I put the countdown clock on my blog for everyone back home, and all the time it's been up there I never really looked at it. In my mind I know I race on this specific day at this specific time. Today was different, when I was looking over my blog, I glanced at the countdown clock, and at that moment it said 1 day 22hrs. Then it hit me - LESS THAN 2 DAYs! I know my race is on Sunday at 11:30 - but seeing it in that format caught me by surprise. I guess in my mind, things move a lot slower. WOW!
I'm with the rest of the Team now in Hoogerheide. Small town- HUGE VENUE! There is a lot of hype surrounding this event. It starts outside Hoogerheide in every little town and village with posters and banners (mostly of Lars Boom). Then when you get to the edge of Hoogerheide, the first thing you see is this art structure set up on the center of a Roundabout. 3-sided, pretty cool (pics below). The last pic with the dude who has his winning arms in the air was shirtless the day we drove in, but someone decided to put a "jersey" on him sometime last night. Hmmmm I wonder who it could be? Orange Jersey eh... any guesses? I wonder if Rabobank is written on it somewhere. Haha, I like it... some artistic flare from a Boom supporter.
Then the town is littered with World Champ banners, and team Jerseys, Rider Posters. All the shops get on board by painting cross images on their windows or setting up a bike and jersey or rider shrine display. Saturday (tomorrow morn) the town is blocked off to public transportation, so spectators will have to park and shuttle to the race. They have re-routed traffic around the town center to allow for the venue set up. Haha, the restaurant we ate at warned us that their salads would have no cucumbers, because the Truck with the Cucumbers couldn't get into the town to deliver them. Haha, perfect! There is nothing like starving out the Hoogerhiede residents for World Champs. Fortunately Cucumbers are a B-grade vegetable (kidding – in case one of you is a cucumber crazy fan). And there is still a stockpile of stroopwaffel.
It’s really hard to describe the Big'Ness of it all. There are tonnes of snackshacks getting ready for Saturday, and volunteers in safety vest everywhere. Cords, Media Stations, Video Cameras set up on towers for TV broadcast. They even have a huge "Artificial" building that was set up especially for the Sponsors and VIP's. The course runs right by the viewing windows - where inside the 'big wigs' will dine on fancy set tables with fancy food while the race goes on in front of them.
The course is completely blocked off to non-paying spectators, and tickets for the event run at 20-25 Euros pp. Pretty Much 40bucks Canadian. And the rumours are they are expecting 20000 spectators for the men’s race alone on Sunday. I mean I heard the beer gardens are good, but they can’t be that good! haha.
Even the past two days there have been a great number of spectators out to just watch the riders (pros) pre-ride the course. We would ride by masses of kids hanging over the barriers with pens and papers cheering and begging for autographs. That was a pretty cool feeling.
THE COURSE
I love it! Finally a course that fits into my fantasy euro-cross image. The missing part - it's not muddy! It’s frozen, and the weather is forecast to be rain-free and chilly for the weekend, with potential snow on Sunday (yay me). Once the day wears on, the sun melts a bit of the top layer, things soften up and a few corners get slick - but overall we are talking frozen-hardpack-FAST! A Hurting kinda Fast. I’m figuring the men will be pulling off 6min laps. There are some bumpy sections, but my theory is it will smooth out with the junior/espior races tomorrow.
So what’s slowing people down? Well not much. Because of the conditions the course handles fast for almost everyone. The catchers are; One gooder downhill with a good hook left and 2 one-80's right after, and some downhill lollipop turns (that’s what Wendy calls them - what a positive name for these crazy little corners.). Basically 180's down and back up - so it’s about taking them fast, and not getting stuck behind a crash. The elements are fun, and the tight repetitive cornering keeps you busy. There are no barriers, but there are 5 steps, a ramp (if you go down it fast you can get air off the next dirt mound, but then it flies into a downhill lollipop... so never-mind), and a steep aggressive up that would be a run-up if it was wet, but everyone can ride it (Fun- like riding straight up a wall). Seems pretty smooth, but to be fair I didn't really rail to hard on the pre-rides, no need to push the cough hard into the lungs.
