in the German Cycling Cup (fifth overall, first in the M1 age category). But Lohmar offered a course better suited to my cycling capabilities.

First was Huerth, though. Wolfgang Schaaf, chief editor of the immensely popular Challenge Magazin.com, organised a criterium of 35 laps on a 1km circuit containing a slope of up to 6%. Participation was upon invitation and in total some 25 men and 15 women turned up on a warm Saturday afternoon in the outskirts of Cologne. Team Agapedia-Muensterland was represented by Joerg, Ingo, Britta, Simona and myself.

Criterium-racing is a particular form of racing very common in my native region in Flanders. A solid cornering technique is required as well as the ability to accelerate out of the saddle hundreds of times. I used to be quite good in it during the mid-nineties, before I focussed more on long-distance events. In Huerth, my ‘race of champions’ did not take long, as expected. I started towards the back of the group and as the Lexxi and Siemens guys set a blistering pace from the gun I was immediately chasing the facts. A few guys left gaps on the slope, I bridged them two, three times with an extra effort but then I let go. No excuses, I was in the red straightaway and I really wasn’t going to blow myself up with two big races coming up. Once I found my own rhythm, I still did 25 laps as “vorbelastung” for Lohmar and Leipzig. The criterium was dominated by Alex Bauer and Nino Ackermann, who crossed the finish line in that order. Team Lexxi’s tactics for Sunday’s Lohmar race were therefore obvious: Bauer would help the better climber Ackermann to win that one.

It was the first edition of the Lohmar Challenge, hoping to set an annual tradition. About 600 participants on the two courses of 50 and 100km enjoyed perfect weather conditions and a truly interesting course. A little similar to Goettingen, but more irregular. The organisers deserve credit, they did a splendid job for this first edition.

During the first phase of the race, the pace was kept high by several Lexxi-attacks and by Iron Man Alexander Nikolopoulos, my teammate who couldn’t hide his enthusiasm. He was doing his first genuine race of the season and he put the hammer down quite rapidly. Despite the many attempts of riders, everything stayed together during the first of the two laps. Still, only some 30 riders remained in the leading group. As we hit the longest climb at the start of lap 2, the pace increased and Nino Ackermann managed to create a gap together with Torsten Roell of Team Siemens. I didn’t see them leaving myself, but I doubt whether I could have followed at that point. Going up and down, up and down was demanding! In any case, the race was over because after the top of this 5km rollercoaster, Lexxi and Siemens controlled us totally. In particular Bauer, who had been nervous and aggressive the whole race already, was pushing it very far in protecting Nino’s breakaway. Nevertheless, both local teams did an excellent job and they got their leaders up front. In the jedermann circuit that is not as evident as it sounds. Team Lexxi proved their supremacy by taking first, third and fourth place. Ackermann outsprinted Roell and took his first victory of the season. I came home with the first group of 24 riders and finished 19th.

I still had a good feeling in the legs so I wasn’t too pessimistic as I drove to Leipzig for the long race (130km) on Whit Monday.

The sun was greeting us also in Zwenkau for the Neuseen Classics, as the race is called. People said the course was pancake-flat, so my ambition was simply to stick to the front and hope for a good placing in the almost inevitable bunch sprint at the end. With a bit of luck I could even challenge Andreas Bollessen for the leader’s jersey in the German Cycling Cup. Team Strassacker’s Nico Wernicke was also present, though, and the former professional is a very strong sprinter, as he proved last season with wins in Rund um Koeln and Muensterlandgiro. Allegedly, Wernicke is aiming for the overall win in the GCC Series this year.

As expected, the race started in nervous fashion with a couple of crashes on the often narrow roads as a result. I luckily did not get involved in them, also by riding way up front in the group and in the leading slot quite often. The legs felt very comfortable for the first 90 minutes in fact. But then it became gradually clear that the course modifications the organisers had introduced this year meant that there were some altitude metres to be covered! That’s normally to my advantage of course, but here I could have done without. My legs started to feel the efforts of Lohmar and between km 80 and km 100 I was struggling hard to keep up with the pace of the first group that contained about 50 riders. I succeeded in hanging on with them, but did not contest the sprint finish. Wernicke had just suffered a puncture and as I counted only about 40 riders around me, I thought of the Cup points and of staying out of trouble. The final hectometres were quite dangerous, too, and I satisfied myself with 30th place. It was insufficient to grab the lead in the overall standings, but I did improve to 3rd place while retaining the top spot in my age category. Thomas Kapuste beat Sebastian Denke and Christian Schroth in the sprint for victory. My main competitors in the GCC, Andreas Bollessen finished 11th, and Michael McManus 18th.

