La Vuelta a España stage 14

Posted on September 7, 2013 by Kathryn

When I originally sat down to decide which Vuelta stages I'd see, I was really torn between going to today's sign on in Bagá or finding a way up the Collada de la Gallina, a first category climb and summit finish. Bagá was an easy place to get to and I absolutely love getting to talk with the riders and collect autographs at sign ons. In the end I opted for the climb as I've only ever seen one climb before and that was a great experience. The problem was that since I'm carless (because I am that rare 32 year old who still doesn't know how to drive), I had no idea how I'd get up the mountain. After asking the woman at my hotel's front desk about 50 questions, I figured out how to catch a local bus to the base of the mountain and from there I walked.

 

For over 7 kilometers.

 

Up.

 

On a mountain with an average gradient of 8%.

 

The average gradient does not tell the whole story. There were plenty of sections that were steeper than a measly 8%.

 

Putting up the 6km to go banner.

 

At 5km to go. (These pictures make my walk go by way too fast. Let me remind you, dear reader, that not only was this a long, steep climb, it had been drizzling all morning and the clouds threatened to downpour.)

 

The village about 3 kilometers up the mountain was reminiscent of a perfectly orchestrated postcard scene: houses with rough stone exteriors, the tricolor Andorran flag hanging on every balcony, and a babbling stream running under an arched bridge.

 

The 4km banner was placed directly in someone's front yard.

 
For reasons I don't really understand, underneath the banner, someone had painted in giant letters, “Donde estas Contador?”

 

Joaquim “Purito” Rodriguez, the Spaniard who came in third in this summer's Tour de France, apparently lives in Andorra and clearly enjoys enormous support here in “Purito territory.”

 

I've watched plenty of mountain stages on TV but it's only when you're on the mountain yourself can you actually appreciate how steep a climb truly is.

 

I like Purito enough but I was more excited to see support for my friend Juan Antonio Flecha!

 

The views were as rewarding as the mountain was punishing.

 

Support for Flecha and Sky's 2 Colombian climbers just ahead of the 3km to go mark.

 

Four of the switchbacks en route to the summit.

 

There were plenty of amateur cyclists making their way up the wet mountain in advance of the pros.

 

On my walk up, I kept my eyes peeled for good viewing spots. My aim was to be on a steep part of the climb where I had a good view of the riders approaching and where they would be suffering and in need of some (my!) encouragement. Anytime I paused to consider a location, I'd ask myself, “Is this the best place I can be to cheer like an idiot for Tyler Farrar?” I made it to the finish line, took a quick photo, and promptly turned around to go back to my ideal spot between the 3 and 2km to go banners.

 

By this point, the drizzle had transformed into a proper storm, complete with flashes of lighting and claps of thunder. Wouldn't you know it, the spot I'd picked out offered no shelter at all–trees would block my view after all–so I cowered under some nearby trees for awhile which offered token protection. However, with hours still to go, I was as soggy and cold as a piece of week old lettuce in the back of the fridge so I started to walk up and down the switchbacks to warm up and to reexamine the other locations I'd considered. Several kilometers later, I returned to my original spot, confident in my location and feeling much warmer (though no drier).

 

Since there was a steady stream of people riding their road and mountain bikes towards the finish, I took the opportunity to practice my cheering. At one point I spotted 3 women trekking up my corner. I spied a small maple leaf on one of them so I said, “Canada?” and the woman said, “Sí!” When I told her I'm also Canadian and that I was supporting Christian Meier, she responded, “He's my husband!” The women with Amber Meier were Ally Fairly and Lisa Busche, married to Caleb Fairly of Garmin and Matthew Busche of RadioShack, respectively. Before continuing their hike to the finish line, Amber kindly gave me some of Christian's rider cards and they were happy to meet a random fan who knew of all of their husbands (in fact, I met Caleb and Christian just yesterday).

 

There was still some time to go but the minutes flew by and suddenly I could see the race leader on the switchbacks below. I was surprised the caravan hasn't preceded the riders, but I didn't care! I could tell it was someone from Cannondale on a solo breakaway and a spectator with a radio had told me that Cannondale team leader Ivan Basso had abandoned, so I immediately suspected it was Daniele Ratto.

 

Sure enough, it was Ratto on his way to his first Grand Tour stage win.

 

A few minutes later, Vincenzo Nibali in the leader's jersey and Chris Horner in the King of the Mountains jersey made their way up the climb. They finished 2nd and 3rd, respectively. Nibali remained the race leader at the day's end but Horner lost his jersey to stage winner Ratto, only to pick up the white combined jersey from Nicholas Roche. Everyone around me was cheering only for Nibali and since Horner was just so nice yesterday, I out yelled the Nibali fans. If you check out the third picture, you'll see a big grin on Horner's face.

 

There was a small gap before Purito, 4th place finisher, and Sammy Sanchez, 5th place, appeared.

 
Philippe Gilbert was a few bike lengths behind the pair. In the final 2 kilometers, he was passed by several riders and finished in 15th place. Note the bandage he's still wearing on his knee from his crash in the Eneco Tour 3 weeks ago.

 

Thibaut Pinot would finish in 7th and Domenico Pozzovivo in 8th.

 

Alejandro Valverde was next but passed Pinot and Pozzovivo to come in 6th place.

 

Leopold Köning, winner of stage 8, finished 10th.

 

Croatian road champion Robert Kišerlovski was 19th.

 

Dani Moreno started the day in the green sprinter's jersey but would lose it to Valverde.

 

Nicholas Roche gritted his teeth as he rounded the steep corner.

 

Sergio Henao.

 

A group of 7 cyclists followed.

 

At this point, I put my camera away. I had done a good enough job of both cheering and taking pictures, but my camera tends to throw a tantrum and refuse to cooperate in unpleasant weather and, more importantly, I wanted to focus my attention on supporting the riders yet to come.

