The Calm Before the Storm


This afternoon we headed down to the 6-day track in the middle of Gent, Belgium. Bernard plugged it into his GPS and 30 minutes later we were there. We arrived at the velodrome right as they were finishing painting the last signs on the track. Since it seemed like we were the only ones there, I was not sure if we were going to get to ride, but after about 20 minutes they said it was fine to ride. We were more than ready and ended up being one of only three teams on the track. It was very nice to get used to the track without any traffic and get in the exact work we were planning on. Ryan and I got in some throws with our friends from PA and with one of the top Pro Madison teams, riding for Capri Sun this week. After getting the legs opened up and putting in some decent work, I tried out the race wheels. Everything felt good and I sure could feel a difference between the race 404's and the Training/track specific overbuilt 404 Zipps just sent to us. They will be great to train and race local events on next season.

The venue seats 5500 people and should be filled by weeks end. The crowd will be crazy and drunk by the end of each night and should provide a great atmosphere to go into battle. The track itself is 167m and has 54 degree banking in the turns. At the end of warm up after riding the blue band for 20min I was doing a flying effort at top speed. Without remembering how much G's you pull in the corner it almost caught me off guard as I flew through turn one. It is truly amazing how much your whole body compresses in each corner and then decompresses on the straights. It is comparable to stopping after descending in a high-speed elevator or in a corkscrew on a rollercoaster; you actually have to work to hold your head up. All in all, the track and the bike were feeling good by the end. Just need a little rest now and we will be set for Day 1. Please enjoy the pictures of the calm before the storm below:

Putting the finishing touches on the paint when we arrived

The home straight with the door in the track open

The track from the nosebleed section

From the rail, 54deg looks insane at this angle

Looking at the other side from the rail

The door

Almost done touching up the blue band

From the apron

The turn looks a little more sane from this perspective, maybe because my feet a firmly on the ground

The event poster

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