It was a great race for Team Agapedia in general. Ingo, Holm and Elmar delivered excellent performances and together we won the teamwertung over 130 km!

GERMAN CYCLING CUP TOP 5:

Bollesen 943 points
McManus 915 points
Van de Velde, 911 points
Barkmann, 886 points
Borst, 880 points

Link to GCC

The next event is Erlangen on 1 June.





Thursday 15 May 2008

Spring campaign ends in style

Work is keeping me from reporting extensively on my events of last weekend, but below are the results in a nutshell. The German Cycling Cup continues to be a theme, as I moved up to 3rd place in the overall ranking and retained the lead in my age category.

LOHMAR 11/05/08:
100 km: Rank 19

LEIPZIG/ZWENKAU 12/05/08:
130 km: Rank 30

German Cycling Cup

Wednesday 7 May 2008

Newsflash: Leipzig! After all...

So I am doing the next German Cycling Cup race in Leipzig/Zwenkau next Monday after all. It is a 130 km long, flat and allegedly boring event but being fifth in the current standings (and first in my age category M1!) turns out to be a major push factor. Not to mention that I remember Leipzig to be a great city to spend some time in. I still need to make proper logistical arrangements, as I will be racing in Lohmar on Sunday, but my participation in Saxony is quasi certain.

Neuseen Classics

Sunday 4 May 2008

Henninger Turm: never better!

FRANKFURT - It may very well have been the final ever Rund um den Henninger Turm this year, and I am delighted I have managed to conclude this chapter of my cyclo career in style: 14th across the line after riding in front practically the entire race. Backed up by my 22nd spot in Goettingen, the result propelled me into 5th place of the German Cycling Cup. Should I amend my race programme now accordingly??


The weather people had been playing yo-yo the days prior to the Henninger: rain, no rain, rain in the morning, rain in the afternoon. Waking up at 6.15 a.m. has rarely been so exciting. Riding the Henninger in the wet is no joke, as many of us still recollect the apocalyptic edition of 2004. I crashed out myself back then, sliding away in a corner in the descent of Rupertshainer Berg. 

In fact, I've had mixed fortunes in my home event over the years. In the first and also wet edition of 2002, I got entangled in a mass crash as riders were slipping away on an oil spot. One year later I finished a solid 55th. After the tumble in 2004, I blew up dramatically at Eppstein in 2005  after sprinting to the front from a low starting block. I just made it into the top 175. Two years ago change of fortune with a 14th place - admittedly based on netto time, but at I came home with the first group. Finally last season, my work colleague Cyril crashed right in front of me in the penultimate corner so I had to settle for 46th. 

Temperatures were cool, but the roads were dry. After the traditionally hectic start of the race through Frankfurt-Hoechst, I moved up to the front of the peloton and saw several riders attacking on the way to the first steep climb of the day in Eppstein. About 10 riders took an advantage of 10-15 seconds. The climb is preceeded by a narrow stretch of kopfsteinplaster (still a highway compared to Flanders or Roubaix of course), which increases the pulse rate already to a high level. This means that if you have a bad day, the game ends on the climb. Luckily, that wasn't the case as I was among the first to cross the top alongside reputed climber Nino Ackermann (Team Lexxi) and Strassacker's Nico Wernicke, who was clearly in much better shape than in Goettingen. We bridged the gap to the breakaway group, but the pace was kept high on the succeeding stretch of false flat that leads to the next series of minor climbs. Alex Bauer, winner of last year's T-Mobile Cycling Tour, attacked but was reeled in as soon as the road went up a few percentages more. 

The rollercoaster ride through the Taunus continued at a high pace, and only some 25 riders managed to stick to the first group. The last major difficulty is Rupertshainer Berg, where one excellent climber put in a blistering attack. Six, seven guys tried to go along with me doing my utmost to grab the tail. In any case, I never climbed that Rupertshainer faster than last Thursday: I only briefly used the 23. What one can all suddenly do when under pressure!