Today the three girls (Me, Wendy and Natasha) pre-rode the course at 11:00am so we could get a feel or idea of what the course will be like for our 11:30am start on Sunday. It was great! There was still a layer of frost in the shaded areas, and the ground was extra frozen feeling. As the laps went on, the more it warmed up and by the end of the ride the course had softened noticeably. Some slick corners and slippery hardpack. It was a good idea to get out when we did, cause that kind of condition change in a race changes how your ride the course later in the race, and for the super picky riders it changes tire choice for bikes in the pit. We also practice bike changes, so if I turn into a "picky need different tires" racer I can go ahead and change bikes. Wendy is really good at it; it's not Natasha's first time either. It was actually my fist time at that speed. FAST. and I’m pretty sure I almost killed Paul(pit dude #2) every time when I dismount and bulldoze (unintentionally) my bike into his open hands and body - then I’m running so fast from the dismount, that when I grab my other bike from Norm(pit man #1) and attempt to mount it's a miracle I make it on the saddle. But - they were Fast-successful changes so I’m good with that. Note below - Paul, the FANTASTIC CANADIAN PIT DUDE # 2 !.. and Wendy Simms Canadian National Champ on the side detailing some solid tire feedback. Dan (team manager) is the dude in the red jacket
This will be a favourite memory
Today while we were pre-riding I was riding the course with Wendy and on one of the lollipop downhill corners she decided to run it (because it’s a potential area for high congestion/crashes so running it may be faster/better choice in some circumstances). For those of you that are picking up on this 'cyclocross stuff' I’m talking about, when you dismount your bike to run a section - it means dismounting into a run from a moving bike position - it's all about maintaining speed and momentum - minimal time loss and sometimes competitive advantage. Anywho - her first attempt was a miss and didn't look to graceful- but no problem, it hardly goes perfect on the first attempt. That’s why we pre-ride. The best part; this Old Dutch spectator had seen the attempt, and thought it best to provide feedback. He Yelled to Wendy (with a very serious facial expression) "Not Good... Again!" as he motioned for her to go back and do it again. He said it 3 or 4 times beckoning her to go back “Not Good...Again” haha. I got a real kick outta this guys side line expertise and Drill sergeant approach. Wendy tells me they aren't scared to be critical. Haha she translated his comment into "you suck... do it again." Poor little critical Dutchman should know that Wendy Simms knows what she's doing! Still, thanx for the advice - haha cute- just wanted to pack him up and take him home.
After the ride I met up with my family and we went to check the out ‘Fa Hopmans,’ the biggest bike shop in Western Europe! This baby had 4 floors! Photos don’t do it justice, but here is the wall of BBB parts.. Just BBB parts
And in this photo - all those boxes at the back. For those of you who care, that’s all campy stuff. All of it!
Not to mention the thousands of jerseys and team kits they had in there. Hundreds of cycling shoes, tonnes of white leg/arm warmers! QUICK! TELL DAVID L. And they actually had a chain catch for me, two- free! Five bike shops later...This means no more duct tape on my bike, so I like these guys.
weeeeeeeee! When can we race these?
If you haven’t yet, send some race vibes to our Espoir boys. They race tomorrow at 2:30, so while you’re dreaming at 6:30am your time...Dream lucks for these boys.
Andrew getting pin'd by Brian. haha. GO CANADA GO!
I'm with the rest of the Team now in Hoogerheide. Small town- HUGE VENUE! There is a lot of hype surrounding this event. It starts outside Hoogerheide in every little town and village with posters and banners (mostly of Lars Boom). Then when you get to the edge of Hoogerheide, the first thing you see is this art structure set up on the center of a Roundabout. 3-sided, pretty cool (pics below). The last pic with the dude who has his winning arms in the air was shirtless the day we drove in, but someone decided to put a "jersey" on him sometime last night. Hmmmm I wonder who it could be? Orange Jersey eh... any guesses? I wonder if Rabobank is written on it somewhere. Haha, I like it... some artistic flare from a Boom supporter.
Then the town is littered with World Champ banners, and team Jerseys, Rider Posters. All the shops get on board by painting cross images on their windows or setting up a bike and jersey or rider shrine display. Saturday (tomorrow morn) the town is blocked off to public transportation, so spectators will have to park and shuttle to the race. They have re-routed traffic around the town center to allow for the venue set up. Haha, the restaurant we ate at warned us that their salads would have no cucumbers, because the Truck with the Cucumbers couldn't get into the town to deliver them. Haha, perfect! There is nothing like starving out the Hoogerhiede residents for World Champs. Fortunately Cucumbers are a B-grade vegetable (kidding – in case one of you is a cucumber crazy fan). And there is still a stockpile of stroopwaffel.
It’s really hard to describe the Big'Ness of it all. There are tonnes of snackshacks getting ready for Saturday, and volunteers in safety vest everywhere. Cords, Media Stations, Video Cameras set up on towers for TV broadcast. They even have a huge "Artificial" building that was set up especially for the Sponsors and VIP's. The course runs right by the viewing windows - where inside the 'big wigs' will dine on fancy set tables with fancy food while the race goes on in front of them.
The course is completely blocked off to non-paying spectators, and tickets for the event run at 20-25 Euros pp. Pretty Much 40bucks Canadian. And the rumours are they are expecting 20000 spectators for the men’s race alone on Sunday. I mean I heard the beer gardens are good, but they can’t be that good! haha.
Even the past two days there have been a great number of spectators out to just watch the riders (pros) pre-ride the course. We would ride by masses of kids hanging over the barriers with pens and papers cheering and begging for autographs. That was a pretty cool feeling.
