So what does Track Cycling feel like?

Click the title for a good story about an ESPN reporter trying to find her ticket to the Olympics, through any sport. The first part is how it feels to ride a track for the first time.

A Tragic End to Our First Six

The last two days have been sobering to say the least. After not making the finals in the U25 race we went back the following night to watch the racing. Just after midnight in the second madison of the pro’s race, rider Isaac Galvez of the current world champion madison team was tragically killed in a freak accident. He passed of internal injuries after running full speed into the guardrail with his chest. It has been exactly 50 years since another rider was killed in a Six. The rest of the riders were very saddened by the loss of one of their family and the Six was cut short with no racing on Sunday.

For the full story go to: Cycling News Story

As for our last race, we put up a hard fight; gaining a lap to the team we needed to beat but then having them pull it back after we were the only ones working to keep pace on the front of the field. Then with a quarter of the race left, I put in one final attack, only to make it about a quarter lap up before crashing on my own. We are not sure if my tire blew first or if I hit the blue band first and then the tire blew when I was coming back onto the track. But nonetheless, I went down and that ended our effort to gain the elusive lap that would have catapulted us in front of 4 teams and into the final.

As for our first experience in the European U-25 Six-days, we feel that we were well prepared for the technical aspects but that we are lacking speed for many reasons. We were able to fit right into the racing action, and ride to our limit on the toughest, shortest track on the Six-day circuit. But for many reasons we are short on top end speed. For starters, most of the other teams have raced the circuit for a few years and have at least two other Sixes in their legs from this season. Second, we are one of only a few madison teams in the US and finding competition to race against does not come often. However, we were as prepared as we could have been and are looking forward to hard training in the months and season to come. We plan on coming back in the next year, hopefully more than once, but we are also looking to develop our power and speed in some pro road racing in the first half of next year. As for now I am just resting up for the rest of my final semester at CU Boulder and dreaming of a pleasant Christmas holiday.

Thanks for reading during my first European trip, and be sure to check back soon. Our next trip is to LA in second half of January, for the Second Round of the World Cup Track Series.

Ghent Update - The Day of the Storm

It has been a hard three days of racing thus far. We feel that we have been riding conservatively since we are still getting used to riding at this tempo and with this caliber of riders. But I have a feeling this is going to pay off tonight. The top 6 teams in each heat are going to the final two days of racing and we are currently in 7th. However, last night we saw two teams loose their legs and both lost a lap. Now there are only 5 teams on our lap and two supper star teams ahead on laps. So tonight we are going to go throttle the race and see who is next to go. Ryan, my partner, feels like he is getting his legs under him, since we have been mostly on the road for the last two months it has taken some time to get the track speed back, but he feels it is there now. I am feeling good, ready to race for everything. We came here to make the final and tonight we will prove it.

Below are some pictures of the start of the first night of racing, just to give you a little idea of what it looks like every night. The crowds have been getting bigger every night, as last night was the first to be sold out.

Start of the first race


Just a little media coverage

The Pros racing a warm-up Points Race



Here is the most coverage in the US media: Cycling News Coverage

Enjoy!

A Story About the Two U-25 Teams at Ghent

Sorry I have been a bit out of touch on the race updates but we just found out yesterday that the hotel has internet, well one cord that ten teams get to share. But it is good so here comes some updates! Click on the title for the story.

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

The Cycling Center

Today is a special day for all because it is pouring out. It has rained every night that we have been here and the last to days it has rained during the day, so we will be on the rollers for a nice spin this morning just like yesterday. Later today we are going to the 6-day track to get some training in. I am very excited! The track is only open for the 6-day every year so we are expecting it to be very busy. I will write on the track tomorrow but just as a teaser, it is a 167m track with I think 49degree turns, but I will have to check on that.

We are finally on a Belgium sleep schedule, which is just in time to have to change to the 6-day sleep schedule. But that shouldn’t be too hard since it is just staying up later and sleeping in. The Cycling Center run by Bernard Moerman and Ann Dusauchoit has been a wonderful way to be introduced to Belgium and a nice place to start off my first trip to Europe. Before arriving here, two of my roommates gave me some insight to the center. They have both been here more than once to race in the summer. The Cycling Center is best known for bring Americans over to race in the Kermises, which are 2:30 to 3 hour races held almost everyday during the racing season. And because they only have an amateur class, instead of categories, each race has fields of 150 or more. Thus you can get very intense long races whenever they fit best into your training schedule allowing for athletes to push their limits as quickly as possible. Also, Bernard has close ties to US Postal and the National Team and has gathered the best doctors and support staff to keep all the guys at their best. As Bernard refers to his program, “this is where you come if you want to learn how to race your bike.” I believe he has had something like 15 guys in the last two years sign pro contracts! It is truly one of the fastest routes to the pro peloton for young American riders.