We took the dive to Kelkheim at 75 km/h, but nevertheless some riders returned to us already during the descent. Before entering the village, Alex Bauer (again) and one Strassacker rider put in a bold move but we started the short kuitenbijter (calfbiter) in Kelkheim regrouped. I crossed the top in second place, knowing that from that point on until the finish it would just be flat for another 45km. Nino, myself and two, three other riders were keeping the pace up as we approached Frankfurt City. The passage through the Main Metropole is not without danger,and by now we had also caught up with large groups of slower riders from the 73km event. However, there was considerably more discipline this year compared to 2007 and - thank God - we didn't see a single skater on the entire course. 

After we passed the Darmstaedter Landstrasse and the Henninger Brewery, we caught a headwind on the way to the finish in Hoechst. As the two Lexxi's started using team tactics and some others began enterpreneuring, our pace decreased slightly and this allowed a group of about 30 riders to come back to us with 5 km to go to the finish. Sprinting is not my thing so I tried to retain my position at the front of the group, knowing that the final kilometre has several corners. The explosive types moved in but everything remained rather civilised and as we went to the line Tobias Bosch took the victory with myself finishing 14th. My teammates Holm, Ingo and Joerg were all in the group that came back towards the end and took 16th, 30th and 42nd spot. These great results  gave us enough points to grab third place in the team ranking!

Normally the Henninger means the end of my spring campaign, but this season I am adding another similar race to my schedule: the Lohmar Challenge on 11 May. I hope I can retain my current form for another week!

Monday 28 April 2008

Göttingen: great race results in first podium

Göttingen - All the open questions have been answered. The German cyclo racing season finally got underway last Sunday in Göttingen with a splendid organisation in the Lower-Saxony university town. General conclusion: the expected - and for some - feared increase in quality level due to the influx of former Bundesliga and professional riders did not fully materialise. Personal conclusion: I am on the pace and scored my first podium (MS1). Overall, I finished 22nd in the sprint of the first group containing 33 riders.

After a long series of wet cyclotours and training rides during the past number of weeks, the sun finally greeted the 1800 cycling enthusiasts again. It was the fourth edition of the Tour d' Energie, but this year it was organised independently and not in the context of the LOTTO-Rundfahrt for pros, which got cancelled due to lack of sponsorship. The jedermann circuit in Germany is booming, while the pro scene has hit rock bottom.

Team Agapedia-Münsterland had based itself in Dransfeld at the foot of the last and major climbing difficulty of the race: Hoher Hagen. A 2km irregular and in parts steep hill, 20 km before the finish. As we already got together with the team on Saturday, I grabbed the opportunity to check out the Hoher Hagen climb in peace while a few others engaged themselves in the "prologue" time trial. (Team Agapedia scored the first win of the season straightaway with Julia in the women's time trial. Alexander came third in the men's). After a big plate of pasta on Saturday night we hit the sack and woke up under a blue sky and mild temperatures the following morning. The morale was high!

The first 3 km of the race through the city centre were neutralised, followed by a flying start. The pace increased and I positioned myself in the front of the peloton. The first big attack came after 12 km from my teammate Jürgen, a former professional rider. He took 25 seconds easily. Ingo and myself were playing the team card and were keeping an eye out for potential counter attacks. However, on a steep climb in a village Jürgen faded away, got caught and would no longer have a say in the debates at the front of the race.

Meanwhile, after 40km I still hardly felt the effort. I even took the lead as we entered the long climb to Bramswald. I trust my climbing ability and wanted to keep the pace sufficiently high, while awaiting the next attack from the likes of, for example, Nino Ackermann. A local rider accelerated instead and from that point on the race never fell silent again. We hit the top of the Bramwald hill with only a small group, and many would never return to us. After a rollercoaster ride of some 10-12 kilometres, we arrived in Dransfeld and at the Hoher Hagen Strasse. I entered the first steep section in about tenth place when Nino - as expected - made his move. He couldn't get away at all, but he did kill some dangerous sprinters, in particular the Strassacker guys. Hoher Hagen is suffering at maximum pulse rate, that is beyond doubt. But contrary to last year I did not lose touch with the front runners and found myself in the descent with some 20 riders around me. No Strassacker and, in fact, no Agapedia teammate neither. As usual, it was a bit of a struggle at first to get people working together to safeguard the breakaway. Still, only a few riders managed to come back to us after Hoher Hagen.

