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Stage 4 Tour Med
13-02-2010
Not often in my career have I done such a confusing race. I hope
someone can explain me soon what exactly was the problem
today.
The start was normal and there were lots of attacks again and the
team worked well together to get someone in the breakaway and we
managed to get Dominique Cornu in a 3 man escape group. Job well
done for us.
We rode easy for a while until a good pace got set on the front of
the bunch by the team of the leader on GC, FdJ. The break got a
nice lead and it all looked good for us. Suddenly we heard on the
radio the race was going to get neutralized after 125km, I'm not
sure why and no one seemed to be able to tell me but the plan was
to neutralize the race for 20km and then start the race again for
the last 15km.
There was a bit of snow on the road from kilometer 90 onwards and
it was actually quite dangerous at some points but we got stopped
in the middle of nowhere with the break still 50 sec ahead of the
bunch. We stood still for about 15min in the freezin cold weather
with snow all around us and no one seemed to know what to do. We
ended up riding with the whole peloton in one group to the finish
line where we heard Dominque got put 3rd on the day result, while
there wasn't even a sprint for the first 3 riders to decide who was
going to win the stage. They just got placed 1st 2nd and 3rd
randomly...
Why we had to stop and ride to the finish neutralized is a complete
mystery to me, the snow had already been on the road since it fell
2 days ago... Not something to suddenly cancel the race for in my
opinion, its either too dangerous to race or it's not but that
could have been decided yesterday or this morning I think.
Hopefully I'll find out soon what the exact problem was, I'm very
interested now!
Stage 2 & 3 Tour Med 12-02-2010
After missing the first group in the 1st stage of Le
Tour Med, but having good legs, I really wanted to get a good
result for the 2nd stage. It was very cold, afterwards
it turned out it was the whole day between 3 and 4 degrees BELOW
zero and about half the stage it had been snowing slightly, add a
freezing cold and very hard wind and you could say it was a cold
day... Everyone was dressed like we were going on an expedition to
the North Pole.
Early on in the stage I tried to attack several times but a
small group of 3 riders managed to get away and I wasn't in that
group. Not a big problem because there was strict control by the
team of the leader in the race FdJ. A few times we had some
crosswind which made the group break and there were also some
climbs that thinned the bunch to about 80 riders in the last 10 km.
The last rider of the breakaway only got caught with 700m to go. It
was going to be a bunch sprint and it was a great sprint for me,
most of the sprinters were dropped or were very tired after a
tough, hilly and windy stage including a lumpy finale. These are my
chances in a bunch sprint, when everyone is tired and I placed
myself perfectly for the last 500m. But we turned left on an
intersection where we were meant to turn right. The car that is
meant to cross the finish line in front of the first rider turned
left as well we just followed it as we always do and there was no
one from the organization blocking the road and the first 15 riders
(including me) went the wrong direction. I was so angry as I
finally had a good chance in the bunch sprint and I was placed
perfectly, we ended up crossing the finish line in the wrong
direction... That was it, my chance on a possible podium finish
gone...
I wanted revenge in the 3rd stage. A stage with a hilly
start but the last 30km where mainly downhill towards the coastline
where we finished in a coastal town. Luckily it wasn't as cold
anymore although I couldn't call it warm either, there was still
some snow on the roads here and there but most of it was melting
with just above zero temperatures. After the start we went
incredibly quick and I was in the first 30 riders but when Valverde
and Vinokourov attack on a hill there was no one else able to
follow. Of course this meant that there was nearly panic in the
bunch and straight away 2 teams started swapping off in the front
to not lose the GC today. It was clear that there were 2 very good
riders in the front as it took a long time of chasing really hard
to bring the 2 riders back, it took nearly 80km. They got caught
just before the long descent to the coast started and the race
started again with lots of attacks. I tried to attack several times
but when FdJ starting working on the front again they set such a
high tempo that no one was able to break away anymore and we were
going to have another bunch sprint. I was feeling pretty good but
it wasn't my kind of sprint. Because of the long descent the
sprinters were sufficiently recovered to do the sprint again and
there were also lots of crazy corners, roundabouts, traffic islands
and speed bumps in the last 5km. I was fighting to stay in the
front but lost my good position when I got boxed in with 500m to
go. I managed to hit out from about 20th spot with 200m
to go and got till 12th position when I crossed the
finish line. I was feeling strong and passed a lot of guys in the
sprint but it wasn't easy staying in the right spot and not having
to get out into the wind too early.
Tomorrow another stage, my legs are still good...
Mediterraneen stage 1 10-02-2010
Todays stage 1 in the tour de Mediterraneen was already going to
be a very interesting one as the race distance of only 95 km would
definitely make controlling the race very difficult. As it turned
out it was very very cold today with icy gale force winds. Just
before the start of the race an occasional snowflake came floating
by but by the time we started it was nice and sunny although it
felt like it was about 10 degrees below zero because of the chilly
wind. We were also going to have a massive tailwind for most of the
stage although an occasional corner would mean big
crosswinds...