 

Alex Howes was the first Garmin rider of the day and his new mustache made him incredibly easy to pick out so I started jumping and yelling like crazy for him as he approached and rounded the corner. As he passed me, he turned his head to smile and said dryly, “Your enthusiasm is very much appreciated.”

 

Soon after, it was Flecha's turn. He's one of my favorites and a local favorite as well, so everyone cheered for him but I guess my voice must really carry because he recognized me as soon as he saw me and then he started to vigorously wave and smile at me.

 

Johan Vansummeren was the next Garmin rider, so I of course went into uber cheering mode. He smiled politely at me and I kept cheering. He smiled politely at me again and I kept cheering. Then he just had to laugh.

 

Alex Rasmussen was working hard and when I yelled for him, he responded by sticking his tongue out and comically panting.

 

The other spectators in my area clapped and blanketly said, “Venga!” to just about every rider who passed. Two guys had noticed my extreme reaction to the Garmin boys, so they got in the spirit and started to go wild for Garmin, too! Caleb Fairly was on the far side of the corner from me but he was right in front of the 2 newest Garmin cheerleaders, so I was happy that I had my bases covered.

 

Along the way, I made sure to give extra loud support for Matthew Busche and Christian Meier. It goes without saying that I cheered for my other favorites, including Fabian Cancellara, Rigoberto Urán, Winner Anacona, Zdenek Štybar, Gregory Rast and Tony Martin (those last 3 guys all gave me big appreciative smiles).

 

The final Garmin rider of the day was Tyler Farrar, the one I had in mind when I selected my cheering spot. He was smack in the middle of a big group so I did my best to yell at volume 11 to make sure he could hear me over the noise of so many bikes. It worked because he looked up at me before the corner with the biggest smile on his face, the kind typically reserved for toothpaste ads. He did have to look back at the road a couple of times to make sure he didn't crash into anyone as he climbed the steep turn, but his eyes hardly left mine and certainly that smile never left his face.

 

A few more riders passed before Kenny Elissonde, the last rider of the day to finish. I quickly counted several of my favorite riders I hadn't seen, including Nick Nuyens, Michel Kreder, and Lieuwe Westra, and figured they must have abandoned. Citing health reasons or the terrible conditions, over a dozen riders climber into their team cars along the 155 kilometers of the stage, in addition to those who did not start the day.

 

I started the long walk downhill, all the while cyclists were zooming down, having turned around after reaching the finish, to head to their team buses and warm showers. I was stoked to find this sign on a retaining wall which hadn't been up when I first climbed the mountain (the sign, not the retaining wall).

 

After stopping for a cup of tea to warm up a little, the bus took me back to my hotel where I caught the recap of Ratto's win and even saw myself in my bright red poncho from last month's Eneco Tour (the best freebie from ever acquired from a race caravan!).

 

So even though I have no doubt that I'd have enjoyed the sign on in Bagá this morning, I am so pleased that I instead spent the day standing in the rain and walking over 16 kilometers up and down a mountain to support the peloton.

 

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La Vuelta a España stage 13

Posted on September 6, 2013 by Kathryn

Part of the reason I get to a stage sign on so early is that I'm usually too excited to sleep in and today was no exception. I woke up half an hour before my alarm and forced myself to stay in bed. Torture! And I was still early enough that the sign on podium was nowhere near being all set up. In fact, I had time to wander back to my hotel to say hi to my new buddies, the Saxo mechanics, who were very happy to see me. I spotted Nick Roche walking around and both times I was just a little too polite and a little too far away to ask for a photo, but he smiled at me which counts for something.

 

I walked just past the podium area to where there was a booth selling shirts with Xavi Tondo's logo. He was a rider with Movistar originally from Valls, the town hosting the day's start. As he and a teammate prepare to go out for a training ride in May of 2011, Tondo died in a freak and tragic accident when he was stuck between the garage door and a car and was crushed to death. Horrific. It was nice to see so many people keeping his memory alive.

 

The sign on stage was just about ready. All that remained was to erect the team flags.

 

It looked great when it was said and done.

 

I got to talking with one of the guys from the set up crew and he gave me a Vuelta shirt, which was not only thoughtful but also lucky for me. I didn't have anything in particular for the riders to sign so the shirt would be a perfect canvas.

 

Shortly before the riders were due to start arriving, the emcees went to work to entertain the audience. I like how they seem to be using a modified sheet music stand, as if the local high school jazz band was coming to perform their Benny Goodman montage. I was introduced to the crowd as the Canadian who'd been there since 8am.

 

A stunt cyclist came out to preform tricks. Two people held the tape at hip height and the cyclist started to hop on the back wheel, no more than 6 inches from the end of the stage.

 

After a couple of small, controlled hops, he suddenly jumped the tape! Super impressive.

 

I've come to expect that the cyclists will keep the fans waiting and show up only when they're good and ready. Not so today! Cédric Pineau officially signed on a few minutes early and then he kindly signed my shirt.

 

In no particular order, here's how the sign on went!

 

I told Alex Howes that I'm a big fan of Garmin and he said, “Oh, me, too!”

 

Caleb Fairly.

 

Edvald Boasson Hagen.

 

Simon Clarke of Orica GreenEdge laughed as he aigned my shirt when i told him that he's one of the riders on my fantasy cycling team but not to feel any added pressure.

 

When Mitch Docker signed for me, I asked him to let Christian Meier, the only Canadian in the Vuelta after Cannondale's Guillaume Boivin crashed out, know that there was a Canadian hoping to meet him. He seemed excited and said he'd pass the message on.

