Last Weeks Antics and Racing

Gidday Fellas.

Been a pretty hectic couple weeks as of late. 

Love watching the Giro d’Italia on TV at the moment, the most beautiful Grand Tour according a token Italian at the brew shop the other day! I tend to agree at this stage with so many flamboyant I-ti’s ripping around their home country It makes for a very unpredictable race which is always exciting for a spectator!  Should be a Grand Tour, great pun.

Anyway back to number one ha.

UCI 1.2 - Hoboken

This was a race just out of Antwerp that was never really suited to me as it was basically dead flat with one small rise that barely classified as that.  The race consisted of 4 large laps and a further 6 smaller local laps.  It had a very technical course with traffic furnature popping out and almost collecting you everytime you try to have a look on the inside of the rider infront.  Its in my nature to start lighting fireworks and letting them fly early on in the race but with the course so flat and fast I knew it was best to wait and conserve the fire crackers for later in the race.  When the early break was caught, I could no longer contain myself and the curry build up in my legs had become too much (some riders have a lactate build-up, but not me) I threw down the spices and gapped the field up the small incline.  A further 7 riders saw this opportunity as the winning move and came up to me.  We spent close to 40km off the front driving to get away from a roaring pelo, to where unfortunately one team had missed the break and rode us down.  I think if one member from that team had made the split we would have stayed away!  That’s bike racing I suppose!

UCI Top-Comp 1.2 – Circuit de Wallonie

The following weekend was a Lotto Top-Comp in Fleurus that was almost ideal for me, 3 large laps of 50km each and 2 smaller laps of around 10km.  The parcour included a couple sections of pavé and a short berg that at times was touching 26% I am told! Had Vessey written all over it.  It was looking fairly promising the second time over that where the pelo split into maybe 40 which I made with ease. I punctured 10k away from the bottom of the hill which wasn’t an issue but the spare wheel didn’t line up at all well with my gearing and was crunching and chopping gears left right and centre when I would try to put any cumin down, so I was very worried when we were approaching the hill which I knew would be the defining split in the bunch.  Still, I put myself at the front as we rode into the hill to get over with the front, unlucky for me my gears played up and a had to ride the first half of the hill seated until the chain finally gave in and snapped halfway up the hill.  Team car was #17. Race over. Back to the car for a sulk haha.

Looking forward, Triptyque Ardennais this weekend, 3 days where I hope to show some form.

Until then, stay out of trouble.

Vess

Spices, spices everywhere.

Out for dinner with Big Tom's Mum

Want

Cracker day on the canals.

Probably doesn't need a caption

So kiwi

Bad Luck and Big Races

Gidday.

Been a bit slack as of late for an update, so put the kids to bed, grab a cuppa and settle in for a rom-com novel.

The first big race for me was a wee while ago, GP de Nogent just out of Paris – strictly business so didn’t get to go into the Love capital of the world and get my tourist on!  The race itself was UCI 1.2 along a confusing but nice course..  Still getting a feel for the Elite racing I was itching to get into this one, but a lack of concentration and bad positioning piped me out the chuff in the crosswind section.  On that moment the heavens let rip with an attack of hail, thunder, lightning and horizontal rain, an experience like no other I had experienced before! It was crazy.

Wanzle Pro Kermesse start

Next one on the list for me was G.P. Pino Cerami, a UCI 1.1 and my first crack at a professional race! Pretty cool feeling lining up with the Spanish Champ and Pro squads like Movistar, Lotto Belisol, Vacansoleil, Euskatel – Euskadi, and a few others!  The race for me was riddled with bad luck, had a puncture 90km in followed by a slog to get back onto the bunch. A broken spoke 30km to go stitched the 208km race up for me, but a great experience all the same!

More of the same in the amateur kermesse around my home town. Puncture coming up a longish climb zapped a fair bit of energy getting back up to the bunch due to the Belgie cars trying to motor-pace me at a million kph up the climb.