In the final five kilometres, several people attacked but no one got away. The wind blew quite strongly. I sat in the group knowing I don't have the explosivity for a finisher's move, so I bet my money on sneaking away with someone else or simply on a solid sprint. Neither of the two materialised as we were in the final straight before I realised it. Too far back, it was impossible to still make up a lot of ground and hence I didn't have a chance to get in the top 10 at the line.

The only minus point in what has otherwise been my best German race ever. Based on nettozeit, I did manage get on the podium, though. Insomma, there was no better way to kick off my season. Looking forward to the Henninger Turm next Thursday.

Link to Results

Tuesday 22 April 2008

Amstel: good run stopped by tyre blast

VALKENBURG - Over 12, 000 riders took part in the Amstel Gold cyclotour last Saturday in the Southern Dutch province of Zuid-Limburg. The Amstel offers a great training opportunity before the cyclosportive racing season fully gets underway. Luckily, the weather was not too bad for a change: the rain only fell in the afternoon - bad luck for those who did the full 250km distance of course.

I had obtained a last-minute ticket thanks to a cancellation within the Agapedia team. It had been 3 years since I last did the Amstel, and I thought I could use the additional effort given the restricted training opportunities of late. On the agenda were 150km and 13 official climbs, but in reality the course constantly goes up and down. It is the same terrain as in the upcoming Shimano Fiets Challenge, which is held in Vaals in two weeks' time.

Morten left early for the desired 250 km, Guus was stuck in the traffic jam for the parking lot, so I took off with Henri, Ulli and Robert from Agapedia-Münsterland. Robert made sure we didn't fall back asleep with a solid pace, often touching the 40 km/h barrier. When Ulli suffered a puncture our run got interrupted but we were soon back up to speed. Passed the first official service point, at km 60, we hit the Loorberg, the third climb of the day: 1500 metres long and 5,5 % on average. Robert accelerated, but I took over and and went ahead full power. I wanted to use the Amstel to do some race simulation so I continued my effort after the hill.

Climb after climb went by, a.o. the Drielandenpunt, the border between Holland, Belgium and Germany. The legs felt quite good, I took a stop at the second ravitaillement to add some Isostar to my bidon, didn't see my teammates and continued. At km 110 we hit the Kruisberg, one of the more narrow and steeper climbs. The road surface in the descent was quite bad and somehow somewhere I must have hit something very hard, because suddenly there was a loud bang that caused my front tube to explode. I came to a standstill halfway the descent and was first glad to see that my new Campa Zonda wheel was not damaged. Not so much later two other guys stopped at the same spot, also with a flat tyre. Changing the inner tube took very long. My new wheel has a higher rim and my innertube has a standard valve. Not much space to attach the handpump. I hardly managed to get air in the new inner tube. Convinced it was the pump's fault I fooled around for quite some time, until I decided - upon recommendation from a local - to walk down the descent to the next village and ask for a footpump. I arrived at a farm and luckily the inhabitants were very understanding and helpful. Out comes the footpump, but to no avail. Then it hit me of course: the new innertube must have a hole already! Indeed. Quite amazing, though: this was a brand new Michelin innertube coming straight out of the box.

I always carry 2 spares for a long event, so I exchanged again and finally I was able to continue the tour. Obviously, the muscles were cold by now and didn't feel as comfy any longer. As the first raindrops began to fell, we had to set foot just before the Keutenberg - a short and steep climb 10km before the finish. As in Flanders, most people don't manage to climb up and crash down blocking the road. I waited a bit until a path became free, and climbed up the Keutenberg between dozens of walking riders :-) always a nice feeling. In pouring rain I approached Valkenburg and the famous Cauberg. I stated last week already that I consider the climb to be very much overrated and I proved it to myself by doing it on the 53x21 without a problem.

The Amstel is a nice event, but somehow the mass of riders is more disturbing than in Flanders. Is it because you are partially obliged to ride on cycling lanes next to the road? It's a minus point that the organisation erases, however, by providing great video (!) and photo material of each rider's day.

Morten had his share of problems and stuck to the 100 km in the end, so we were back home in Frankfurt around seven. It allowed me to join Lorenzo and Alex for the RTF in Gross-Gerau on Sunday morning. We did the very boring 115 km route at a convenient pace, ideal after the Amstel.