It was very nervous at the start of the race because this wind
would surely mean echelons and I was all the way in the front when
Caisse d'Epargne started smashing it in the crosswinds with nearly
the whole team. Some stupid rider in front of me made an impossible
maneuver and nearly made me crash and by the time I was back on
speed I lost 30 spots. Just the 30 spots that made me miss the
first echelon. About 20 guys went off in the first group and I got
stuck behind with at first a bunch of about 80 riders that slowly
got reduced till about 60 riders. Bummer, as I was feeling quite
good but at least we had Floris Goesinnen up there.
Tomorrow I expect another cold and windy stage but now I've lost
some time on GC it means I might have a chance in a breakaway and I
went to this race with a stage win in mind anyway. Hopefully a
chance for me tomorrow!
Stage 4 Besseges
06-02-2010
Today I made a big mistake. We had the hardest stage of Besseges
today, 2 climbs of 1st categorie and 3 other uncategorised climbs.
Especially the first cat 1 climb was hard and long and the rest of
the day we just didn't have one meter flat.
In the start a break of 12 riders went up the road with Thierry
Hupond from Skil-Shimano. So far a good situation. The team of the
leader, Vacansoleil started chasing hard and on the long cat 1
climb there were some attacks. I felt really good and decided to
attack as well. That's the mistake I made. I went all out for about
1km and then I blew myself up. I could hardly push the pedals
anymore and got into a group behind the bunch. Race finished.
Maybe I was just overconfident, maybe I'm not as good as I was
hoping to be. I don't know. I hope this isn't going to happen to me
too often.
Koen
Stage 2 & 3 Besseges
05-02-2010
In the morning before stage 2 it was really overcast and dark
and we all feared it was going to be a very rainy stage but it
turned out to be not too bad at all. We had a few drops of rain
during the stage but not more than that, lucky!
The stage itself started very hard with an undulating course and
lots of attacks. We kept attacking for a fairly long time and I
went with quite a few breaks but we never got any space. In the end
just 2 riders broke away and in the peloton there was a steady
pace. We had to do 6 laps of a local finish circuit which was quite
hard with a climb of about 2km in it. Again there were a few attack
but it turned out to be a mass sprint anyway. Roy Curvers and I
were going to lead Tom Veelers out for the sprint but we lost each
other on a tricky roundabout going into the last
km. We had to find each other again but that took too long and all
that was left was a 10th place for Tom. I still got 16th and Roy
18th, proving we were all right up there. Again we learned
something.
Before stage 3 it was raining really hard and it was getting quite
obvious we were going to start in the rain. It rained pretty hard
for the first 80km of the race but fortunately the weather changed
and we got a nice sun and pretty good temperatures for February.
Too bad we were all wet and dirty already and the roads stayed wet
until the finish.
We had the same sort of start as yesterday, lots of attacks. Today
a few times big groups went up the road though and we had to all
dig deep to be with every big group. I was in a few of them but we
never got much of a gap. After about 40km a group of 9 went up the
road with Tom Veelers from our team. Vacansoleil had no one in the
break and they chased it down. When the group was brought back
after nearly 60km a small group of 4 riders went up the road and
again the teams of the sprinters set a decent tempo. We had to do 4
laps of a local finish circuit this time and it wasn't as hard as
yesterday although the last 800m went uphill, a nice sprint for
Veelers.
The break got brought back and going into the last lap Skil-Shimano
took the initiative and we rode on the front. With about 500m to go
my work was done and Curvers took over with Veelers on his wheel.
The lead out was pretty good and Veelers got away with a 3rd!
We're pretty happy as we all contributed to this 3rd position and
we now know it is a possibility for other races to start a lead out
from a few kilometers out.
Tomorrow we have the hardest stage of this race, 2 categorie 1
climbs and the entire day undulating. Hope I'll have great legs
tomorrow as I'll need them to get a good result on GC!
Koen
Stage 1 Besseges 03-02-2010
For the first stage of the first stagerace of the year we had a
long transfer from the hotel to the start. We're all the way inland
and the start was on the Mediterranean coast. When we left the
hotel it was still below zero but the temperature was a lot more
bearable at the coast, a nice 12 degrees and sunny. The race was
completely on a flat and open circuit, not far from where the windy
stage in last year's Tour de France was. There wasn't nearly enough
wind for echelons though and it turned out to be a relatively easy
day.
Not long after the start Floris Goesinnen, my teammate, managed to
break away with a rider from Ag2r and they got a nice gap. The
teams of the sprinters weren't going to let them go and after
chasing for a while they managed to bring the break back with about
10km to go. The team worked together perfectly to get Tom Veelers
in a good spot for the sprint and he got 5th. Not a bad result but
it was especially good to see all the riders of the team working
together with so much motivation.
Tomorrow we will have a harder stage and it will be a lot further
inland so I'm expecting different temperatures and more hills.