Wanzle Pro Kermesse

Anyway, hopefully I have put all the punctures and mechanicals behind me because the Spring dream is coming up this Saturday, U23 Liege-Bastogne-Liege, one of the biggest ones on the calendar, keen to give that one a fair bit of jandal!

Cycling aside, had a brilliant night out in Antwerp to let the hair down at a 6000 strong concert, had a swell time and thoroughly enjoyed it!  I have no idea why but Belgium attracts wicked acts to play at their concerts and festivals! Loads of quality acts.

Also went up the mountain near where I live for a bit of skiing when the snow bucketed down, good fun getting back on the snow. Makes me want to come home for the winter and ski!

Beauty day up on the slopes

Stunner

Getting some Biathlon Practice in

We had the Team preso the other week and it was a good chance to catchup with the team for a yarn and a feed. Unfortunately for me it was all in French so it was difficult for me to speak a bit about myself!

Kiwis

The whole team

Righto, that’s about it I think, let you know how LBL goes and anything else that pops up!

Catchup soon


Vess

Ride down to Lux

Getting around Europe

Training in Belg pretty much goes like this…

One particular day, out training with Gaeton and Julien it started snowing the heaviest I had ever experienced, it felt like a white-out had just rolled in on the ski field, unreal.  The weak Belgies then decided that it was unrideable and took cover outside this ladies house, who soon realised that there were three dodgy looking fellas lurking around her house and invited us in for coffee.  Naturally I had three.

After a few days of frostbitten hands and feet I was itching to go somewhere where training was bearable. 

Meeting the team for the first time was nice, they all seem like good buggers, most of which speak Englais and we get on well.  15 hours later, on a bus with more leg room than the cattle class on Etihad Airways, we rolled up in Barcelona.

Talking to little Hamo, he recommended going to Tossa de Mar for a reco day while in Spain.  After we rode through there, the road around the sea was the best riding I had ever done, mountains that go on for 25+km, ashphalt roads and no enraged kiwi drivers! Reeeeal nice.

Been knocking out big k’s making the most of the weather, spending 6.5hrs out of the bike, I could think of worse ways to spend my time in Espagne!

The hotel offers 3 meal buffet service with; all pastries possible, racks of lamb and rabbit, legs of quail, salmon and many more delicacies! May have been over indulging a bit, I’d hate the see what the scales say at the moment!

Spain was grouse. Enough said.

Back to reality, however the weather seems to be improving with the snow pretty much all gone and took the opportunity to visit Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, which is the Belgian Formula One race track which was a nice cruisey day – Getting to know my way around the place now!

First race on Saturday, let you all know how that goes!

Beauty.

Ciao.

 Out training along the coast with the team

 Random truck on our way to spain, everyone knows the All Blacks!

 Beautiful golden beaches

 This is what a 25km summit looks like!

 Marvellous sunsets

 Tossa de Mar bay

Getting a bit low on gas

Europe 2013 with PCW

Well as you may have seen I am currently in Europe gearing up for an exciting year racing in Belg! Its been a great time over summer with the lads, having one too many beers and not really enough training,  the usual story, but time to get serious now i suppose.

NZ Summer racing was really just Tour de Vineyards and Elite nationals, neither went all that well, although they were a good reality check of where I needed to be to compete with the big boys!  I did have a good stage up Takaka hill, stomping it out with the NZ pro's which was a confidence booster.

A wee background so you know what going on.  After a mint worlds campaign, I was picked up by a Conti team, based in Belgium called T.Palm PCW.  This will be a big step up, but keen to accept the challenge!

First arriving in Belgium off the plane, the only one rocking shorts and tee, I figured it might be a tad colder than first thought. I had a little trouble adjusting to the winter, having to wear my hoodie and puffa jacket inside to stay warm! Now settled it to my new home in Louveigne, I am am keen to get some K's under the belt before heading off to Barcelona, Spain for a team training camp, which will be a welcome relief from the snow.

I will give more updates as they come

Cheers,
Tom

(Not bad for a first crack at the blog stuff)

 The old squatting shitter in Abu Dhabi

 Yeah I'll have the chicken thanks

Snow Snow Snow