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Chur
So it's been almost 2 weeks now since I arrived in Belgium. And right now I'm feeling pretty grateful I have a recovery day on the programme today (while as Mother Nature's decided to throw down a bit of snow for the first time since I've been here. Looks like there'll be more to come tomorrow too.
Today's view from the lounge
Anyway, on the way over I managed to pick up some filthy bug but managed to shake it off a few days after setting up here. Hopefully that means I'll be bug free for a bit now.
The Belgie Stallion
The day after arrival we had team presentation which was a bit more low key than last year (as in there was no dude busting the robot on stage while accompanied by 50 groupies) but still a good night out.
PCT-Tomacc 2013
The flat's pretty tight. Got a big three storied place with 4 bedrooms and a huge commercial kitchen downstairs. We currently have 6 lads in the flat, 2 poms, a Korean and 3 kiwis...sounds like the start of a shit joke. The flat's just off the Centrum of Poperinge so it's an ideal location really...although we seem to have had a carnival on our doorstep for the last few days which goes all night. Still not quite sure what it's all about.
My Room
I've hit two kermesses so far but they haven't been the typical kermesses I remember from last year. Both have lacked any real wind so haven't been blown to pieces so I've just had two bunch finishes so far. Looks like our race on Wednesday could be more of a reat test so I'm looking forward to that.
January was a pretty hectic month of racing on the NZ racing scene. To finish off the month I headed up to Palmerston North for a 4 day tour known as NZ Cycle Classic (NZ's only UCI tour). Our team consisted of the usual L & M lads although for this race we rode for RICOH.
The Prologue was a battle with a lot of wind and a really rolly course. I felt pretty good but saved too much for the final kilometres after being warned about the brutal course. In the end I think I finished about 1:05 down on winner Joe Cooper riding for his Australian team Genesis Cycling.Our teams top rider was newly signed Nick Lovegrove.
Over the next few days we were tested by some typical Palmy crosswinds which caused some decisive splits. Unfortunately on stage 2, our team missed out on the break of about 12 who put over 10 minutes into the field shatter and hope we had of contesting General Classification. So after this we were forced to chase stage wins...that was until stage 4 when Grover told me to have a crack at the Under 23 Classification. I was pretty keen to try and pull a good result for the team and sponsors but had one small obstacle in my way...a mountain top finish (my specialty ;) ). As soon as I hit the climb I was instantly into body rocking mode trying to hang onto the front group. In the end I think I was 4th U23 up the climb putting me in 5th on U23 Classification.
So for the final stage my goal was to make the break and try to jump onto the U23 podium. I seemed to make every move apart from the decisive break. But in the end it came down to a bunch kick which I gave my best shot but ended up being cut off and had to back out slinking back to 8th place.
So the tour was a sweet way to crank up the Belgie build-up but unfortunately the team couldn't muster any big results. I do have to say a huge thank-you to Ricoh for sposoring myself and the rest of the team for the week...just wish I could have showed how much it means by giving you something to rave about! Also thanks to Backy from Armstrong Sport who was team bitch for the week...always a rough job!
Now I have 3 weeks left before departure to Europe where I'll be spending 7 months racing for CT Tomacc while being based in Poperinge, Belgium. Old man Chapman has me on a good looking programme that should have me hussing for Belge. Can't wait to get over tere and punish some Belgies who will be straight out of a brutal winter.
Also thanks to Eric who hooked me up with the new EMC Equipe R1.0 frame! It runs like a dream...check the new set up:
Well what can I say, the lack of blog posts says it all. Things have been pretty chaotic over the last few months...awesome but chaotic!
I've spent my summer putting in some big km's as well as working full time in the Nelmac Nursery. My jobs been pretty sweet just rocking round hanging flower baskets and mincing round the nursery. Couldn't have asked for a better summer job really. And best of all the boss is happy with my work and is keen to hook me up with a job next summer too. He's even mentioned helping me out with funding some papers in horticulture while I'm overseas this year. GC
On the riding front I've been all over the country and even across the ditch since being back. I rode the Chch Festival of Cycling, Tour of Southland, NSW GP, Tour de Vineyards, Elite Nationals and this week I'm heading up North for NZ Cycle Classic (NZ'S only UCI Tour). I've enjoyed being back racing with the L & M Group Racing lads and Canny...haha.
The crosswinds of Southland brought back some fond memories of Belgium...just hanging out in the gutter. I was feeling strong as an oxe but just lacked a bit of speed for the tour which ewas not suprising after spending most of my buildup climbing mountain passes in Switzerland! But hats off to teammate Joe Chapman who swept up the KOM jersey once again...why hasn't that old man just keeled over and died yet?
