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

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Frankfurt am Main, Germany

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