Update, Results Link, Photos Link :)

Hi all, Mitch here. Things are going really well here. Per Ryan’s post we all had some success at that criterium in Staden (the next town over, which is a bit bigger than ours) as six of us tested our metal against a really fast field of competitors. It was kind of funny to be racing our bikes after a long day of walking around Bruge, as being on your feet all day is definitely not the recommended race prep, but with such an exciting racing scene it seemed that we weren’t too worried about any soreness in our legs and were just content to be a part of the action. I was really happy to be out racing and it turned out to favor my results. The course was a 1.4k loop in town that blistered through the town square where a carnival and party scene was set up for the town’s people. The race played out the same way as before—hard out Belgian racing diminishing the field size rapidly. Early in the race I went out on the attack with a rider from Team Quickstep’s developmental team and the Elite Belgian National Champion. As one would expect—these guys were rippin’ fast. Damn! It was a good breakaway. The three of us worked well together all grabbing two primes a piece before being caught again by the group. It took a while to recover from that, but about half way through the race I found myself out on the attack again. Unfortunately when things settled again I didn’t have any teammates with me, but I was lucky to have found my way into a lead group of 10 riders which proved to be the winning selection. This group worked well getting though a good chunk of the remaining laps before the attacks started again. I really began to feel my legs hurting at this point and as such missed the next winning move. I stayed in the second group on the road and finished the race in 9th place. I was extremely pleased with the results. I ended up getting a lot of nods of approval and smiles from the other lead racers and the town’s people after the race. Also, my efforts earned me $45 Euros for Trips for Kids. Sweet!!!

Yesterday we took pretty easy—a short ride and a trip to a huge Cycling Museum in Rosslare which is our nearest big city (about 12 km away). It’s so amazing being in a place that appreciates our sport so much. At home, there’s nothing even close—no offense to any of your support. ☺ We also celebrated our teammate Gavin’s 21st birthday—and my friend Judd’s arrival. We had a backyard barbeque and enjoyed a few Belgian ales (so tasty) and some great French wine for a quarter of the cost you’d pay at home.

Today we all woke up a bit late, but by 1:30 we were headed out to a Kermis in a town about 12 km to the west (I can’t remember its name). We showed up to find the same amazing race scene. Weird, but my result from Tuesday meant that I was among the horses pooled in the circle of betting going on among the town’s people. I had never even been to this town before? I found that the odds were twelve to one against me. I’m leaning more about this as we go, but it seems the whole region is really dedicated about following the racing—the gents especially pay close attention to us racers with hopes to win some extra beer money while picking a winner. We foreigners are especially interesting as the ones who figure us out first can apparently make a killing. The 110km race started at 3:30pm. This one was extremely hard as there was tons of heavy wind exposure on all but one leg of the 6km loop. There were also a few sections of cobblestones in some of the tight corners in town. Wow!

The race played out as usual, attacking, attacking, attacking and eventually a selection left the field shattered with a smaller group charging hard off the front. Ryan and I were the only two from our team to make this selection. ☺ It seems Ryan’s cold has lost its grip. ☺ We rode really strong together and contributed a great amount to our groups eventual success. This is important, as we want to make friends with as many of our competitors as possible. The less Flemish you hear being yelled in your direction the better! These guys are also known to chop your front wheel (a method used to crash you out) if they get frustrated enough. Fortunately we’re doing well enough adjusting to this racing style that none of this was a problem today. We’re actually getting a helping hand (a push from behind) from time to time. Today was a really god race. Despite being really hard I rolled in with the second group on the road for 11th. Ryan rolled in a smaller group a little ways behind mine for 13th. We were both up to as good as nine to one odds in the betting at times and both received some prize money. Another $25 Euros for Trips for Kids!!! They made me take a picture with one of local hot shots when I received my winnings. Also weird! When all was said and done—another really good day!

Tomorrow is another Kermis in the afternoon. After the race we’ll be rushing home so we can go be spectators at professional rally race (Subaru and other all-wheel drive race cars) which will be taking place on some of these crazy roads back towards the French border about 30km away. The cars will race over the Kemmelburg. This is the extremely rough up, then down hill section of cobble stone road that we went out to ride the other day (from the famous pro cycling race Ghent Wevelgum). The hill has a section with a 23 percent grade and it’s absolutely crazy. Saturday we’re off to Brussels for an off the bike tourist day. Sunday a criterium. What a life! We’ll keep you posted.

Now some good links for you all...

The link for results posted here in Belgium...


http://www.wielerbondwestvlaanderen.be/

And a couple links for Photos loaded onto teammate Elliot's facebook...

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2070348&l=54e1d&id=1111072

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2070346&l=43ec7&id=1111072