Let's hope I can show my good legs one of the next days.
Training camp 19-01-2010
One of the only times in the year we've got the whole team
together is during the training camp. It's a great way to catch up
after the off-season and to get to know the new riders on the team.
Of course we've had a photo session and a team presentation with
the whole team in the last week but these days are so full that a
proper chat is nearly impossible.
Last Sunday (January 17) we left from airport Weeze, on
the German and Dutch border to the German island in Spain:
Mallorca. I say German island as especially the area where the
hotel is (s' Arenal) there are more German shops, restaurants and
hotels than Spanish ones so we do feel like we are in Germany
whenever we are off the bike. The good part about Mallorca is the
wide range of possibilities with training and of course the good
weather. There are large flat parts on the island but there are
hills and even mountains as well, so whatever you want to train,
it's only a maximum of an hour ride away.
My roommate for this week on Mallorca turned out to be Jin Long,
one of our Chinese riders. His English has improved significantly
since last year so it's a lot easier to communicate with him so I
don't mind being in one room with him. Nearly all races we can pick
our own roommates but at training camp it is usually thought out by
the directors for different reasons. An obvious reason is to make
sure there are no little groups within the team, if the French
riders are always together, the Chinese riders together and the
Germans together there is not one big team but several small groups
within the team and you want to avoid at all times because we have
to race for and with each other during the season. Usually in the
training camp there is a lot of 'half-wheeling' going on, everyone
is excited to nearly start the season and wants to show everyone
how well he's been training by trying to ride a half wheel in front
of the rider next to him. This is a little annoying as it brings
the speed up a lot because no one wants to ride a half wheel
behind. So far this training camp the half-wheeling hasn't been too
bad, but while saying this I'm thinking it might be me
half-wheeling my teammates... If that's true I'll have to hear that
for the rest of the year, bike riders are like elephants, we never
forget someone that hurts us...
So far we have done 2 training rides, the first day we did
a sunny and warm 6 hour ride, mostly on the flat with some sprint
and coordination efforts. The sprint efforts are done by sprinting
in 2's and try to push each other to the max to improve as much as
possible. I was sprinting against Mitchel Docker and definitely had
a hard time beating him; he's trained well the past months and will
do well this season. Good job Dockers!! The coordination efforts
are based on cadence, the amount of revs per minute of the legs. We
varied between 80 en 110 rpm for a fairly long time.
The second day was a very hard 4 hour ride with some short
anaerobic intervals. We started with a good amount of 30 sec
sprints uphill and not a lot of rest in between. The sprints are
done in 2's again and this time I had to sprint against Tom
Veelers, I think the strongest guy on the team, what an animal!
After a few sprints the lactate starts building up quickly in your
blood and legs and after about 4 sprints some riders started to be
sick off the bike and that made me laugh. These softies can't
handle anything! Another few sprints later I started to feel very
sick myself as well, sometimes being a cyclist means hurting
yourself a lot... I managed to do all the sprints and when I tried
to get off my bike my legs nearly buckled and I felt very dizzy.
Apparently cycling is easier than walking! After these sprints we
rode for a while to let the body break down the lactate and when we
felt up for it again we did another few 1 minute sprints uphill.
Funnily enough the 1 minute intervals are easier than the 30 second
ones but still pretty darn hard. To finish the day off in style we
did a 10 minute race with the team for an imaginary finish line.
There were a few attacks, Rooijakkers and Goesinnen first, then
Huguet for a little while and after the Aussie connection (Dockers
and I) broke away but we also were brought back. Rooijakkers
attacked again in the last kilometer and managed to take the win
just before director Rudie Kemna (he didn't do the sprints before
so that isn't fair, still a pretty good effort!). At least
Rooijakkers made a great comeback after his horrible crash in the
Tour de France last year; he's ready for the season I think!!
Training in the cold 15-01-2010
I've been back in The Netherlands for nearly a week now
and it's been a very cold week. When I left Melbourne it was nearly
40 degrees Celsius and as I touched down in The Netherlands it was
8 degrees below zero (at 6am) with snow everywhere. A big
temperature shock!
Of course it is beautiful coming back 'home' and seeing
this magical winter wonderland but for a cyclist it's not that
great. When training in the cold there are 2 basic and very obvious
rules. Stay warm and don't crash!
Rule number 1 means wearing lots of clothes. In the recent
years I have found what works for me to keep me warm. When the
temperatures drop below zero I usually wear a fairly thick
short-sleeve undershirt under a very warm full-body thermo suit and
warm socks. Over that I wear an extra pair of long knicks (without
shammy, I already have that in my thermo suit), a short sleeve team
jersey, a warm thermo jacket, a hat for under my helmet and a shawl
to cover my throat, chin and neck. I put tape on the holes in the
bottom of my shoes and cover them with very warm shoe covers and I
also wear 2 pairs of gloves. I do have to keep in mind what I am
planning on training that day because when I do lots of intervals I
have to wear a little bit less because I have to keep myself warm
but shouldn't start sweating too much. When you start sweating your
clothes get damp and you get extra cold so in that case less is
better.