THE COURSE
I love it! Finally a course that fits into my fantasy euro-cross image. The missing part - it's not muddy! It’s frozen, and the weather is forecast to be rain-free and chilly for the weekend, with potential snow on Sunday (yay me). Once the day wears on, the sun melts a bit of the top layer, things soften up and a few corners get slick - but overall we are talking frozen-hardpack-FAST! A Hurting kinda Fast. I’m figuring the men will be pulling off 6min laps. There are some bumpy sections, but my theory is it will smooth out with the junior/espior races tomorrow.
So what’s slowing people down? Well not much. Because of the conditions the course handles fast for almost everyone. The catchers are; One gooder downhill with a good hook left and 2 one-80's right after, and some downhill lollipop turns (that’s what Wendy calls them - what a positive name for these crazy little corners.). Basically 180's down and back up - so it’s about taking them fast, and not getting stuck behind a crash. The elements are fun, and the tight repetitive cornering keeps you busy. There are no barriers, but there are 5 steps, a ramp (if you go down it fast you can get air off the next dirt mound, but then it flies into a downhill lollipop... so never-mind), and a steep aggressive up that would be a run-up if it was wet, but everyone can ride it (Fun- like riding straight up a wall). Seems pretty smooth, but to be fair I didn't really rail to hard on the pre-rides, no need to push the cough hard into the lungs.
Today the three girls (Me, Wendy and Natasha) pre-rode the course at 11:00am so we could get a feel or idea of what the course will be like for our 11:30am start on Sunday. It was great! There was still a layer of frost in the shaded areas, and the ground was extra frozen feeling. As the laps went on, the more it warmed up and by the end of the ride the course had softened noticeably. Some slick corners and slippery hardpack. It was a good idea to get out when we did, cause that kind of condition change in a race changes how your ride the course later in the race, and for the super picky riders it changes tire choice for bikes in the pit. We also practice bike changes, so if I turn into a "picky need different tires" racer I can go ahead and change bikes. Wendy is really good at it; it's not Natasha's first time either. It was actually my fist time at that speed. FAST. and I’m pretty sure I almost killed Paul(pit dude #2) every time when I dismount and bulldoze (unintentionally) my bike into his open hands and body - then I’m running so fast from the dismount, that when I grab my other bike from Norm(pit man #1) and attempt to mount it's a miracle I make it on the saddle. But - they were Fast-successful changes so I’m good with that. Note below - Paul, the FANTASTIC CANADIAN PIT DUDE # 2 !.. and Wendy Simms Canadian National Champ on the side detailing some solid tire feedback. Dan (team manager) is the dude in the red jacket
This will be a favourite memory
Today while we were pre-riding I was riding the course with Wendy and on one of the lollipop downhill corners she decided to run it (because it’s a potential area for high congestion/crashes so running it may be faster/better choice in some circumstances). For those of you that are picking up on this 'cyclocross stuff' I’m talking about, when you dismount your bike to run a section - it means dismounting into a run from a moving bike position - it's all about maintaining speed and momentum - minimal time loss and sometimes competitive advantage. Anywho - her first attempt was a miss and didn't look to graceful- but no problem, it hardly goes perfect on the first attempt. That’s why we pre-ride. The best part; this Old Dutch spectator had seen the attempt, and thought it best to provide feedback. He Yelled to Wendy (with a very serious facial expression) "Not Good... Again!" as he motioned for her to go back and do it again. He said it 3 or 4 times beckoning her to go back “Not Good...Again” haha. I got a real kick outta this guys side line expertise and Drill sergeant approach. Wendy tells me they aren't scared to be critical. Haha she translated his comment into "you suck... do it again." Poor little critical Dutchman should know that Wendy Simms knows what she's doing! Still, thanx for the advice - haha cute- just wanted to pack him up and take him home.
After the ride I met up with my family and we went to check the out ‘Fa Hopmans,’ the biggest bike shop in Western Europe! This baby had 4 floors! Photos don’t do it justice, but here is the wall of BBB parts.. Just BBB parts
And in this photo - all those boxes at the back. For those of you who care, that’s all campy stuff. All of it!
Not to mention the thousands of jerseys and team kits they had in there. Hundreds of cycling shoes, tonnes of white leg/arm warmers! QUICK! TELL DAVID L. And they actually had a chain catch for me, two- free! Five bike shops later...This means no more duct tape on my bike, so I like these guys.
weeeeeeeee! When can we race these?
If you haven’t yet, send some race vibes to our Espoir boys. They race tomorrow at 2:30, so while you’re dreaming at 6:30am your time...Dream lucks for these boys.
Andrew getting pin'd by Brian. haha. GO CANADA GO!
BEST, best of luck!!! Glad to hear the course is looking good. Your enthusiasm is contagious!
ReplyDeleteGot the notice that the race will be up on cycling.tv. I hope they have good coverage of the women's race! [http://www.cycling.tv/ViewArticle.dbml?&DB_OEM_ID=20300&ATCLID=1600408]
Christina
Good luck Pepper we at home are thinking of you and wishing you a great day.
ReplyDeleteLori