So on Sunday I finally managed to finish an elite classic. The Klein Brabant Classic in Flanders, to be specific; 160km with a few cobblestone sectors and 199 riders on the start, including the USA National Team and some of the Belgian pro team continentals (amateurs afiliated to pro teams).
Luckily the weather forecast was inaccurate and the first 3 hours we enjoyed warm sunshine, although this made for a lot of bidon fetching. Pace was reasonably fast - quite a few breakaway attempts that were reeled in. Hardly any wind, so bunch stayed together, although there were frequent episodes where it was strung out in single file.
As usual in the low countries there was a lot of road furniture to avoid. I nearly came a cropper at a roundabout when everybody braked hard and my brakelever bounced off the **** of guy in front of me, I nearly went over the bars but I managed to put my foot on the ground and kind of jump back onto the bike at 30km/h.
The cobblestone sectors were hard - at 45km/h it is really hard to control the bike, and with it bouncing around you lose traction. Plus you have to dodge the fallen bidons bouncing around. One 2km sector the bunch split with half on the sidewalk and the other half in the gutter on the opposite side. Luckily I chose the sidewalk, because there was a nasty crash in the gutter.
The finale of the race was a 4 x 6km local circuit, and just as we entered this it began to absolutely lash it down with rain and hailstones. I knew a crash was coming so I edged to the back (as there was no way I dared overtake 100+ riders to get up front) and inevitably there was a 20 man pile up out of a corner, with some guys badly hurt and screaming. This split the bunch and I was in the last group. We chased hard for a while, but weren't going to get back in contention, so it was kind of agreed just to ride safely to the finish, as the local circuit would have been quite treacherous in dry conditions, yet alone aquaplaning.
So i ended up 122nd out of 144 finishers. Not exactly impressive but this was a strong field, and only my 2nd attempt in Belgium. I felt strong all race, and was never in danger of being dropped. I know if I could have been nearer the front I might have done better, but I am still nervous in a densely packed peloton at that speed. To be in the half of the team that finish the race was a nice experience!
Luckily the weather forecast was inaccurate and the first 3 hours we enjoyed warm sunshine, although this made for a lot of bidon fetching. Pace was reasonably fast - quite a few breakaway attempts that were reeled in. Hardly any wind, so bunch stayed together, although there were frequent episodes where it was strung out in single file.
As usual in the low countries there was a lot of road furniture to avoid. I nearly came a cropper at a roundabout when everybody braked hard and my brakelever bounced off the **** of guy in front of me, I nearly went over the bars but I managed to put my foot on the ground and kind of jump back onto the bike at 30km/h.
The cobblestone sectors were hard - at 45km/h it is really hard to control the bike, and with it bouncing around you lose traction. Plus you have to dodge the fallen bidons bouncing around. One 2km sector the bunch split with half on the sidewalk and the other half in the gutter on the opposite side. Luckily I chose the sidewalk, because there was a nasty crash in the gutter.
The finale of the race was a 4 x 6km local circuit, and just as we entered this it began to absolutely lash it down with rain and hailstones. I knew a crash was coming so I edged to the back (as there was no way I dared overtake 100+ riders to get up front) and inevitably there was a 20 man pile up out of a corner, with some guys badly hurt and screaming. This split the bunch and I was in the last group. We chased hard for a while, but weren't going to get back in contention, so it was kind of agreed just to ride safely to the finish, as the local circuit would have been quite treacherous in dry conditions, yet alone aquaplaning.
So i ended up 122nd out of 144 finishers. Not exactly impressive but this was a strong field, and only my 2nd attempt in Belgium. I felt strong all race, and was never in danger of being dropped. I know if I could have been nearer the front I might have done better, but I am still nervous in a densely packed peloton at that speed. To be in the half of the team that finish the race was a nice experience!
