Here comes sickness.
Can you feel that? That itchy, twitchy feeling… that’s anticipation, it’s expectation, it’s Belgian fucking racing fever! You know you’ve got it, and you can’t fight it, you don’t want to fight it, you need it bad because it’s been way too long. Some may call it Spring Fever, Cobblebone, or Kassientitis. It manifests itself deep in the bones, chilling your very core, while simultaneously warming your heart. This is the best time of the racing season, and it’s affecting me more than ever, because I won’t be attending the clinic this year. And that makes me sick.
While the VSP doesn’t kick off until some 300k Italian sprint bores us to death in a couple of weeks, we all know that the real start to the season is this weekend on the bergen of Flanders, and we want the worst possible weather for it. As we bathe in sunshine in the bottom half of the planet, those of us inflicted with the sickness really long to be wrapped in our Flandrien Best and getting dumped on by cold rain and icy crosswinds on some shit-covered road, just waiting to get to the next sector of stones, the next steep and slippery climb, where once on it you curse with all your deep-seated hatred until it is crested, and a strange sense of joy briefly appears, not giving itself up fully until the first Malteni is opened hours later. It’s the medicine that doesn’t cure anything except a lack of Flahute in the system, and that’s just how we like it.
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Omloop, Kuurne and an Hour Record attempt courtesy of a super cool young lady in the US of A. In all likelihood it's looking like she'll simply smash it. What a great weekend. A handful of us are taking off tomorrow for a local classic 130km ride that includes a pile of red dirt deep south roads in celebration. Then Sun we take our NICA league High School Mtn Bike team to local state park to pre-ride next week's season kick off race. Love it. Life is good in the spring time indeed. Cheers all
So what are y'all's' prediction for Omloop and beyond? Could the curse be broken with a Boonen Omloop/Ronde double? Will van Avermaet finally win a race? Sagan for a Monument? A penny for your thoughts fellow Velominati...
Sure, the wait is long. But then come spring, and with the joy of being able to ride without freezing your bollocks come the bests races of the year, the peak of the racing season being for me the cobbled races, culminating with the Ronde, then Paris Roubaix, where the true hardmen are forged. The rest of the races are nice, but don't have the same athmosphere...
@LeBelge
Yep, pretty much Pro racing season for me runs from now til the end of April.
This time of year for us also means getting in as much riding as we can before the winter comes, topping up the tan lines and enjoying the minimal kitting up. Unfortunately, with injury I haven't ridden for almost a month, so it's fuck the injury and an attempt will be made tomorrow. Should we be rested from watching Het Volk until 5am...
@wilburrox
I am so rooting for Evie to break the record, and push the bar much higher. She is a great rider, who has the ability to suffer enough to take the hour. I can't wait, live streaming at 12:30 CST!
Omloop:
Van Avermaet
Kristoff
Sagan
Benoot
Gilbert
KBK:
Ewan
Kristoff
Vivanni
Sagan
R. Kreder
'Now it's springtime for Belgium, and Tommeke.'
@bea
Obviously I was already asleep when I wrote that. I never noticed @gilly 's forecast.
This is the first nice weekend in weeks! It has been pouring and storming since the first of january... Timing is everything...
I go for Van Avermaet. Or Boonen. No, Van Avermaet, he'll be more keen.
Love it. Watched a highlights package of last year's Ronde last night and it got me feeling all tingly.
Hoping our boy Luke Rowe can perform at Omloop in Stannards abscence.I'd like to see Sagan win something significant in the bands, too.
I hope the Etixx squad did some tactical training since last year. Or someone gave Vandenbergh a good talking to. Those boys really fucked up in Omloop and Gent Wevelgem.
Red leg warmers aside, last year's Gent Wevelgem was the most awesome race of the season for mine. Rule #9 crosswinds for a start, then a selection of strongmen beating each other up for the last 40k.
The last 50k makes excellent roller session entertainment (if such a thing exists).