Rule number 2 is a little bit complicated. When I leave
for my training ride I seriously have to walk out of the street
because the street looks like a bobsleigh track of Olympic
proportions. Cars have been driving over the snow hardening it more
and more. After that the fluctuating temperatures (just above zero
some days to 10 below zero some nights) made the snow into a layer
of ice. I have seen people in the street falling over while walking
so there's no way I'll make it out of the street on two narrow
tires. All the main roads and even most bicycle paths have been
cleared of snow, mostly by putting lots of salt on the road, which
is great for your bike but at least saves you from crashing.
Training is possible when you stick to the main roads but it's
still a bit tricky when there's lots of wind because the wind blows
the snow from the side of the road onto the road. Sometimes there
are some sort of snow dunes on certain parts of the road and you
can't be too cautious so I usually go through them very slowly. The
last thing I want to do is crash and throw away all the good
training I have done since October.
I can't wait to go on team training camp to Mallorca next
Sunday, the weather should be a lot better there so I can start
training normally again.
Australia 06-01-2010
It's been a very long time since my last post, especially
in English, but I'm going to try to write a whole lot more this
year. The plan is to make a blog-like page for my website with some
good behind-the-scenes info on racing the pro-circuit and a bit of
my personal life. Of course you can also follow me on twitter where
I try to keep everyone very up-to-date: http://www.twitter.com/koendekort
I've only just returned from Australia, I've been there
for a very long time although it never seems long enough, also
because I left my partner Kaitlin behind for another few weeks
while I'm busy with training camp and races. At first I had a good
holiday in Australia, no riding and enjoying the good weather,
spending time with my partner's family and our friends. We stayed
in Melbourne most of the time but we made trips to: Noosa,
Toowoomba, Bundaberg, Fraser Island, Lady Musgrave Island,
Brisbane, Adelaide, Coffin Bay (Port Lincoln) and Geelong. I
started training again from the end of October, first only short
rides but by the end of November I was doing big training weeks.
Especially the last month, when I was staying in St Kilda, I
trained a lot, I even did the famous 'Hell Ride' a few times.
I'll have to explain riding in Melbourne first. Lots of
professional cyclists live in and around St Kilda: Matty Lloyd,
Baden Cooke, Greg Henderson, Jeremy Hunt, Mitchell Docker, Matty
Wilson and Simon Gerrans, to name a few. For me that's very good
because I can train at a very high level with these riders but
beside the professionals there are hundreds more cyclists out....
Every day! In the weekend I dare to say there are thousands out on
the bike! When I first arrived in St Kilda and rode on 'Beach Road'
(THE road to ride on in Melbourne) I was dumbstruck to see all
these groups ride past. Big groups of up to 50 riders at a time
were everywhere, going both directions. What a cycling culture!
The 'Hell Ride' is the biggest thing on Beach Road. A big group
of over 100 high-level cyclists get together on a Saturday morning
to ride from Black Rock along the coast to Mount Eliza and back,
and it's ON! It's a full-on race through normal traffic (hence the
Hell-ride I suppose...) but I have to say we stop for traffic
lights and don't do any dangerous stuff. Everybody knows about the
Hell Ride because I've heard it's been crazy and dangerous in the
past and there has been some controversy about it in the media.
It's good training for the professionals as it's a pretty good
simulation of a race and everybody wants to win in it.
Just before I left Australia I did the Jayco Bay Cycling
Classic, 4 criteriums in 4 days near Geelong and Melbourne. The
races are done in teams of 5 riders with a total of 90 riders in
the race. The crits have teams are made just for that race with
their own sponsor, a bit like the 6day races on the track in
Europe. Some of the big-name riders in this race were: Robbie
McEwen, Graeme Brown, Brett Lancaster, Leigh Howard, Matt Wilson,
Greg Henderson, Matthew Hayman, Chris Sutton, Baden Cooke, Jeremy
Hunt, Matthew Goss and a whole lot more. I did the crits for the O2
networks team so I wore a jersey with O2 networks on it but the
Skil-Shimano knicks, socks, gloves etc.
The crits were very tough, fast racing on very short circuits.
The 3rd crit had the shortest circuit, a 600 meter
hot-dog circuit (A 300 meter road up and down) but the
4th crit was only 850 meter long as well. I felt really
good and I was happy that all the hard training from the last
months paid out and I was able to place myself top 10 in the bunch
sprints the first 2 crits and break away by myself the last,
harder, 2 races. Resulting in a 4th place the
3rd race and a 10th place overall.