 

I saw Winner Anacona riding in from a mile away and cheered for him as he walked up the steps to sign on. I love supporting guys like Winner who don't seem to have a big fan base. He looked around a bit to see who was yelling his name and spotted me. He came over to ign my shirt and when I started to explain, “Soy la canadiense…”, he cut me off and said remembered me after I'd wished him a happy birthday at Eneco Tour last month and supported him the whole week! I asked him how his legs were feeling, something I tend to ask of a lot of the guys, and he gave a long pause and said they're improving, so we had a quick chat before he rode back to his bus. I was really impressed that he (1) remembered me immediately; (2) gave me such a thoughtful answer about his legs which led to a proper conversation; and (3) wrote his race number underneath his signature. I always write the rider's number so that I can remember who's autograph it is later on and it just seems to be a very considerate gesture coming from a rider.

 

Cameron Wurf was one of the cyclists on my radar for today. I discovered his blog during the Giro and have been following it ever since. It's not necessarily great prose that he's writing, but it's a great peak at what it's like to be a domestique. He also came to cycling in a roundabout way. He was a rower on the Australian Olympic team, took up cycling to stay in shape after a rowing injury, and now rides for Cannondale.

 

I met Juan Antonio Flecha a couple of times at the Tour de France and I always had a great time talking with him. He was a huge crowd favorite here and gave an interview after he'd signed on but he still came right to me and we had a great talk. It still stuns me when riders remember me!

 

By now, I had thoroughly impressed everyone around me. A Canadian? A woman? Speaks Spanish? Knows the riders' names? And the riders all know her?

 

One of the riders I was most looking forward to seeing this morning was Tyler Farrar. It happened to be a quiet moment when he appeared, which I ruined by cheering, “Yeah, Tyler! Go, Tyler! Wahoo, Tyler!” It never fails, I make him laugh every time which is all the encouragement I need to continue. After he'd signed on, he came over to me and said that I seem to pop up at all the races. Indeed!

 

I got autographs from Dutch speakers Nick Nuyens, Lieuwe Westra, and Dennis Vanendert and I was pleased with myself that I thought to say, “Success!” as you do in Dutch.

 

It was getting really busy with much if the peloton deciding to sign in at the same moment, but Christian Meier came right over to me. Mitch must have delivered my message! Of course, my giant Canadian flag probably didn't hurt. I was really excited to meet him and he seemed excited to meet a fellow New Brunswicker at the Vuelta. We talked for about 5 minutes which is a long time to talk to a stranger simply because you hold the same passport when you've got to finish preparing for a 169 kilometer race.

 

Chris Horner ended up right in front of me while the riders bottlenecked the area. I asked him if he'd sign for me on his way back and he signed right then and there. I said I've been enjoying watching him give interviews in Spanish and he groaned and said, “Oh, god, my Spanish is terrible!” He posed for a photo with a new friend of mine, an American and fellow cycling fan who was at my hotel the previous night. Horner was super approachable and came across as your next door neighbor or a family friend.

 

I didn't think I had a hope in hell of getting an autograph from race leader Vincenzo Nibali but I'm delighted he proved me wrong. I told him that I was also at the Giro d'Italia this year, which we went on to win, so I must be good luck for him. He laughed and thanked me for coming.

 

Defending champion Alejandro Valverde was in good spirits as he signed autographs this morning. I gave him my marker and we started to look for a place where he could sign but the shirt was getting awfully full by this point, so I chastised him in Spanish, saying that if he'd gotten here earlier, he could have signed anywhere he wanted, which he found pretty funny.

 

Purito Rodriguez.

 

I had just enough time to run up to the Saxo team car to wish the mechanics good luck before catching the start.

 

I made sure to again thank the crew guy whose name escapes me at the moment for giving me the shirt. I showed him all the autographs I'd collected and he said he'd gotten a kick from watching all the riders coming over to me.

 

Today's 28 signatures came from: #1 Alejandro Valverde, #31 Vincenzo Nibali, #33 Jakob Fuglsang, #43 Graeme Brown, #79 Cameron Wurf, #92 Igor Anton, #95 Egoi Martinez, #97 Juan Jose Oroz, #106 Cédric Pineau, #112 Caleb Fairly, #113 Tyler Farrar, #115 Alex Howes, #117 Nick Nuyens, #121 Joaquim “Purito” Rodriguez, #132 Winner Anacona, #137 Max Richeze, #149 Dennis Vanendert, #151 Leopold Köning, #173 Simon Clarke, #175 Mitch Docker, #177 Christian Meier, #178 Michael Matthews, #184 Chris Horner, #187 Yaroslav Popovych, #192 Edvald Boasson Hagen, #195 Christian Knees, #214 Juan Antonio Flecha, and #219 Lieuwe Westra.

 
That may be a new autograph record for me!

 

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La Vuelta a España stage 12

Posted on September 5, 2013 by Kathryn

It's been weeks since I last saw the peloton which is far too long, so naturally I rearranged things so that I could catch the final of the year's Grand Tours, the Vuelta a España.

 

Today's stage took the riders over just one category 3 climb in its 164 kilometers and featured a flat final quarter of the course so the win was expected to go to a sprinter. The peloton roared up the road with Edvald Boasson Hagen (far right) trying to open up a gap.

 

He managed to break away but my friend Philippe Gilbert grabbed his wheel and, with 25 meters to go, flew by Boasson Hagen to take the stage.

 

Boasson Hagen finished second.

 

Johan Vansummeren in 70th place.

 

I loved watching Danilo Wyss and Gregory Rast cross the line (88th and 89th, respectively). Wyss was slapping Rast on the back and yammering away in Rast's face while the RadioShack rider just kept riding.

 

Oliver Zaugg finished in 111th place.

 

Tony Martin soft pedaled to finish in 115th place, but you can't fault the man for being exhausted after his heroic and legendary solo break away for nearly every inch of the 205 kilometer stage one week ago today.