At full capacity he now has room for 24 riders, and during the season has enough staff and team vehicles to send a team of around 6 to three races at once. This is truly a first class operation and it shows in how much Bernard and Ann love what they do. As for the center itself here is a little tour:

The front of the center where Bernard and Ann plan on living after it gets renovated at the beginning of next year

The rear entrance (all the cars are for Belgium riders, signed to the team next year, that where out on a group ride that morning)

A side view, or as much as will fit in my camera at once. The new building in the center is the recent addition connecting the front house to the old back hotel. We are staying in the top.

The kitchen/sitting area of the upstairs apartments

An upstairs apartment, just Euro beds and storage behind the camera

The view from the upstairs window


The dinning/TV recreation room

The Bike room/ garage

The training sunroom

A view toward the city

The loaner bike, since I only had room for the track bikes and wheels. US Postal recently gave it to the Center.

That about covers it, there is another 18 beds in the back old hotel, another kitchen for all them, refrigerators and closets galore. There is also a massage room complete with infrared sauna and steam room. Pretty much all a rider could want to attain full recovery every day.

I guess it is about time to jump on those rollers before lunch and our time on the Ghent 6 track! It will be insane!

Day Two – Getting on Euro time and other reflections on the road

Today was a pretty eventful day overall. Woke up at 7am, and ate a wonderful breakfast made by Ann, Bernard’s wife, consisting of eggs & bacon, granola & yogurt. Then at 8:15 we were off to the Eddy Merckx Track in Ghent.

It is in a national sports facility with 2000m rowing lake among other venues. The track has been redone in the last two years making it indoors and doing overall improvements on it. It was very nice indeed.

We ended up riding during the kids program so we were staying above the blue line, riding different pace-lines for about an hour. It felt amazing to be on an indoor track again, after freezing our butts of in the springs the last couple of weeks and having some stressful midterms at the beginning of this week.


Riding the track is very meditating especially when you are tapering for a big event, just spinning the legs and riding in circles. Just a side note, one training session a couple of weeks ago in the springs was in the low 40’s with a bit of ice high in turn two. Another, last week was in the mid 30’s, which meant that by the time we were done with warm-up we almost had frostbite in the fingers. Pure craziness but I guess this is part of the program when you are preparing for a winter 6-day season. This whole season has been nothing but new experiences, first year pro, first time to Europe, first time racing a full year with no end in sight. But all in all I am loving every second of it.

After getting back from the track we had a bite to eat and then headed out for another easy ride with a local, Peter. He took us all around…I would tell you where but I was lost the whole time. Then right when we got back it started to rain. Bernard always says you have to steal the weather here. And that has been the case the last two days; yesterday it got super windy right after we got back.

Just some R and R for the rest of the day. Riding again in the morning. I'll get some picks of the Cycling Center up tomorrow and give you all the inside details. Can't wait to get on the 6-day track on Monday and get some throws in. The tension is building everyday. It is going to be awesome.

What a ride!

Wow this trip to Belgium is already off to a bang. Since I am a wonderful procrastinator I have slept 6 of the last 49 hours, for my normal sleep schedule this would be more like 18 of 48 or more. But since I had a paper due the same day I was flying over here, I decided to pull an all-nighter before catching my flights. So getting that paper done at 7 am and catching a bus to DIA at 7:30, then flying to DC, and then on to Belgium arriving this morning at 8:30am, this has been quite a ride. Luckily all the travels went well. Then after we got here, Bernard from the Cycling Center, where we are staying for the first four days before we go to the race hotel, picked us up from the airport. Then the rest of the day was filled with eating and riding a bit. In summary I have been doing things for the last 49 hours with a two long naps on the planes. I guess this is kind of what it would be like for med students fulfilling their residency. But I have to say; I have not actually felt tired until I sat down a moment ago to watch TV that was it. So thus I am writing this before we sit down to dinner, and then pass out for the best sleep ever! In the morning we are going to train at Blaarmeer, another indoor track in Ghent. Yeah, they have two! It should be good because most of the Six-day riders should start showing up for a little track time. Anyway, since writing sentences while being sleep deprived has turned out difficult, I will check in tomorrow with some words on the CC, maybe some photos of the area, and our first experience on a Belgian track.

A View As a Ghent Spectator

Here is a link to some photos of going to the Ghent 6-day as a spectator. They just make me really excited! I can't wait! Four days until I leave!

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