I am quite happy with my current form. Uphill I feel very good, but I haven't really been tested yet by others. That will certainly happen next weekend in Göttingen, my first genuine race of the season. Now that I got over my cold, I am looking forward to it. Göttingen is arguably my favourite German race and I have always done well there.

Friday 18 April 2008

Next Spring Classic: Amstel Gold Race

After the E3 Velotour and the Ronde van Vlaanderen I managed to secure a last-minute ticket for another classic tour this weekend: the Amstel Gold Race in Valkenburg/Maastricht, Holland. It will be my third participation in the event after 2004 and 2005. I like the route as a perfect training opportunity. The most popular distance of 150 km has about 13 official hills with the Keutenberg at the end as the steepest and best known. The finish is also atop the Cauberg, but that hill is seriously overrated. The difference between Amstel and Flanders is the fact that there are no cobblestones and that the hills are on average slightly longer.

Unfortunately, there is (again) a considerable chance for wet conditions and I haven't fully recovered from my cold yet. But with the first real race around the corner in Göttingen next weekend, we need to put in some mileage now.

Tuesday 8 April 2008

Real Flandrien

"Now you are a real Flandrien". Those words were addressed to me several times since last Saturday. I guess, with hindsight, having ridden the complete distance of the Tour of Flanders in bitterly cold and wet conditions does indeed not leave any space for 'yeah buts'. So today I am happy I came through with my chin up, even though for some time halfway through the ride I admit I was about to throw in the towel.

Horrific memories of the Oetztaler 2005 zoomed through my head, when after 65km the rain (and melting snow!) began to fall with increasing intensity. The temperature dropped to barely 3 degrees, my hands and body stiffened up and my teeth chattered non-stop. All the major climbs and cobblestones were yet to come and I was thinking the full route will be for another year. However, as it happens, the rain let up for a while then - at the right moment - so that my morale was up again by the time I reached the big food & beverage stop in Oudenaarde.

Morten, Michael and I got up at 4:00 a.m. We were at a hotel in Oudenaarde and had to make our way to Ninove to get on the shuttle bus that would bring us to the start in Bruges. Everything went smooth, we got on the bus and Michael drove the car back to Oudenaarde to pick up Gideon and Guus. The trio would do the 140 km tour starting later in the morning.

In Bruges we quickly put our bikes together and Morten started fearing the worst for the day as his bike came off the bus with a flat tyre! He would not face any similar issues later, though. Slightly more than 3000 people (out of 17 000 total participants) came together at the Grote Markt in Bruges for the départ of a very long day in the saddle. I noticed the pre-announced Japanese team and a surprising number of British cyclists. After about 45 minutes of riding we came onto a 'celebrity group' and attached our waggon. I immediately spotted Ludo Dierckxsens, and soon after I was sitting in the wheel of Eric Vanderaerden. Nico Mattan, Jo Planckaert, Peter van Petegem, Serge Baguet, Olympic judo champion Ulla Werbrouck and last-but-not-least Johan Museeuw were also present. Their purpose was to accompany the finalists of the Miss Sports Belgium contest on the ride. The girls apparently had to do an abridged version of the tour of 198km. There were several Italians in this group as well, four of which wore jerseys with "Michele Bartoli" printed on it - but I cannot say whether Bartoli himself was riding along. In any case, there were a few guys from the big granfondo teams Salieri (Negrini) and Park Pre (Rumsas, David Jones). The Giro delle Fiandre is becoming a highlight for Italians as well it seems.

