Saturday, July 8. Pittem Interclub

This was my second year in a row racing in our local interclub, and the second year in a row that I came away with a bitter taste in my mouth. Starting in Pittem, three miles north of Meulebeke, we raced south into the hills and made a 70-mile loop before five finishing circuits in Pittem for a total of 99 miles.

We had a tailwind all the way into the Flemish Ardennes, and for 20 miles we flew along well over 30 mph. Through Ooigem, a group of about 20 split off the front with Dimitri making the cut. A second breakaway of five went on the Tiegemberg and dangled 30 seconds off the front of the peloton. The five miles between the Tiegemberg and the Old Kwaremont, one of the ancient fixtures in the Tour of Flanders, is on a giant highway before turning a right hander onto a one lane road. If you’re not among the first 30 going into the turn, your race will be over as soon as the road turns to cobbles. Out of Tiegem, 140 racers packed across the road, raced at 35 mph to be among the first into the turn. I spent the whole time on the bike path on the left side of the road, only hopping back to the right to avoid crashing into parked cars. A rider from KSV Deerlijk wasn’t quite so lucky and slammed into a car opening up a large gap in the middle of the peloton.

As soon as the lead motos turned 300 meters ahead of us, the pack began a full on sprint, charging towards the turn as if it were the finish. I followed a Lombarden rider around the left and straight through the outside of the turn, over the gutter that dips a few inches into the ground, and up onto the sidewalk. I made it with the first thirty and the field immediately bunched up making it nearly impossible to pass. Over the next mile, with a little pushing and pulling, I got into the top 20 just as the pavement gave way to cobbles and the group split. After a mile and a half of climbing, we turned back onto the pavement. The four lane highway at the top seems to go straight forever and rolls up and down with a couple of 100 foot climbs. Last year I came off the Kwaremont close to 70 back, and it was an incredible sight watching half a dozen groups in perfect echelons fighting the crosswinds. Last year, after fighting my way back into the top 50, I had two flat tires and fell out of contention. The first time was just after the Patersberg and the second was a few miles later on Varentstraat, one of the worst cobbled roads in the area.

Over the Schapenberg, it hardly felt like I was pedaling as we crested the 25% slope. Racing back towards Kluisbergen, I had the extra confidence that comes when the legs feel strong. After catching the break that escaped on the Tiegemberg, our group grew close to 25. We were closing in on the front group, and the catch seemed inevitable. The Patersberg split us up a bit, but we were back together as we headed towards the kasseien on Varentstraat and the final climb out of Nokre.

Everything fell apart on Varentstraat. A quarter of a mile after turning onto the cobbles, my front tire went flat. Luc was the first car in line and I got a fast wheel change. A hundred meters later, Dimitri flatted out of the front group. Luc was stopped for him as I flew past. A few hundred meters after that, I hit a crater in the road and broke my rear wheel. Luc had just gotten going after getting Dimitri back on the road, and I wasn’t even able to get my wheel off before he stopped and the mechanic jumped out with a new wheel. Luc motorpaced Dimitri and me as far as possible, but the Commessair was in a bad mood and made Luc drop us off before catching the group. We chased for half an hour to no avail before eventually being caught by the next group. For the second year in a row my race was spoiled by bad luck. Four flats and a broken Kysrium within the same 5 mile stretch in two years...jammer.

Todd