After Southland Canny offered me a trip to Sydney to race the NSW GP and I reluctantly agreed. So after a weeks off the bike I started some speed work for NSW. The crits themselves were an awesome experience racing some big names in Professional Cycling. Day 2 in Wollongong included a gruelling 600m course on top of a hill by the seas. To top it off there were huge gusts with winds on the coast measuring 80kmh! Needless to say the field blew to pieces in the first few laps. Overall teammate Gatey finished 3rd which was a mammoth effort for the level of racing! The trip was topped off with a big Sunday night out in Cronulla with the lads and a few other awesome kiwi lasses who also raced the crits.
Elite nationals...well thats another story. My job was to look after newly signed teammate Anthony Chapman. So while the rest of the team headed up the road we sat back and cruised in the pelo until we hit a little climb known as Dyers Pass. As expected the pace up the climb was high...so high I got a new max HR. Anyway, I was only just hanging on over the climb (sometimes had to chase on for up to 5km) but after 5 laps it became too much and I was dropped like a rock off the Empire State. Unfortunately Chappy suffered a similar fate after cramping up on the climb. Only 20 of the 80 starters finished and as nice as it would have been to be one of those few, I can't say my result was suprising. The level of racing was nothing to be snivelled at. Big shout out to GB though coming across the line with National Champion Hayden Roulston after an impressive ride (the vomit on his toptube says it all!)
So whats next for me? Well this week is NZCC which will be my last main race in NZ riding with L & M Group racing. And at the end of Feb I'll be heading over to Belgium to ride for the same team as last year (CT Tomacc) based in Poperinge West-Flaanders. This year the team has signed 10 international riders including NZ teammate Tom Francis and former Tomacc Teammate and kiwi Matt Wheatcroft.
I actually went to the doctors for a syphillus test (thats another story) a few weeks ago and the doctor said, "ahhh you were here at this time last year too." I asked what my problem was last year and she said I was suffering from fatigue. I remembered the dark place I was in at this time last year. Unfit, sick, no team lined up and ready to jack cycling in (so stoked I didn't). But it's no suprise that last years season was a bit up and down when you begin the year like that. So this year I'm in complete contrast. Motivation is through the roof, got some huge km's in the legs and I'm fizzing to get back to Belgium and tear up some Belgie roads...just gotta hang onto it for the next month or so!
Hope you enjoyed that little novel, I'll get the posts going a bit more frequently to keep you all up to date.
And good luck to all the kiwi riders already starting their seasons in Europe. I have max respect for all of you suffering the Euro winter.
So thought my training was coming along nicely in my prep for Southland until I rolled up to my first race back in NZ, Tuesday Night Worlds. The race was pretty brutal with some epic crosswind that’s pretty rare in Nelson. The race splintered to pieces and I ended up getting myself dropped by the big boys…sweet.
Anyway, rocked up to the final round of the Benchmark series yesterday. Was fizzing to test to the legs out and ride along-side the L & M Group boys. The race was definitely a lot cruisier than Belg, it was a pearler of a day and I was feeling like a beast. Unfortunately I couldn’t quite find my way into the break even though I had the legs to. So coming into the finish there were still 3 boys up the road and with a hairy final corner I couldn’t quite hit the front so ended up about 15th.
Above: The lunge for the line. Congrats to Rob Reid for winning the overall series title. (Notice me mincing in the left hand gutter).
Canny also hooked us up with the sick new Champion System team kit with our new Giro Aeon helmets. Check the photo:
And speaking of new, since I've been back I've been hitting up the new Avantiplus store on Queen St Richmond. It looks pretty tight and the boys in there are alright I guess. So get in there and check it out. Respect
Found this little passage I whipped up a few weeks ago but never got round to posting. Might not make sense cos I was jetlagged as a mofo when I wrote it.
So I’m currently sitting in Los Angeles Airport contemplating whether these standby flights are really worth it. I’ve just done a 10+ hour flight from Heathrow to here but the flights are looking pretty full so I could end up spending the night in LAX. And to make things worse, they rolled my Speculoos…WTF!
The Belgie Send-off
Above: One of my las races in Belg
But apart from that little hiccup my overseas experience has finished off on a pretty good note. I finished up the Belgie season in mid-Septemberbefore trading in the Belg flatlands for the Alps of Switzerland. Switzerland was an awesome way to tie up the season. It was a holiday where I managed to sneak in a few decent rides in the mountains on the next-door neighbours old cannondale. I actually ended up wikipediaing Switzerland’s highest mountain passes and seeing how many I could tick off the list in the local area of Zurich. Have to say the scenery was epic and the amount of climbs around the place was unreal.