 

I'm sorry to have missed getting a photo of Gilbert crossing the line, but I'll never forgot the look on his face. Sure, every rider who wins a Vuelta stage is going to be thrilled, but Gilbert, the reigning world champion who has had a good-but-not-stellar season, finally got his first victory and at the tail end of the season. He was ecstatic and his whole body radiated it.

 

On the podium, the man was positively giddy and at the same time completely relieved. Gilbert was certainly up there for quite some time. First they gave him flowers and a statue.

 

He tried to leave but they kept him on stage.

 

Then they gave him more flowers and a glass.

 

Again he thought he was finished but the organizers told him to stay put!

 

And finally they gave him his victory champagne.

 

Vincenzo Nibali wore the red leader's jersey again.

 

Nicholas Roche kept the white combined jersey. I really like the concept of this jersey. It acknowledges a rider for his all around skills by combining his standing in all of the different classifications.

 

Chris Horner retained the king of the mountains jersey.

 

Fabricio Ferrari was awarded the combativity prize.

 

Dani Moreno put on the green jersey on his birthday.

 

Astana came out to accept the best overall team award.

 

And that it was for the stage! I happily boarded a bus and got to my next hotel where who did I find waiting for me but Movistar and Saxo Tinkoff?

 

Movistar bikes: Jose Ivan Gutierrez, Sylwester Szmyd, and Beñat Intxausti. Below: Alejandro Valverde's bike.

 

The Saxo mechanics were hard at work, but they were happy to have an audience and chatted away with me.

 
Incidentally, it's Chris Sørensen's 29th birthday today!

 

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Alexandria, Egypt

Posted on September 1, 2013 by Kathryn

The drive from Cairo to Alexandria is long but easy, especially if you've got a private driver which is ridiculously affordable. After driving through the desert, our first stop was to see the catacombs at Kom el-Shoqafa. They were pretty serious about not letting cameras in, which is too bad because I loved exploring the necropolis.

 

Legend has it that the catacombs were discovered by accident when a donkey fell through the ground in 1900. After that, archaeologists excavated the area, discovering a wide spiral staircase that descends into room after room of underground tombs.

 

The next stop was to visit Pompey's Pillar. This is a great example of getting history wrong, but sticking with their story anyway. It was thought that the 25+ meter tall column served as a tombstone for Pompey after his murder in Egypt in the 1st century, hence the name. In fact, Pompey had been dead for at least a couple hundred years by the time the pillar was erected in honor of Diocletain, a Roman emperor who had captured Alexandria.

 

Ruins have been unearthed here.

 

There is a pair of underground galleries. The first one we entered was a long corridor with cool, porous walls and a statue of a bull at the end.

 

And the second gallery? We were maybe 50 paces in, right before the corridor turned, when the power died. As good as it felt to stand in the chilled, subterranean air, the darkness and uneven path meant we did a pretty quick U turn after trying to go just a few more paces.

 

For me, the highlight of Alexandria was the Qaitbay Citadel. The famous Lighthouse of Alexandria, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, once stood here but over the centuries, it eventually succumbed to a series of earthquakes. Historians suspect that many of the enormous stone blocks used in the fort's walls were part of the original lighthouse.

 

The citadel was built in the 15th century when the Turks threatened to invade Egypt. The Turks did in fact invade despite the citadel, but it remained standing. At various times in the following centuries, the fort alternated between expanding and being improved and falling into disrepair.

 

The floor plan is a basic square. The mosque in the center, enclosed by a hallway with several rooms off of it. The mosque is the second oldest in the city.

 
Above the entryway, on the second floor, is a multipurpose hole in the floor. It first served to ease communications between the 2 floors and secondly allowed one to pour hot oil on one's enemies. Handy.

 

Viraj and I took our time on the second floor. The stones and arches were certainly beautiful but they also allowed the most refreshing sea breeze to circulate.

 
A massive wall surrounds the fort.

 

City and harbor views from the defensive walls of Qaitbay Citadel.

 

Our last stop was to visit the modern Library of Alexandria. The ancient library housed an impressive collection that made it an international beacon of knowledge and power in the centuries long before the printing press, but was ultimately destroyed by several fires. The library today, built in 2002, stands near the site of the original library. It features permanent and temporary exhibits in addition to its Arabic, English, and French titles.

 

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The Koppenberg & Centrum Ronde van Vlaanderen

Posted on August 22, 2013 by Kathryn

Another famous Belgian cobblestone climb is the Koppenberg. The name comes from kinderkoppen, or children's heads, as cobblestones are known in Flemish. That's a nice piece of imagery.

 

The iconic hill has been used in Ronde van Vlaanderen over 20 times since the mid 1970s, though it was excluded for 15 years after the race commissarie's car ran over race leader Jesper Skibby's tire after the cyclist had fallen. Oops. The Koppenberg stretches for 600 meters with 77 meters of elevation gained and average and maximum gradients of 11.6% and 22%, respectively.

 

Amateur cyclists can compare their climbing times to the pros as the bottom and top of the Koppenberg are clearly marked.

 

It starts off gently for the first few meters.

 

But it gets steep pretty quickly. Good thing the livestock is there to cheer you on.

 

Looking downhill from the steepest section.

 

And then suddenly, mercifully, the cobblestones and climb end.

The day we walked the Koppenberg (maybe one day I'll ride it, but for now walking will suffice), we were surprised not to see any cyclists having a go at the climb. But this was Belgium where cyclists abound–as we were about to get into the car, 2 pros from Omega Pharma-Quick Step passed us on a flat cycling path!

 

From the Koppenberg, we drove to Oudenaarde, where the Ronde van Vlaanderen has finished since 2012. Oudenaarde is home to the race's museum.

 

It was a Monday so the museum was closed but fortunately they keep lots of good stuff in their windows, like cobblestones with the names of every winner in the Ronde's history.

 

This is also the home of Fabian Cancellara's fan club. The day after he won the Ronde this past April, he poured beers at the museum's bar for his fans.