The pace in this group wasn't high, but we were accompanied by cars and the roads were kept free for us, which made for comfortable riding. I stayed with them until the Kluisberg. It had been raining already for a while (Museeuw had even fled to the bus) and I wanted to go my own pace. But conditions got worse and worse as described above. The Nokereberg was new to me and didn't impress me. Up next was a very bad 1.6 km stretch of cobblestones: Doorn. A lot of mud made for tricky and slippery riding. Afterwards I was approached by a German who turned about to be living in Frankfurt and a triathlon-colleague of my Agapedia-teammate Alexander. The world can be small. On the way to the Paddestraat (2.4km of cobbles) the rain stopped temporarily. On the Paddestraat I nearly crashed into two riders who collided and slipped just before me. It was really a balancing act at times. After the Paddestraat we entered the traditional course of the Ronde and the start of the long series of climbs, 17 in total. The first one of these is the short but steep and treacherous Molenberg. I discovered to my surprise that despite everything the legs still had juice. Shortly after the Molenberg we hit the fearsome cobbles of Kerkgate in Mater (3 km). My pace was faster than anyone around me and I continued my run on the Wolvenberg. And so we arrived in Oudenaarde with even a short spell of sunshine. This encouraged me to a gamble and take off my soaked-through legpieces. I have always found covered knees a nuissance to ride with. After stocking-up on Isostar and eating a piece of honeycake I got back on the bike and headed for the big trilogy: Oude Kwaremont, Paterberg and Koppenberg. Last week in the E3 I had a rough time against the wind on the Kwaremont, but this time I cycled up with a solid pace. Unfortunately, the skies got dark again and opened the hatches for a terrible shower including sleet and windburts. What a way to hit the ultra steep Paterberg! Chaos reigned on the Pater of course, with nearly everyone falling down or getting off the bike and walking up. The path was blocked and when the guy in front of me had to get off, I couldn't avoid him and I had to set foot as well. Much to my resentment the same happened on the Koppenberg..

As I climbed the hellingen ony by one, showers came and went. But the legs were still strong enough to maintain a solid pace. The experience shows that if you take it easy in the beginning, you don't need to have trained 200 km before you do a 260 km event. In fact, on the famous Muur van Geraardsbergen, 18km from the finish, I had one of my best runs ever - which was much appreciated by the many spectators there, too. Then there was still the Bosberg and the remaining 11km to the finish in Meerbeke-Ninove.

It was close to 7 p.m. when Morten and I got back at the starting area, it had surely been a long day. Interestingly, on our certificate it says 277 km instead of the officially announced 260 km. Morten confirmed that his bike computer also showed 277 km, so the cyclotour seems to be longer than the pro race.

I am happy I did it, but my feeling is I won't do the full distance again. The weather did not help this year, but the first 120-130km are not exactly thrilling. Yet, I put it on my record alongside Paris-Roubaix and Liege-Bastogne-Liege and in so doing I reached my first objective of the 2008 season!

Thursday 3 April 2008

The tension mounts...

Saturday is the first big day of my 2008 cycling season. The Ronde van Vlaanderen may not be a race, but the distance and the nature of the cyclotour at this early part of the year make it a genuine challenge. I only realised last week again in the E3 tour how hard riding in Flanders can be. This weekend will be the 10th time I participate in the cyclotour, but the first time I am aiming for the entire route of 260 km, from Bruges to Meerbeke. 260 km: that's a distance I seldom ride, and if, only in summer when in best-shape. Now it's the first weekend of April, and weather conditions have not allowed for extensive training recently. The plan will be simple: take it easy. I cannot afford to be 'shot' already on the Koppenberg, because then the Tour of Flanders becomes hell. The weather forecast is cold and windy, but with a bit of luck we won't get too wet.

Monday 31 March 2008

E3 Velotour Harelbeke: Blow-up!

HARELBEKE (BE) - The E3 velotour in Harelbeke was my second cyclotour (RTF) of the season, but much more than Niederdorfelden an indicator of my current form. I joined up with Hendrik and two of his friends and knew that they would grab any opportunity to challenge me along the 135km long course with 11 Flemish hellingen, some which are also part of the Ronde van Vlaanderen next Saturday.

Whereas Frankfurt enjoyed a pre-summer day with 20 degrees and sunshine, we got on our bikes in solid rain and windy conditions... Typical Flandrien weather, they say, but one does not get excited about that idea when one is actually cycling in it! After hardly 2 kilometres I already looked like a cyclo crosser! As in de Ronde, the first 30 kilometres of the E3 are just a warm-up, i.e. no climbs. The legs felt good, and the first climb - the Edelare - confirmed that feeling as I effortlessly rode up with nobody left in my wheel.

