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!