I am at the half way point in my stay here at the cycling center. Racing in Europe is very different than back home in the states. We do two different types of racing here in Belgium. The first is a kermis which is a circuit race put on by a town in which there is no team work. Racers attack until the field breaks up and typically the first one or two groups finish and the rest of the riders get pulled. In my last kermis I made the second group and finished 14th.
UCI races are very different because the course is usually a large loop with a few small local laps at the finish. The races are around 170 km in length and 150- 200 riders start. I have done quite a few UCI races this year because of the strength I gained in the winter I have gone from lasting just 1hr last year to finishing full races and sprinting in the field. Compared to racing in the US, European racing is supported a lot better from the road closures and support cars to towns and fans that come out to watch. The fields are much larger and speed and power is much higher compared most US races. The most recent UCI race I did was GP Stad Geel. It was a Top Competition race for U27 riders and was by far the fastest race I have ever done. We covered 170 km with an average speed of 48 km/hr. I had a few problems starting with a broken spoke on my rear wheel but a quick change from my team car and I made it through the caravan and back into the group without a problem. Later in the race we hit a 2km cobble section and half way through the section I started to bog down and loose contact with the main group. After getting back onto smooth roads I was able to get back in the group and finished the race including 3 very aggressive local laps and a huge field sprint. Coming up we have some UCI one day races and local kermises then it’s off to the Ardennes for some riding in the hills and to prepare for the Tour of Namur.
Peter Horn (L) and Scott Tietzel (R)