After the first ravitaillement on top of La Houppe, Hendrik dropped the axe and attacked. The start of the hostilities :-) Gregory and I let him ride in the wind a bit, but the next climb - Berg Stene - came up already. I felt comfortable and closed down the gap just before the top and attacked straight out of Hendrik's wheel. Just to put the pressure on. A red traffic light ended the move prematurely. So we went on to the Boigneberg and Eikenberg. I never liked the cobbled Eikenberg but this time it went well and I even managed to drop them slightly. The wind was blowing hard in this section and the following hill, Stationsberg, was much tougher than usual. Then, in a technical descent, Hendrik and Gregory managed to get some 20-30 metres on me. I wasn't too worried as the nasty and steep Taaienberg came up and I reckoned I get them back there... but that proved to be a miscalculation. The duo sprinted all they could on the Taaienberg and I actually got a little knock of the hammer. The gap remained and the chase was on against a strong headwind. They got a guy to help them ride fast, and I also got two guys but the gap increased bit by bit. As we approached the famous Paterberg they were out of sight, and I struggled on that steep climb more than I can remember of the past years. My tank was running on empty and the Oude Kwaremont I could only conquer on the 23. Later I found out that Hendrik and Gregory did it even on the 25, so they were also struggling at least! There was a strong headwind on the Kwaremont, and all of a sudden that otherwise feasible climb became the genuine article.

The race was over, though. The punch in the legs had gone completely and I was happy to reach Harelbeke again. I had already given up on the plan to cycle home kilometres ago ...

Hendrik was all smiles of course. It had been some time ago he last got my number..

It is hard to draw conclusions, but the Easter debacle certainly did not help my preparation for the 260 km next Saturday in Flanders. It seems I just blew up after 90-100km. I will certainly need to take it easy in the early parts if I still want to have some speed on the Muur van Geraardsbergen after 240 km.

Friday 28 March 2008

Looking for rain and wind in Harelbeke...

Whereas the weather forecast is positive for the weekend in Frankfurt, a different story is being told in Flanders for Sunday. My second participation in the E3 cyclotour in Harelbeke may indeed be characterised by rain and wind: typical Flandrien-weather, but after the Cologne debacle I definitely wish for a hassle-free ride! The plan is to do the 135km event and afterwards cycle home from Harelbeke to Zele. That would result in a ride of almost 200km, which is what I probably need for the Ronde van Vlaanderen the following weekend.

Monday 24 March 2008

Rund um Köln cancelled!



KOELN - And it looked so promising when Ingo and I looked out of the window at 7 a.m. this morning. Contrary to the weather forecast, it had not snowed during the night. Unfortunately, the snow shower was only delayed... It hit us when we were driving from Solingen to Cologne. Nothing major at first, but gradually the snow became thicker and the shower more intense. By 8:45 a.m. it was obvious that the race was jeopardised. Some people took the racebike out and started cycling on icy roads towards Leverkusen, some 15km away from the finish area at Koeln-Messe. Some immediately turned back: "you cannot brake" ...

Most people eventually decided it is not even worth cycling to the start. A bit later, an official at the Messe announced that the start of the 100km would be delayed to 10:50 and would simply join the 60km event. But even that was too optimistic. The pro race was cancelled, too, which is indeed a very bitter pill for race organiser Tabat as Rund um Köln was celebrating its 100th anniversary.

The entire Easter weekend was a disaster if one had intended to train properly. Friday was impossible in Flanders. I managed to put in 2,5 hours on Saturday morning - including a test ride on my new teambike, the Red Bull Pro SL - and 1,5 hours loosening up on Sunday before heading to the race in Cologne. Next week I'll do the E3 in Harelbeke as a final and now necessary test before the 260km of the Tour of Flanders!

Wednesday 19 March 2008

Training update

After the long sessions on the weekend, I took a rest on Monday. Yesterday I did 45 minutes on the ergo bike, easy-going, no resistance and reading Humo. Today I jumped on the spinning bike for an hour, and did a number of intervals consisting of short sprints of a few seconds on high resistance while retaining the resistance in between. Quite tough! Plyometric exercises should help boosting my explosivity for the shorter races, which are coming up first. My weight is lighter than usual at this time of the year: 71.6 kg.

Tuesday 18 March 2008

A solid training weekend

With one week to go before the race season's opener in Cologne and three weeks before my first endurance event (Flanders, 265km), I am happy to have managed over 250 of training kilometers last weekend. On Saturday I went out with my Agapedia teammate Alexander Nikolopoulos (check his blog as well!). He is also part of a new triathlon club in Frankfurt and they were getting together on the road bike for the first time this year. I was actually surprised to see some 25 people at Friedberger Warte at 10:30! They split up in three groups according to pace and ambition. I joined the first with approx. 15 riders.