 

I'm guessing the spaghetti Boononaise was a popular dish after Boonen's 2012 victory.

As you may recall, on Sunday I was interviewed by TV Oost in between the peloton's 2 laps of the Muur. They've posted their segment online, so you can watch my Belgian television debut here! They introduce me by saying the Muur is legendary and known as far away as Canada (in case your Flemish is rusty). I'm in there twice, so keep watching!

 

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Eneco Tour stage 7

Posted on August 18, 2013 by Kathryn

It felt strange to be absent from the sign on this morning but that was the plan all along. We were headed to the Muur, a famous cobblestone hill with an average gradient of 9.3% and a maximum gradient of 19.8%. In other words, it’s steep! The Muur is a fabled climb in the world of cycling. It has been featured in many different races but was best known as the decisive climb in the Ronde Van Vlaanderen until recent years when the race course hasn’t included the cobbled climb.

 

The view downhill from near the top of the steepest section.

 

Looking uphill to the turn.

 

Since the pros find the Muur infamously difficult, amateurs can’t resist trying it themselves. There was an amateur race about an hour before the professional peloton arrived and only a couple of riders had to dismount and walk their bikes uphill.

 

When the professional cyclists arrived, it was Ian Stannard leading a small breakaway up the climb. Left to right: Guillaume Van Keirsbulck, Pim Ligthart, and Ian Stannard.

 

The breakaway included Andre Greipel in the red jersey, Giacomo Nizzolo, Manuele Boaro, Ruben Perez Moreno, and Julian Kern.

 

They had several minutes on the peloton. I was astounded to see how fast they rode rounding the corner and hitting the steepest section.

 

Daniel Oss, Tom Dumoulin in the race leader’s white jersey, and Sylvain Chavanel led the charge.

 

As the riders climbed, their heads bobbed left to right like toy boats in stormy water. The peloton was still pretty cohesive and while their speed was impressive, I was able to pick out my favorites like Maciej Bodnar, Tyler Farrar, Aidis Kruopis (who gave a legendary fist pump when we cheered for him), Francois Parisien, and Svein Tuft, who looked like he was going to crack up laughing when I began yelling his name.

 

Russian champion Vladimir Isaychev and Danilo Napolitano were among the last up the climb.

 

A few minutes later, both riders rode down the hill. Since neither was well placed in the general classification, I guess they saw no reason to ride another 60+ kilometers and climb the Muur again, so they abandoned. In fact, the second time the peloton passed, it was remarkably smaller due to so many riders abandoning. In the end, just 111 of the original 168 cyclists finished the weeklong race.

 

As we waited for the second and final lap, a journalist from a local Belgian station approached me after noticing my Canadian flag and did a short interview.

 

While people walked up the Muur, trying to find a better spot, this little kid on this big bike rode up the whole climb! And he didn’t weave nearly as much as half the amateurs who had done it! Chapeau!

 

The breakaway was down to just a couple of minutes advantage and down to just 2 riders: Ian Stannard and Andre Greipel.

 

The next 2 riders to round the corner were Guillaume Van Keirsbulck and Pim Ligthart.

 

Chavanel and Oss led the peloton up the climb.

 

Tom Dumoulin and Lars Boom were about 2 bike lengths behind.

 

At this point, everyone was hurting. For the first time all week, I didn’t get much of a reaction from the cyclists when I cheered their names. The riders grunted, grimaced, and bared their teeth like dogs in a fight. It wasn’t pretty (but it was exciting to watch!).

 

Daryl Impey.

 

Koldo Fernandez.

 

Francois Parisien.

 

Svein Tuft.

 

Tom Veelers and Roy Curvers.

 

With around 25 kilometers to go, we figured the finish area would be too packed to get much of a view of the finish or podium, so we made our way towards the team buses instead. We happened to time it well as we arrived shortly before the peloton passed with about 10k left. Ian Stannard had dropped Greipel and rode solo.

 

Not far behind were Chavanel, Oss, Wilco Kelderman, and Greipel.

 

Tom Dumoulin had none of his Argos teammates with him and, at this late pointing the race, it was highly unlikely he would keep the white jersey and win overall.

 

Meanwhile, Laurens De Vreese was guaranteed the black jersey so long as he finished the day.

 

Robbie Hunter and Tim Declerq.

 

Francois Parisien.

 

Stijn Vandenbergh.

 

Alexander Porsev tried to eat a snack while negotiating a roundabout.

 

Bradley Wiggins and Chris Sutton.

 

Svein Tuft and Bernie Eisel.

 

When the last of the riders passed, we crossed the street to the team buses. Soon after, the first of the riders trickled in. Below: Andre Greipel.

 

Since there weren’t any speakers here, we had no idea who had won the stage and if Dumoulin had managed to hang on for the overall win. Watching the riders coming in to their buses, everyone looked absolutely spent (with the single exception of Tyler Farrar who said a cheery, “Hey!” when he saw me as a fan ran alongside him, nattering away). Not a single rider looked celebratory, so we couldn’t even figure out which team had won and we weren’t about to ask a team about the results.

 

Movistar’s bike frames, wheels, and luggage.

 

Luggage belonging to Lars Boom and teammates.

 

Saxo Tinkoff mechanics.

 

An Orica GreenEdge mechanic cleaned Sebastian Langeveld’s bike as kids waited around, hoping for water bottles or other team souvenirs.

 

Euskaltel bikes of Ioannis Tamouridis, Jon Aberasturi, and Jure Kocjan.

 

Not knowing the final result after following the Eneco Tour for the whole week felt a little anticlimactic, but I was happy just to have been able to say one last hello to my favorite riders. Since last Sunday, I filled my Canadian flag with autographs from half the peloton, got to regularly chat with some of my absolute favorite riders, and saw some great bike racing. What a fabulous week.

