Blog
From Slushy Roads to Cobblestones (Nate Weston)
It wasn't long ago I was riding my bike with ice accumulating on the frame as my cables, water bottles, and me froze while on training rides in Billings, MT. Now it’s mud accumulating on the frame as I get bounced almost out of control in my saddle from the continuous sections of cobblestones. It has been quite a transition and not the easiest one either. I came to Belgium to race for the Fuji Test Team at the end of February to pursue my goal of becoming a pro cyclist and what a better place to continue my pursuit than here in ‘The Homeland of Cycling’.
It all started with a couple simple 20 page questionaires, phone conversations, sending in my resume, and I was accepted to ride for the Fuji Test Team which is a developmental team for international riders wanting to get to the professional level. To me, it was another one of my great adventures and I hardly had a single concern about it. Sure the racing was going to be tougher than in the U.S., yes I would be away from family and friends, but I had done that before and I could work my way up to the level of cycling they are at with time, right? Well that is going to take a while longer than planned to say the least.
For starters, even just living here is difficult with major differences in culture, people and style of racing. So to be able to live this lifestyle is one thing, but to do it well is quite another. As I arrived in Belgium after a full day worth of travel and eight hours lost due to time zone changes, I was ready to get settled into a routine and get on my bike. Much easier said than done as jet lag hit me for the first time and so did the harsh Belgian weather. On TV when I would watch the spring classics like Paris-Roubaix or Tour of Flanders, sure it was raining, windy, muddy and the riders were going over lots of cobbles, big deal. Well it is a big deal come to find out as I got ready for my first ride, my team manager told me to head out with a tailwind so I would have some legs to get back home. Now sure there is wind but here in Belgium there are not a lot of trees and not very many hills so the wind blows with full force all day and there is no protection from it. This gets very old and monotonous when you’re out for a 5hr ride and your constantly getting pounded on by the wind. Add in some rain that is more like a constant mist and you have a text book Belgian spring day.
As I began to settle in over the first couple of weeks I was able to meet my teamates, who come from Canada, South Africa, Malta, U.S., Belgium, Germany, and Australia. Also I was able to start racing in local amateur races called ‘kermis races’. As you get further into the spring and summer, there can be a kermis everyday of the week where you will find about 200 riders at every race and find average speeds of 43-48kmph. These races are the hardcore races that Belgian kids grow up racing, and I can tell you from experience, they are amazingly hard. I lined up for my first kermis race this past Saturday in a town called Bissegem. I was amazed to find tons of spectators, berried roads, and a caravan for our race that included 4-6 police on motorcycles, 1-2 ambulances, 1-2 neutral support cars, and 1-2 official's cars. All this for just an amateur kermis race, and keep in mind this happens everyday here. The roads are completely cleared of cars so you have the full road to race on as well.
From the beginning to the end of the race, the pace is full throttle as it is a mad sprint as the start gun goes off with 200 riders sprinting for the first turn. Here the racing is a little different in that the peloton slows down before the corners more but then it's an all out sprint after every corner to get back up to speed. The kermis races are reasonable short going no longer than 125km (77miles) but they average 43-48kph. This was a huge change from racing back in the U.S. as it was three times harder than a crit and three times as long, and that's only if you don't get dropped and pulled from the race. If you get dropped of the back of the main group, you are almost immediately pulled as there is little chance of you catching back up.
This was my fate on Saturday as I was pulled from the race after getting dropped on the second climb of the day. As I rode back towards the start/finish line, my head was throbbing, stomach aching, and my legs were mush. The worst part about it was that our team protocol calls for after getting dropped from the race, you must go ride base miles until the end of the race, then come back for drug control and then ride back home. So to my disappointment and fatigue, I was forced to go train for another 3hrs. That night I got back and looked at my power tap data from the race and saw that I averaged 275watts! This is European racing at its finest.
I will continue to race over the next couple months and then return to Montana to race for the Montana Junior Cycling Foundation sponsored by Hammer Nutrition for my 3rd season and hope that what I have learned in Belgium will help me as I continue my pursuit of reaching the pro ranks.
Thanks for reading.
Nate
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