I also spent a fair bit of time with my Swiss cousins and auntie doing a few different things around the place. We went hiking, on a high ropes course, on the rodelbahn (similar to a rollercoaster down a mountain side where you control the speed) and hit up the Lindt Chocolate Factory down the road…such a dangerous place.
After Switzerland I spent a couple of days at young Reg’s place in England. That went pretty quick but I did manage to do a days labour roofing with Reg and the Old Fossil and knocked out a ride on the mounty through the English woods.
And now here I am. Sitting in LA hoping there’s a spare seat.
But anyway, there’s a few people I want to thank for the season. Big thanks to Kris Lozie and the beautiful Krista Lozie who took us in as their own sons in Belg. Also team director Gilbert for all his help.To my Auntie Joe for not just putting me up but treating me like royalty in Switzerland and Reg’s old man and mum for putting me up in England. And finally to the boys in the flat for a sweet season all round with some good times.
As for next year I’m planning on once again riding for Tomacc Cycling Team who are showing some interest in going Continental but I guess we’ll see. Either way I will be heading over to Belg in late February for a longer season of around 8 months.
As for now, my next big race will be the Tour of Southland with a few club races and a sneaky Benchmark round to get the peppiness back in the legs.
First up I wanna apologize to all the people I've been a bit slack with keeping in touch with since I've been over here. Pretty sure I'm not going to have any mates when I get home.
Well it's been a couple of months since the last post and a lots happened in that time. We now have five guys in the flat with the addition of another Englishmen and a young Australian lad named Skippy. Both are pretty good guys, apart from Steve (sorry Steve mate, it's nothing personal, you're just a bit of a dick). And I've also made friends with a gay barista at the cafe down the road. Even managed to get few free coffees out of him the other day...MEAN!
On the cycling side of things we've now been introduced to a few different racing types. As well as the usual kermesses we've done a few criteriums which are not so prestigious but a good way of picking up a bit of coin as well as interclubs which are similar to kermesses but longer and include a convoy of team cars and always doping control so there is a much more professional element to it. The first few interclubs weren't so pretty with mechanical issues and illness interfering but the latest interclub was better. It wasa bout 160km in heavy rain and even included a few climbs which is unusual for Flanders racing. Unfortunately we missed the break and once it's gone you're racing for whatever place is left.
The crits have been a bit more eventful, we even managed to bag the win in one of the local crits. Steve won the bunch kick after a perfect leadout from Matt. I've also had some bad luck in the crits. In one I managed to roll a tub and managed to keep the bike up but wrote off my rear Zipp.
Speaking of crashes, young Skippy seems to have developed a taste for Belgium roads. I think he binned it something like 3 times in 2 weeks. The most spectacular when he hit a cone in the middle of the road and landed on his face. It was pretty sick. Even with the grazes on his face, he's still a damn fine looking young gentleman.. just like myself.
Just over a month ago we crossed the ditch to the UK for a week. Had my first introduction to racing in the UK and to be honest with you, I wasn't impressed. I did a small 1 hour race with about 30 guys on a pretty boring little crit circuit. It turned out about a quarter of the starters were on the same team (Team Felt) so the race was pretty negative. I finished 6th in a chase group and funnily enough, Felt came away with nothing after letting a break go with only one rider in a group of 4.
While in England we did manage to hitch a ride into London to check the sights. Matt and I saw all that stuff you need to see so we can tick London off the list. I was pretty impressed with how organised the Underground system is.
The other highlight of England was when we rocked up to the Henley Regatta, a multi day rowing event. We managed to scrounge some tickets into Liander Club were all the other class people mince around. So we jacked up a few mismatching suits and managed to get in. Turns out there was more going on up the road at the local student bar anyway.
Below: The Three Musketeers
Also rocked up to the medieval town Brugge the other day. I'd heard a legend about a cholcolate shop in Brugge that makes chocolate worthy of kings so we couldn't pass that opportunity. Turns out you ask for how much you want (in our case 2kg) of any type you can imagine and they chisel it off a giant block. It was so good...but so so bad.
Anyway, I'm into my final month now so I'm just going to drive myself into the ground with racing I think. There are a few good local races coming up and hopefully at some stage meet up with K-Rex who's currently stagiaring with Marco-Polo in Belgium. Good stuff Rex.
And congrats to Goat-man who just got engaged to the beautiful Jess Morton.