The ride was good, towards Büdingen, but a bit longer than anticipated. I had prepared myself mentally for a three-hour outing, but it turned out to be close to five hours! I had been sprinting on a few hills now and then, so in the last hour I was beginning to feel the effort and two cereal bars were just not enough for lunch...

Because I had been running on an empty tank for a while, I felt more tired in the legs than usual on Sunday morning. After watching Hamilton take the chequered flag in Melbourne and a good strong cup of Trung Nguyen coffee, I pedalled towards Bornheim to pick up Morten.

Sunday marked the start of the Frankfurt RTF season in Niederdorfelden. Alex, Lorenzo and the two Julias were also present, and together with Alex's friend Bernd - also a former Strassacker rider - and a few other riders we took off for a scenic and pleasant 110km course. The weather was so-so, with rainshowers every now and again but overall it could have been worse. Initially I could just sit in the wheels. Alex and Bernd kept the pace high up front. Gradually I got more into it, but back at home I concluded that the stamina is there, but the explosivity may be lacking somewhat. We'll find out in Köln next week.

Monday 17 March 2008

Links to press articles on team presentation

The Agapedia-Münsterland team presentation in Bocholt mid-february was well covered in the press. Please link to the team website to get a number of links to websites and newspaper articles.

Check in particular Challenge Magazine, the monthly online magazine exclusively for cyclo riders.

The frameset we will be riding in 2008 is the Red Bull Pro SL. Dirk Müller became German professional champion in 2006 with this bike.

My 2008 Campaign

Changes are always possible - one needs to be flexible these days - but this will more or less be my programme for the 2008 cyclo season. I do not include local RTFs on this list. The events in italics mean 'provisional'.

24.03.08 - Rund um Köln, Cologne (DE)
30.03.08 - E3 Velotour, Harelbeke (BE)
05.04.08 - Ronde van Vlaanderen, Brugge (BE)
19.04.08 - Amstel Gold Tour (NL)
27.04.08 - Tour d'Energie, Göttingen (DE)
01.05.08 - Henninger Turm, Frankfurt (DE)
11.05.08 - Lohmar Challenge, Lohmar (DE)
18.05.08 - Le Nove Colli, Cesenatico (IT)
01.06.08 - Bayern Rundfahrt, Erlangen (DE)
07.06.08 - GP Schwarzwald, Triberg (DE)
08.06.08 - RTF Schwarzwald, Triberg (DE)
14.06.08 - Les 3 Ballons, Champagney (FR)
15.06.08 - CHIBA Alpen Cup, Bad Reichenhall (DE)
22.06.08 - Dreiländergiro, Nauders (AT)
13.07.08 - GF Carnia Classic-Zoncolan (IT)
03.08.08 - Sparkassen Cup, Bochum (DE)
23.08.08 - Rad am Ring, Nürbürgring (DE)
30.08.08 - D-Tour, Gerolfingen (DE)
07.09.08 - Züri Metzgete, Zürich (SUI)
14.09.08 - Rund um die Nürnberger Altstadt, Nürnberg (DE)
03.10.08 - Münsterlandgiro, Münster (DE)

Friday 14 March 2008

Team presentation at Rose in Bocholt

The 2008 presentation of Team Agapedia-Münsterland took place on 16 February at Biketown in Bocholt, location of Rose Versand - one of the main sponsors this year. very close to the Dutch border. A great event, professionally organised and some nice team pictures (three riders were unfortunately excused on the day).

A new start in a great team

After riding in the team outfits of ECB Cyclosports and Bobteam the past few seasons, I will start the 2008 cyclo season wearing the familiar colours of Team Agapedia-Münsterland. It is a genuine pleasure for me to have been taken on board this reputed cyclo team, based in Münster, Nordrhein-Westfalen. It goes without saying I will do my utmost to return their confidence with sportsmanship, team spirit and solid results.

This blog will be dedicated to my 2008 cycling season. I hope to report, also for my own personal archive, as much as possible on my cyclo events, training outings and other related activities.

I hope you will find it interesting as as visitor, and will be happy to receive your feedback at all times.

Enjoy the new season!

Kris