 

Results

Stage win: Zdenek Stybar

Points red jersey: Lars Boom (100 points to Greipel’s 99)

Combativity black jersey: Laurens De Vreese

Overall race winner: Zdenek Stybar

 

Huge thanks to the Cole family for your hospitality this week! Dank u wel! See you at Ronde Van Vlaanderen? 😉

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Eneco Tour stage 6 La Redoute

Posted on August 17, 2013 by Kathryn
After that first lap in Riemst, we jumped in the car and drove to Aywaille so we could see the riders climb La Redoute 3 times. To put it mildly, this is Philippe Gilbert territory. He’s originally from here, his fan club is based here and the climb itself which was recently repaved, thereby covering up where loyal fans had painted his name in years past, was just this week repainted by eager fans.

 

Oh, and there’s even a square in town named for the man. Need I say more?

 

So with this in mind, you can imagine the collective gasp that arose when the announcer said Gilbert had been involved in a crash at the back of the bunch before the first ascent. He was able to get back on his bike, but that crash sent teammate Taylor Phinney to the hospital to have his knee checked out (nothing fractured fortunately, but he’s out of the race).

 

A breakaway with about 8 riders had about a 5 minute advantage and the crowd went crazy at the sight of them.

 

When the peloton arrived, Astana was at the front and soft spoken Assan Bazayev was leading the bunch.

 

Maxim Iglinsky, Koldo Fernandez, and Niki Terpstra.

 

The peloton was already starting to spread thin on the first ascent. As a fan, this gives me more time to pick out my friends so when I saw Svein Tuft approach from 50 meters away, I lost my mind cheering for him! He was working hard (they all were!) but he managed to look at me and actually smile!

 

Philippe Gilbert was being paced back to the peloton by teammates Amaël Moinard and Manuel Quinziato. Note the blood on Gilbert’s leg and the tears on his shoulder. And perhaps note the grimace, too.

 

Francois Parisien still had a smile on his face, though it was a bit more strained than usual, when I cheered and cheered and cheered for him.

 

When the breakaway passed for the second time, their numbers had swelled slightly while their advantaged had decreased.

 

When the peloton came by, everyone was hurting.

 

Tom Dumoulin.

 

Lars Boom suffering in the white jersey.

 

Bram Tankink.

 

Who else would have such a big smile but Francois Parisien.

 

Andre Greipel is a sprinter, not a climber, and today did not change his mind.

 

Luca Dodi, Maciej Bodnar, and Gert Steegmans.

 

Dominique Rollin.

 

The next bunch. Center: Bernie Eisel.

 

Luke Durbridge, Gediminas Bagdonas, and Svein Tuft. Dear reader, can you hear me cheering?!

 

Svein certainly could, as is evident from his smile.

 

The end of the stage couldn’t come soon enough for the breakaway. Their lead had diminished significantly but it was clear the winner would be one of them as they climbed La Redoute for a third and final time. Angel Madrazo, David Lopez, and Maciej Paterski launched an attack.

 

Lopez gave everything and took the stage win.

 

Paterski tried desperately to catch up–what a face!–and finished third.

 

Jan Bakelants finished fifth. (We said we were good luck, not great luck!)

 

Daryl Impey finished eighth.

 

Nick Nuyens finished ninth.

 

Despite being over 2 minutes behind the peloton after his crash, Gilbert finished just 1:37 behind Lopez.

 

Lars Boom finished well over 2 minutes behind Lopez, causing him to lose the race leader’s jersey.

 

By this point, there were significant gaps between the riders coming in. Below: Jesse Sergent and Bram Tankink ascend La Redoute one last time as spectators cross the street behind them.

 

The next big group to arrive included Laurens De Vreese in the black jersey and Bradley Wiggins. A heavier Wiggins makes for a slower Wiggins on the climbs.

 

Francois did his best to smile but I think he was ready to be done!

 

I saw Tyler Farrar just as he saw me and I think I found a new volume level as I yelled for him. He suddenly had the biggest smile on his face and just started laughing (well, laughing as well as he could while in the middle of a climb).

 

Svein and Durbridge led their group home. Meanwhile, those who had already finished were riding down the hill to their team buses. Mirko Selvaggi is descending in this shot.

 

Arnaud Demare took a break to chat and enjoy a snack before descending.

 

Greipel.

 

It was our turn to descend La Redoute and head to the car. On our way down we came across Laurens De Vreese. Since we had met him a couple of times and had a lengthy chat with him after yesterday’s stage, he gave us a nice big wave and smile.

 

So how did I do today? Even when trying not to get many autographs, I still ended up with 17 new additions to my flag! #1 Lars Boom, #17 Manuel Quinziato, #21 Gert Steegmans, #26 Zdenek Stybar, #43 Matthew Hayman, #53 Johnny Hoogerland, #64 Jurgen Roelandts, #66 Tim Wellens, #89 Andriy Grivko, #92 Vladimir Goesev, #112 Roy Curvers, #117 Albert Timmer, #118 Tom Veelers, #121 Filippo Pozzato, #136 Sebastian Langeveld, #163 Gediminas Bagdonas, and #194 Gijs van Hoecke.

 

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Eneco Tour stage 6 sign on & departure

Posted on August 17, 2013 by Kathryn

What a tremendous day of cycling! Stage 6 began back in Belgium which meant Fien and I got up early to leave the Netherlands via train and bus before we walked down a residential street that was the official border of Belgium and the Netherlands. All the cars parked in driveways on the right had Dutch plates while the ones on the right had Belgian plates. Crazy.


I’m not sure how to describe the place where the sign on happened. It was kind of a park under a bridge and the riders had to descend a steep and angled ramp before rounding a sunken outdoor theater type place. It was an odd space but it did mean that the riders had to go through a narrow passage to get to the stage to sign on, so we had an absolutely ideal position for autograph hunting. I was desperately running out of space on my flag for signatures so my plan was to be brutally selective this morning when asking riders to sign.