Now I'm back to reality in cold Europe. It was a bit
strange going from 40 degrees in Melbourne to 8 degrees below zero
when I landed in Amsterdam last Friday. Training with these
temperatures isn't easy but I managed to get a decent amount of
hours in. This week is a relative easy training week for me in
which I have UCI and team obligations. I've already done the photo
shoot with the 2010 Skil-Shimano team, UCI blood test and a VO2max
test. I still have a bike measurement test, time-trial aerodynamic
test and team press day coming up. Next Sunday I'll leave with the
team on training camp to Mallorca. Of course I'll keep you all
updated on Twitter and this website.
If you want some more info on riding in Melbourne or on
the Jayco bay cycling classic see my friend Wade's website: http://www.cyclingtipsblog.com.
Turkey stage 1 14-04-2008
After yesterdays crit in (beautiful) Istanbul, that didn't count
towards the general classification, we had the first real stage in
the Presidential Cycling Tour of Turkey today. Yesterday after the
crit we flew straight away to Izmir, about 800 kilometers away for
the start of the first stage today. Luckily the start was fairly
late this morning so we could recover a little from the 2
traveldays. It's nice to do a race like this again one, no teamcars
or bus, no washing machines so handwashing all the racing gear and
not enough time for massages the last few days due to the
traveling. The last massage I had was the day before Gent-Wevelgem,
something that hasn't happened to me in a long time but that, of
course, is no problem in this 'different' race.
Todays stage wasn't very hard, but it was nice weather, 30
degrees!! We started in the big city Izmir and went along nice
roads along the coast toward the finish in Kusadasi. After about 20
kilometers the road changed quite a bit, it only nearly counts as
asphalt as we know it. You've got the feeling you've got to push a
lot harder to go along at the same speed (which is probably true),
luckily this counts for all the riders in the race, but it isn't
too great for your hands, feet and bum. There were some attacks at
the start but it never really went berserk and after a while 3
riders went up the road and Milram started to control the race with
the goal to make it a mass sprint in the end. To make a long story
short, they succeeded. One of our riders started working with them
in the beginning and I took over for a while in the last 10 kms. At
3 kms before the end there was a hard little hill and some riders
got dropped there but I stayed with the front bunch. Tomorrow the
stage seems to be a little harder but it could just be another mass
sprint, we'll see.
See ya Koen
Problems 30-03-2008
After the race Het Groene Hart I already had heaps of pain in my
hip, especially the left side. It turned out to be that the my left
hipjoint is twisted forward.
Before Dwars door Vlaanderen I have had it manipulated but during
the race it started hurting again. It hurting all the muscles
around my left hipjoint isn't the biggest problem, it really blocks
my left leg. I have got the feeling that I am only pushing with my
right leg, especially accelerating is impossible. Due to this
problem I didnâ€TMt finish ‘Dwars door
Vlaanderenâ€TM, very frustrating because apart from this
problem I feel very good, I know for sure that I have got good form
but I canâ€TMt show it.
Last Thursday and Friday I went to an osteopath to correct
everything and I was looking forward to the E3 prijs in Harelbeke
yesterday. Aftera bout 50 km I already felt it wasnâ€TMt
good again but I tried to ignore it for as long as possible. That
went alright for a while, I went up the Eikenberg 5th for instance.
Just before the Patersberg it was finish again though. On a flat
road my left leg blocked again and I couldnâ€TMt follow
the group because of it. Again I didnâ€TMt finish so
even more frustrations adding up.
After a talk with the directors we decided that I
wonâ€TMt do the Brabantse Pijl and the 3days de Panne,
hoping that with frequent manipulation the problem will be solved
before the Ronde van Vlaanderen next week. Very frustrating of
course, especially because I feel good, but it can always be worse.
Marc de Maar and Gerben Löwik will be out for a much longer time
due to some stupid crashes, hopefully they can return to racing
quickly as well.
Koen
Het groene Hart 23 maart2008
After 2 weeks training in the sun in Spain I am back in the cold,
rain and even snow today in the Netherlands.
There was a fair bit of wind although it only broke the bunch a few
times. The first time that happened I was a bit too far to the back
and ended up in the second group but we came back easily.
The last 40 kms we took the initiative with the team and decided we
would try to get a mass sprint for Vaitkus. First we closed a gap
to a breakaway of 5 together with Skil and after that we tried to
help Vaitkus to stay in the front in the last 15 kms with
crosswind.
Lots of guys got dropped but we had enough guys in the front to put
Vaitkus in a good position for the sprint and he won! So the first
time this season I could celebrate a victory of a teammate. I did
my work well and I am happy that I was feeling pretty good as we've
got a long series of races coming up from now.
Tomorrow Rundum Köln in germany and then lots of races in Belgium.
Wednesday Waregem, saturday Harelbeke, sunday brabantse pijl, the
following tuesday till thursday 3days de Panne, then tour de
Flanders and Gent-Wevelgem. Heaps of races and even more resting
coming up!
Till tomorrow Koen
3 daagse West Vlaanderen 7-9 maart 2008
day 1
There is a big fuzz about Paris-Nice and if teams are going to
start or not and if they are going to get punished for it by the
UCI. While all this is going on we are just racing somewhere else,
in the 3 days of west-flanders.
