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.

Links:

CHIBA Alpen Cup

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:

Sportcommunication

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.

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!

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

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

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.