 


Gijs Van Hoecke (you may remember him as the young Belgian cyclist who was sent home early from the 2012 Olympics after a particularly drunken night).

 


Vladimir Goesev.

 


Johnny Hoogerland.

 


Way back at the stage 1 sign on, Jan Bakelants came over to sign my flag and Fien and I reminded him that we had been good luck for him the 2 days he came to see us during the Tour de France (he wore yellow at the end of that first day and was in an impressive breakaway the other day). Jan remembered us and said he would look for us on Saturday since he would need some good luck on the triple ascent of La Redoute on stage 6. Sure enough, Jan spotted us right away and made a beeline for us this morning (much to the chagrin of the pushy woman next to me who wanted his autograph).

 

 

We had a small gift for him and were delighted to see how happy it made him! The peloton loves to drink Coke so we found him a “Jan” Coke bottle.

 


Tom Veelers.

 


Gediminas Bagdonas.

 


Juan Jose Cobo.

 


Roy Curvers.

 


Pippo Pozzato.

 


Matthew Hayman.

 


Andre Greipel looked at us apologetically when we asked for a signature since he literally had his hands full.

 


Albert Timmer.

 


Andriy Grivko.

 


Francois Parisien probably wakes up with a smile on his face, he’s just that friendly. Today he asked if I would be on the climb and he was awfully glad when I said we would be there to support him!


Tim Wellens.


Jurgen Roelandts.


As always seems to happen, there was a mad rush of cyclists suddenly showing up with about 10 minutes to go.

 


Sebastian Langeveld.

 


Manuel Quinziato.

 


Lars Boom signed my flag.

 


And then he tried not to laugh while ignoring the loud, aggressive woman next to me.


Gert Steegmans.

In between getting autographs, I got to say good morning to all my friends! By now, half these guys really do feel like my friends since we see each other daily and are always supportive of one another. I love seeing Maciej Bodnar’s face change from sleepy cyclist to happy-smiley guy when I say good morning to him. Svein Tuft always makes sure to say hi and ask how I’m doing. Daniel Oss just looks at Fien and I and cracks up every time. Tyler Farrar loves it when I break the otherwise silent atmosphere by yelling inappropriately loudly for him, which only encourages me to do it more. Taylor Phinney is always ready with a high 5, fist pump, or funny face. Assan Bazayev now greets me with a soft, “Hello,” every morning. Guys like Michael Van Staeyen, Garikoitz Bravo, Gatis Smukulis, and Jacopo Guarnieri, who are probably overlooked at some races, absolutely beam when they see (and hear!) us. And of course all the Canadians elicit huge cheers from me and they certainly seem to enjoy it.


At 12:45 sharp, the gun went off and the stage was under way!

 

The peloton did a lap in town and returned about 20 minutes later with Greipel in the lead and Phinney, Boom, and John Degenkolb in pursuit.

 

The peloton (well, a fraction of it anyway).

 

 

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Eneco Tour stage 5

Posted on August 16, 2013 by Kathryn

I love watching a time trial because it’s several hours of exciting racing on top of watching the riders warm up.

 

Philippe Gilbert rode the course twice in the morning, each time smiling and waving to Fien and I who were of course the only ones there and cheering for him.

 

We yelled like idiots when Taylor Phinney warmed up and he gave us a little wave.

 

Lars Boom, the race leader and defending champion.

 

I had been having a surprisingly hard time picking Bradley Wiggins out of the peloton lately, but once I heard he’d put on 15 pounds in preparation for next month’s time trial world championships in Florence, I can spot him again. His face has completely changed shape. It’s no longer an exaggerated oval and his cheeks are almost a little chubby.

 

Wiggins’ teammate Bernie Eisel.

 

Maciej Bodnar warming up.

 

It took Daniel Oss a moment to recognize us but when he did, he gave a big toothy smile. Right: Manuel Quinziato.

 

Klaas Lodewyck and our new friend, Michael Van Staeyen.

 

Tyler Farrar and Robbie Hunter both looked relaxed during their warm up.

 

The 150+ remaining riders started the time trial at one minute intervals in reverse order of their general classification ranking. The final 10 riders went off at 2 minute intervals.

 

Robbie Hunter.

 

Bradley Wiggins. He set the fastest time by far to this point.

 

Guillaume Boivin.

 

Albert Timmer.

 

Gregory Rast.

 

Amaël Moinard.

 

Frederik Veuchelen.

 

Alex Rasmussen.

 

Laurens De Vreese in the black combativity jersey.

 

I tend to take the photo either way too early or way too late when I’m excited and I was going crazy as Svein Tuft approached the finish line. His time out him in 3rd place but he was bumped back to 21st place by the day’s end.

 

Johan Vansummeren.

 

Raymond Kreder.

 

Nick Nuyens.

 

Australian time trial (and road) champion, Luke Durbridge. His face says it all.

 

Dominique Rollin.

 

Hugo Houle.

 

Koldo Fernandez.

 

Jesse Sergent. The young kiwi was absolutely killing it and his time put him in first place for much of the afternoon.

 

Francois Parisien. This is another good example of me getting distracted by cheering for someone and not paying attention to taking photos.

 

Dutch time trial champion Lieuwe Westra.

 

Daniel Oss with Karsten Kroon hot on his heals.

 

Julian Kern.

 

French time trial champion Sylvain Chavanel came screaming by so fast that I could only catch a photo of him as he crossed the finish line. He knocked 4 seconds off of Jesse Sergent’s time, putting him in the lead.

 

Soon after, Tom Dumoulin just about caught Alexey Tsatevitch with a time that put him in second place.

 

Sebastian Langeveld.

 

Jan Bakelants.

 

South African time trial champion Daryl Impey.

 

Taylor Phinney.

 

Tyler Farrar.