Today was the first stage. It was pretty miserable weather, cold
and very windy. Most races around here are held on small, narrow
roads with heaps of corners and now and then a hill or cobbled
section. Today wasnâ€TMt a different story although the
hills and cobbled sections werenâ€TMt too hard.
From the start it was very nervous again because everyone knew
there was enough wind to split the bunch. That happened a few times
and I was always in the first group. Unfortunately the bunch always
slowed down again and it turned out to be another bunch sprint for
the finishline. The last 500 metres were uphill and when I tried to
move up a little bit along the left side they crashed on my right
side and half crashed into me. I didnâ€TMt crash myself
but lost all my speed and didnâ€TMt get a better result
than about 25th. Too bad because I had very good legs today.
Luckily they will probably still be good tomorrow so
Iâ€TMve got a lot of confidence for the next 2 days
here, I hope it wonâ€TMt be a mass sprint every
day.
See ya Koen
day 2
I said yesterday that I expected to have good legs again today and
that I hoped that it wouldn't be a mass sprint again. The
expectation was correct, the form is still very much okay, the hope
that it wouldn't be a mass sprint didn't really work out. There was
a lot of wind today and we were going in the direction of the coast
so we expected a race with lots of echelons.
Early in the race 4 guys broke away and the team of the leader in
the race (Bouygues telecom) set the pace in the bunch. At 50km to
go the race really started and through work of mostly our team and
a few other teams the bunch broke into a few pieces. We were
unlucky to have a lot of headwind or tailwind so lots of riders
managed to get back on. We needed a big part with crosswind to
really split the bunch but that bit didn't come up. In the last lap
on the 10 km finishing circuit we did one last try to split the
50-odd men bunch but again the part with crosswind was too small
and it turned out to be a bunch kick of these 50 riders. I tried to
sprint as well but didn't succeed to get myself in a good position
so again no great result. Tomorrow the expectation is that there
will be lots of rain and wind, on top of that we have some climbs
to do (one of them the Kemmelberg), so maybe I've got some more
luck tomorrow.
See ya Koen
Kuurne-Brussel-Kuurne 02-03-08
After the unlucky day on Saturday I hoped fors ome more luck today.
I did have some more luck as I didnâ€TMt crash,
something heaps of riders couldnâ€TMt say. The race was
on straight from the start, I think we only took it easy fora bout
5km all up.
In the hilly part of the race I could stay in the front pretty
comfortably and when the quickstep train went up the Oude Kwaremont
at full speed I could go with them. We broke away with a group of
27 riders, the winner of today would be in this group.
Thatâ€TMs when the bad things started to happen, I was
nearly cramping and felt like going hungerflat. I
donâ€TMt know exactly why but I assume it still has to
do with last weeks sickness, that i wasnâ€TMt completely
recovered from it. When in the breakaway we had a bit of crosswind
I got dropped with a small group and when I didnâ€TMt
feel good in that group too I didnâ€TMt even
finish.
A very disappointing end to a promising day. Too bad, hopefully
itâ€TMll b ebetter next week in the three days of west
flanders.
See ya Koen
Omloop het Volk 01-03-08
Omloop het Volk will probably never be my race. Last year I had 3
punctures in a row in a bad moment (just before and 2 times just
after the Oude Kwaremont) en this year it turned out to be not much
better.
There was heaps of wind in Flanders today but it came from such a
direction that we had tailwind to start of with and then a headwind
for a long while. Sometimes we had a bit of crosswind and then it
would break in a few groups but they always came back after we had
headwind again. When we got into the hilly part I still felt pretty
good but just before we got to the most important part of the race
I got caught up in a fairly big crash.
I was pretty much in the front because we were going to the
Taaienberg and Eikenberg but on a cobbled section someone crashed
right in front of me. I jumped of my bike so I didnâ€TMt
hit the deck but I couldnâ€TMt find my bike for a while,
it turned out to be in a ditch in the mud.
Before I had taken all the mud out of my shoecleats and got back on
my bike to start going again I was a fair way behind. Then I
punctured out of a group I got in and it was really over for the
day. I got into a small group behind and to make things worse I had
to walk up the Molenberg because they crashed just in front of me
again and blocked the road.
This race really doesnâ€TMt want to work out for me so
far but I hope that tomorrow in Kuurne-Brussel-Kuurne
Iâ€TMll have some more luck.
See ya Koen
Mallorca stage 3 12-02-08
The flat stages here in Mallorca have finished, although the first
100km of todays mountainstage was flat, it was followed by a cat 2
climb and a cat 1 climb straight after.
My job for today was going with every break in the first 100 km so
that's what I did. I am not exagerating when I say I was in every
single break that got more than 100 metres on the bunch. Of course
this meant the end by the time we hit the climbs. I got over the
first climb relatively easy in the main bunch but on the Puigmajor
I took it easy, tomorrow is another day, and rode in a group to the
finishline.
