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April 17th, 2005. Posted 15:21
Friday evening we arrive at my cousin Karin’s place in the south of the country. We figured it’s good save ourselves getting up really early to have a 3 hour drive down south and want to get a good nights sleep before the race.
We slept terrible.
After a great struggle to get through my breakfast of 2 banana’s, cruesly, yogurt and about 6 of Bastiaans magic “vitamin” pills, we head for the start. We arrived and with our number we got our T-Mobile team shirt and pants, as well as a chip for the bike to record our race-time. Then while having an orange juice and piece of pie we listened to a short talk from some T-Mobile representative and some very disappointing tips from Dutch cycling legend Steven Rooks, like: “remember to eat and drink” and “don’t drink from your water bottle in a fast descent”…
Finally we got onto our bikes and that was the start of the following heroic 125 kilometer:
| 0 km |
Morale is very low… There is quite a lot of rain and in the 15 minute cycle to the start we already got soaking wet… We seem to be some of the very few people that don’t wear a raincoat. Unfortunately this is because of one simple and sad reason… we don’t have one… |
| 3 km |
First climb of the day, Geulhemmerberg. The climb goes rather well. Good gear, good rhythm and even more important, the legs feel good. |
| 6 km |
Brrrrr… After a long descent we are truely freezing! First signs of cramp show up in arms and fingers. Bastiaan wishes me good luck and wants to leave the race. I can convince him to try it 15 or 20km more… we won’t get wetter or colder then we are already. |
| 10 km |
I was wrong… it did get colder, and can hardly move my arms and fingers at this point… When even my cycling glasses fog up and I loose most of my vision, I can’t see anything, get scared and are ready to give up. Bastiaan feels a bit better now and that makes me continue wearing my normal glasses. Things look a lot clearer now. |
| 20 km |
Second hill. Maasberg. A 210 meter climb on little cobblestones. Bastiaan has good legs and powers to the top! Passing annoying cars on the left and leaving many tour riders in his dust. I follow, but am not able to pass the car. When I try to pass the car through the gutter on the side of the road, I fail, and when trying to get back on the cobblestones almost crash. |
| 24 km |
A long stretch along the river Maas. Wind in the face, and no group to match our pace. We ride together, full in the wind and rain and my whole body is still freezing, I lost all feeling in my feet and the feeling of cramp in arms, hands and shoulders is becoming “normal”. |
| 26 km |
We take a left at a roundabout. Bastiaan oversees the situation and takes the roundabout against the traffic without any danger. A man from the tour organization doesn’t agree. First he yells something not understandable at Bastiaan from his car, then comes after us to tell Bastiaan he has to respect the traffic rules… |
| 33 km |
Turning point in the race for me. The next 30km or so are with the wind in the back. Quite a difference; it’s still raining, but it’s less cold with the wind in the back. For the first time I feel I can finish the race. Bastiaan doesn’t agree just yet. |
| 40 km |
Annoyance. Still riding in the rain (for almost 2 hours at this point) it becomes annoying when we constantly have to stop at stoplights… the last race we did (Ride of the Roses, red.) the whole course was cleared and we expected the same this time… we were wrong… and were forced to take normal cycling paths. A disappointment as cold and rain are bareable when moving, but are though when standing still. |
| 49 km |
Huh? My legs must be good at this distance, because I remember nothing of the 3rd climb of the day, the Adsteeg. |
| 56 km |
What is this? After a long descent there is a sudden sharp left and all of a sudden the 4th climb appears. The Lange Raarberg. A climb much longer then expect and Bastiaan shows first signs of what we would later call his “jour sans” (a classic French cycling term for a bad day). I push him to continue at least to the catering point which was only 10km away now. As a little gift from heaven, the rain has finally stopped! |
| 70 km |
The catering point. Time to stretch the legs and get some refreshments. My morale is good, Bastiaans very low. We continue quickly as we are still wet and getting cold again. A fellow T-Mobile rider tries to hook up with us. He thinks that because we wear the same shirt we are interested in riding together, he is wrong. We prefer our own pace and choose to ignore him as much as possible, he sits in our wheel stubbornly for about 5km and then we finally loose him. |
| 78 km |
The pace drops. The difference in training kilometers is starting to show. Bastiaan has some bad moments but still hangs in there. |
| 88 km |
Familiar ground. We come across the roads we cycled on last week as a training. |
| 98 km |
Bergseweg. It seems like Bastiaans darkest moments in the race. On the 2km climb he chooses the wheel of a fellow rider but when the pace drops to 8km/h, he has to leave his wheel and struggles the long way to the top. On the top Bastiaans mind is almost made up, he wants to quit. After a short break I can only just convince him to continue. I boldly lie about the number of kilometers and time left to cycle, which I have been doing for the last 30 kilometers at that time, but he seems to buy it… |
| 104 km |
Fromberg. Again a quick descent, a sharp right and we are climbing. Bastiaan chooses for the first time today a much smaller gear on the climb and seems to cycle to the top very casual and in a great pace! An amazing difference from his climb up the Bergseweg. I feel very strong. I seemed to have saved up a lot of energy since the pace dropped and are even able to move around in the group we are cycling up with. Move forward to let people pass, move back to assist Bastiaan again. My thoughts go back to the Tour de France of ‘96. When Bjarne Riis won the tour on a climb in the Alps. He moved back and forth in the leading group, just to see how people looked and what gear they were riding. After the check he takes off to win the stage and the tour. He must have felt somewhat like me! :-) |
| 106 km |
The Keutenberg. Finally. Feared and respected. But last weeks test-training pays off! I know exactly what gear to choose, actually choose one that is 2 gears bigger then last time, dance on the peddles the first bit and are able to climb easily to the top, passing numerous people on foot and bike and even being able to casually look around. Bastiaans shows great spirit when cycling all the way to the top of the hill. A immensely great achievement during his “jour sans”, as way more then half of the people has to walk up this hill! |
| 117 km |
The Cauberg. The last climb of the day. Bastiaan, who started the race as our team-leader, gives me the opportunity to ride for own success. A great gesture. I still feel good, throw away my T-Mobile bidon (water bottle) in the amazed crowed that sits on a terrace at the bottom of the climb. The path to the top is very narrow and filled with riders. I settle in a good pace, pass everyone on the left side, can only just avoid being pushed into the fences by struggling cyclists twice, but manage get through and get to the top. Bastiaans heroic struggle of the last 60 kilometers ends just 200 meters from the finish line. His light goes out slowly and afraid of cramp he smartly decides to walk the last meters. Seeing him suffer throughout the race this is a huge achievement by a true champion! :-) |
| 118 km |
Finish. Just a 100 meters from the finish I see my cousins Karin and Leo, who came to cheer us on! Very sweet. After a chat about our horrible day on the bike and the relief of having reached the finish line, we go on to collect our medals and a well deserved shower.
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The real impact of the race to Bastiaans physical state shows almost directly after the shower when he almost fails to put on his left sock because he can’t bend his left knee anymore… besides that, we both experienced general pain in numerous body parts, especially in the shoulder area… only Bastiaan seemed to suffer a bit more then me, as he had all day. The drive back home goes quickly and when getting home the first thing to do was unfortunately not lying down on the couch… the bikes are totally wet and dirty and to prevent them from rusting away, they need a quick cleaning. A small hour of cleaning later I could finally collapse on the couch. A great feeling after a long, wet, cold, and heroic day! :-)
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on Sunday, April 17th, 2005 at 15:21 and is filed under Cycling.
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