 

Philippe Gilbert.

 

Zdenek Stybar.

 

Arnaud Demare.

 

Andre Greipel.

 

Lars Boom.

 

Sylvain Chavanel’s time proved to be the fastest, with Tom Dumoulin and Jesse Sergent rounding out the top 3, respectively. Below: Sylvain on the podium for his stage win.

 

None of the 3 jerseys changed hands today. Lars Boom remained the race leader, Andre Greipel kept the points jersey, and Laurens De Vreese held onto the combativity jersey.

 

We figured most, if not all, of the teams were long gone by the time the podium ceremony was over but decided it was worth checking. We found Omega Pharma-Quick Step, Belkin, and Topsport Vlaanderen were still in the parking lot. Alessandro Petacchi was chatting with some people and I was able to get a photo with him. This makes up for him not signing my flag the other day!

 

We stood on the parking lot and debated whether or not to wait for Lars Boom when the driver in the Topsport Vlaanderen bus honked and waved us over. He was curious why 2 young women were hanging out in the parking lot and we ended up having a long conversation with him and Laurens De Vreese, the winner of the combativity jersey, who was sitting shotgun.

 

UPDATE! I’ve added a few more photos, including shots of Assan Bazayev and Marcel Kittel signing autographs, to the Eneco Tour stage 4 post.

 

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Eneco Tour stage 4

Posted on August 15, 2013 by Kathryn

Today’s crowd put yesterday’s to shame in terms of size but definitely not with enthusiasm. It seemed like all of Essen showed up since it was a holiday and yesterday’s stage winner, Zdenek Stybar, lives in town with his girlfriend. Despite the numbers, the crowd only showed signs of life for Stybar, chanting, “Go, Styby, go!” and were otherwise pretty sedate.

 

UCI president Pat McQuaid was at today’s departure.

 

The first riders to sign on today included Team Sky’s Bernie Eisel (center) and Matthew Hayman (right).

 

Canadian Guillaume Boivin.

 

Laurens De Vreese received a glass bowl of flowers with a glass plaque in the center for holding onto the black combativity jersey for another day. Unfortunately, this is probably one of the last photos of his flowers and plaque. Seconds after he had mounted his bike to ride back to his bus, gingerly balancing his unnecessarily delicate prize, a Vacansoleil rider accidentally bumped into De Vreese and it tumbled out of his hand, smashing into a dozen pieces. Oops. The poor Vacansoleil rider looked so guilt stricken.

 

Left: Belarusian Yauheni Hutarovich.

 

Stijn Vandenbergh.

 

Fellow Canadian Hugo Houle.

 

Julian Kern.

 

Svein Tuft.

 

Assan Bazayev may be the most soft spoken rider in the peloton.

 

Marcel Kittel came over and talked with us before signing autographs.

 

I do my best to ask for autographs, but what I love the most is getting to talk with my favorite cyclists. It’s absolutely worth getting up at an ungodly hour to catch a bus and 2 trains to arrive at the start when I get to say good morning to Svein Tuft, Taylor Phinney, Tyler Farrar, and Ramunas Navardouskus and, more importantly, they often say good morning to me first!

 

Today Maciej Bodnar asked me if I was at the Tour de France and when I said yes, he said he had remembered me. Later on, Philipe Gilbert signed my flag and when I told him I saw him in this year’s Tour, he looked at me and said, “I know, I remember you!” It’s pretty crazy that the current world champion recognizes me as easily as I recognize him. I’m still pretty dumbfounded and humbled that I’ve made such an impression on so many riders!

 

The rain started to come down pretty quickly with several dozen riders yet to sign in, so I got a few more autographs and then retired my flag for the day.

 

It was too crowded to see the actual start of the race but we caught the last dozen or so riders making their way to the start in the final minutes. Below: Maxime Monfort.

 

Alessandro Petacchi.

 

Francois Parisien took his time adjusting his brakes. When he eventually rode off, I cheered like crazy for him and he responded with the biggest smile.

 

Maarten Tjallingii and Maxim Iglinskiy.

 

Nick Nuyens.

 

The rain had more or less let up by the start time.

 

After about 19 kilometers, the peloton completed a lap around Essen. A 4 man breakaway (Pieter Jacobs of Topsport Vlaanderen, Ioannis Tamouridis of Euskaltel, Pim Ligthart of Vacansoleil, and Staf Scheirlinckx of Accent Jobs) had close to a 5 minute advantage over the peloton.

 

FDJ led the peloton with race leader Arnaud Demare in 5th position.

 

Left to right: Daniele Bennati talking with a Lotto Belisol rider, 2012 Eneco Tour winner Lars Boom, Danilo Hondo and Andre Greipel both smiling, and Bob Jungels.

 

Today I collected a whopping 23 signatures from: #2 Theo Bos, #11 Philippe Gilbert, #22 Sylvain Chavanel, #33 Matti Breschel, #46 Gabriel Rasch, #47 Chris Sutton, #50 David Lopez, #55 Boy Van Poppel, #82 Assan Bazayev, #85 Evan Huffman, #107 Alex Rasmussen, #111 Marcel Kittel, #114 John Debenkolb, #115 Tom Dumoulin, #122 Winner Anacona, #126 Ariel Richeze, #149 Maciej Bodnar, #158 Francisco Ventoso, #161 Yauheni Hutarovich, #171 Ruben Perez, #177 Romain Sicard, #181 Arnaud Demare, and #201 Danilo Napolitano.

 

UPDATE! To see the photo Francois Parisien took of Fien and I with my flags, go back to the Eneco Tour team presentation post. I’ve also added several photos that the official race photographer has taken over the first 3 stages of various riders signing autographs for us, so visit the posts for Eneco Tour stages 1, 2, and 3 to see them! You’ll immediately know which photos are new because they all have an obvious Eneco Tour border.

 

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