The team has done well with the important riders for this race
still in the front and they are very happy with the work I've done
which is important in this part of the season. The team is going
along exceptionally well, everyone wants to work for each other and
it all looks superprofessional. See ya Koen
Mallorca stage 2 11-02-08
The first normal race from A to B today and the second race in the
Challenge Mallorca. The race was 162.7 km long and pretty much flat
with 2 cat 4 climbs in the final. There was hardly any wind so
everybody was already expecting a bunch sprint and the normal
scenario followed: 5 guys in the breakaway and 3 teams setting the
pace in the bunch. The final ended up to be pretty hard and I
managed to keep Tomas Vaitkus in the front up until the last km. He
started to sprint too early and got 6th or so.
The stage wasn't very exciting but it was really cool to be racing
with Alberto Contador again. It was his first race of the season
and arriving at the startingline our bus got swamped by
photographers and they stayed near him until the start. They follow
him everywhere and take photos of every movement he makes. For me
thats kind of funny because I've been in a team with him for 2
years already and know him pretty well and to me he hasn't changed
but apparently he has to the outside world.
He does demand to be riding in the front of the bunch all day so
that means we are constantly keeping him out of the wind and taking
him to the front to keep him out of the pushing in the bunch and so
decreasing the chances of crashes. It is clear he's got a special
status in the bunch, everyone watches out for him and gives him all
the space he needs, which is good for us of course.
See ya Koen
Challenge Mallorca 10-02-08
The european season has started again for me with the Challenge
Mallorca. This is sort of a stage race in which every stage counts
as a separate race, so you don't have to start in every stage or
have to finish every stage to be able to start the next one.
That's why the team is here with 14 riders of which 10 riders can
start each day. Today the stage was held on a circuit of 10 km to a
total of 100 km race. It is traditionally a very fast race that
nearly always ends in a mass sprint.
Today was very fast again and groups breaking away never got more
than a few hundred metres on the bunch. There were, partly due to
the high speed, a few crashes and near the end it was pretty
dangerous. I wanted to get myself up there in the sprint, if only
to help Haselbacher or Vaitkus, but I didn't want to take any risks
and thus I didn't end up too far in the front.
Tomorrow I ride the stage again, a mostly flat stage, a race from A
to B this time.
See ya Koen
Tour Down Under stages 3 and 4
After 2 boring stages we finally got some action in the race.
Yesterday in the third stage the attacks started early and it
weren't just 3 French riders but nearly all teams tried to go in
the break. So it went really fast for a long time and it wasn't
easy on the hilly course.
I felt pretty good myself and went with a fair few breaks but in
the end again a break of 3 riders went of the front. They weren't
bad riders though so when the teams of the sprinters started
swapping of they started a little to late and they really had to
swap of flat out. Because of the hilly course and the wind there
was some gutteraction near the end and a group of about 30 riders
got dropped. I just finished in the peloton myself.
Today the race was really on. The first half of the race was on
really difficult terrain and there were lots of attack straight
from the gun. Bigger and smaller groups kept breaking away and
riders were getting dropped in the back. I felt good again and
mixed in the attacking and got into a few really nice breaks but
after a good 80km of racing just one rider broke away by himself
and the bunch started taking it easy and all the dropped riders got
back on again. Of course it ended up in a bunch sprint again and I
finished in the middle of the bunch as usual here.
Tomorrow the hardest stage of the Tour with a hard climb at about
20 km before the finishline. The whole week everyone has been
waiting for this climb so I expect that it will be really a
explosion up there.
See ya Koen
Tour Down Under Stage 1 & 2
De first 2 days of the Tour Down Under have finished. It is clear
at this moment, that the race has changed now it has become part of
the pro-tour this year. The race has turned into a european style
race, very much controlled.
In the last 2 days a small group broke away early in the race, the
teams of the sprinters started to set a tempo to reel them back in
near the end after which it was going to be a mass sprint. Not very
good for my own chances of a good result in a stage, but at least
it is unsure up to the finishline who is actually going to win the
stage and on top of that nothing has been decided in the general
classification, which is pretty good for the spectators I
suppose.
I feel pretty good myself, today a bit better than yesterday, but I
clearly have a bit of form already. Yesterday I just finished in
the bunch without mixing in the sprint but today I wanted to be in
the front near the end, mainly to help Aaron Kemps out. This worked
out alright, Aaron got 5th and I got a 15th on the side as
well.
Tomorrow could be another day like today although I'll keep an eye
out for a good breakaway if there'll be one because that could be a
good possibility for a result for me.
See ya Koen
Tour Down Under 21-01-2008
The Tour Down Under sort of started yesterday with a criterium in
Glenelg. It was a fairly nice circuit of about 2 km with nice
bitumen roads and only 1 hard (180 degrees) corner at about 500m to
go. During the teampresentation, before the race, and the race
itself there were heaps of spectators, 75.000 regarding to the
newspaper today. It's good to see that cycling is such a popular
sport here and that people here are proud to have a pro-tour race
although it was only a prologue.
The race itself went pretty good. Ofcourse I had an advantage on
most other riders by doing the Baycrits earlier this year so I am
supposed to have pretty good form for this sort of racing, but I
felt really good anyway.
The first half of the race was a constant attacking of small groups
but they never got much more than a 100 meter gap. When Rabobank
started getting on the front it was really impossible to break away
and it was going to end up in a bunch sprint.
In the end I was still very much in front but I made a mistake
going in the last corner so I could sprint anymore and just rolled
to the finishline. It doesn't really matter because this doesn't
count toward the real race, which starts tomorrow, but at least I
know my form isn't too bad.
See ya Koen
Aussie Nationals and Tour Down Under 2008
Last week, sunday january 13th, I took part in the Aussie national
championships in Ballarat, about 100 km from Melbourne, Victoria. I
was surprised that I was allowed to start there but because I
could, I stayed in Bendigo with the Dempster family after the
Baycrits series. There I trained with local riders Tom Southam and
Darren Lapthorne (Aussie national champion 2007) in preparation for
the race.
It was very hot there (most days over 40 degrees centigrade) but
that was better than the rain that had been falling for weeks in
Bundaberg, where I rent a house.
The race itself was very hard. It was held on a course of 10 km
with a climb of 3km, then a flat part of another 3 km and after
that a descent of about 4 km to the finish line.We had to do this
course 16 times for a total of about 160 km. The only thing is I
didn't exactly make it that far. In the Baycrits series I was
actually feeling pretty good but a criterium is a bit different
than a real climbers race. In the first part of the race I was
still feeling pretty good but after a little while I felt it was
not going to be my race, my legs just blocked up. This happens more
often in the start of the season but of course I would have rather
had this not being the case during this race.
After the Aussie nationals I flew back to Bundaberg and after a few
days training there, Aaron and me flew to Adelaide on thursday to
really start our season. We have been here in the Hilton hotel in
the centre of Adelaide now for about 2 days and training here is
going alright. The weather is very nice with about 32 degrees
centigrade and sun, so it's not too hot. Tomorrow it starts with a
criterium of 50 kilometers in Glenelg, the expensive beach suburb
of Adelaide. This is not more than a prologue though, a sort of one
day race, which doesn't count towards the overall classification.
On monday we have a restday but on tuesday it really starts.
I'll keep you informed about the race.
See ya Koen
2008
First of all, I wish everyone a very happy new year, all the best
for 2008. From now on I will try to write everything in Dutch and
English so that hopefully some more people can understand what I
write on my website.
I started the year with some friends in Bundaberg, Queensland,
Australia, where i have been since halfway october, the start of
the Herald Sun Tour. I rent an appartment with my teammate Aaron
Kemps there and I will stay here until just after the Tour Down
Under.
I didn't have a very big night out for new years because on the
first of january I already had to be at the airport in Bundaberg at
8am to fly to the Baycrits series. A series of 5 different
criteriums of an hour around the bay of Melbourne.
The Baycrits are known to be very hard because of a high quality
field, short tight circuits and extreme heat. Some of the riders
that ride here are O'Grady, Cooke, Wilson, Sutherland, Brown,
Walker, Davis and a whole heap more good pro's. These crits are a
very good training for the more important races of the season like
the Aussie Nationals and the Tour Down Under. The first crit was in
Williamstown, a square ciruit with 2 hard corners and 2 easier
ones. It went very fast straight from the gun and it didn't slow
down anymore until we made it to the finishline. I wasn't sure
about my form before the race but I soon found out it wasn't that
bad after all and I went with a couple of breaks.
One of the more serious ones was in a group with Matt Wilson and
Allan Davis about halfway into the race. It didn't last though and
we got caught again and it looked like it was going to be a mass
sprint. Only Baden Cooke was strong enough to stay in front of the
bunch by himself and winning the race. I was somewhere halfway the
bunch, not mixing up in the sprint at all.
Today's second crit was a hard one in Portarlington with a circuit
that was basically half uphill and half downhill, a real test for
form. About halfway into the race the bunch really started to split
up and more and more guys kept dropping out. In the last bit of the
race there were only about 30 riders left.
As the race went on I started to feel better and better.
Unfortunately I punctured with around 10 laps to go. You are
allowed to take a lap out for a wheel change but standing still for
a lap while in full final really breaks your rhythm. It took a
while for me to get going again and I got caught up in the back of
our little bunch. Only the last two laps I started to go alright
again but the bunch shattered and I past a lot of riders in front
of me to make it to 10th in the race.
The results are not too important for me although Ãt's nice to
know that I've got pretty good form. This week of racing and
another 2 weeks of training should get me more than ready for the
Tour Down Under.
See ya
Koen