October 2, 2012

Kermesse Racing In Belgium

In-Gear Rider Paul Butler gained his 2nd Cat licence last month so with his season goals achieved he jumped on a ferry with Elite team mate Martin Ford to find out first-hand what some of the hardest racing in the world was really like, here’s Paul’s report:

Flanders, Saturday 29th September 1pm.

As we arrived at our destination, in all the excitement I don’t even know what town we were racing in except that it was in Flanders, northern Belgium.  After a week of rain in the UK the sun was shining and the roads were dry so at least if the corners were as fast as they warned me then we’d have a bit of grip!

There were so many differences racing in Belgium and they became apparent even before the start.  The locals bet on the races and when we stopped for a quick coffee 5 miles from the start somebody asked me if I was riding the Kermesse.  When I answered yes in English the “Bradley Wiggins” effect must have kicked in as they all wanted to know whether I was a safe bet for their money.  I jokingly replied that I was until I quickly realised how serious they were and then spent the next 10 minutes frantically trying to learn the Flemish for “no really please don’t put your money on me”.

Before leaving I had to phone British Cycling who immediately emailed me a letter of authority stating I could race in Belgium (very easy process) and along with my normal licence and kit if it hadn’t have been for my passport, my European Health Insurance Card and my toothbrush I could have been going to a local evening criterium (I later learnt that you can never take enough food for these trips!).

At sign-on (a local cafe) they check your licence and letter of authority and you pay 10 euros and get back 5 euros when you hand back your race number (less than 4 quid to race then!).  You get a number for your jersey and one for your bike (so you might need to bring a few cable ties; luckily Martin provided me with the fancy bracket that attaches your number to your brake calliper, all very “pro”).

So onto the warm up and a chance to check out the circuit –  about 6km each day, closed roads, no parked cars (don’t park on the circuit as they’ll tow your car away), partly town centre then out into the open farmland with howling crosswinds.   People lined the streets everywhere, bars full of people out on the street drinking and soaking up the atmosphere.  Music was blaring out the PA system and a commentator was saying something in Flemish (at a guess he probably wasn’t saying “Paul Butler is on the front”!).

Being on closed roads meant 2 main differences to riding in the UK; right turns as well as left and “street furniture”.  Corners were mainly 90 degrees and at times there was literally left, right, left within a matter of metres.  Having traffic islands in the middle of the course only added to the excitement giving it that Tour de France feel as Policemen with yellow flags and whistles manned these hazards so (incredibly) nobody hit one.

At 1.20 pm I was as calm as you like as the start wasn’t until 2.30 pm but then when I realised that they were an hour ahead there was a bit of panic as we had to leg it to the start!

We had entered a race for “Elite Zonder C0ntract” meaning “Elites without a contract” i.e. everyone who you don’t see on the TV but might do one day!  I knew I was in for a hard day out!  On the start line, a nice touch, the Belgian amateur national champion always gets race number 1 and starts at the front, resplendent in his national colours.  If he doesn’t ride, nobody gets race number 1, now that’s respect.

A field of 100 riders had entered each day (we were riding Saturday and Sunday – unless I could talk Martin out of that in a bar on Saturday night!) and, as expected, it went off as quick as anybody could ride a bike.  Going into the first corner I was about 50th and coming out of it I must have been 80th, wow these guys know how to fight for their position!

I learnt very quickly that as soon as we turned a corner into a cross wind the strong riders (who included 4 of the Omega Pharma Quickstep squad!) put the hammer down.  Until last week I had only ridden with 3rd and (occasionally) 2nd Cats and any breaks were formed by people sprinting up the road and forming a group.  the bunch would then chase and more often than not it would come back together.  Here they just ride so hard that the gaps open and the break is formed, never to be seen again, it is truly bonkers.

Both races were 120km and I stayed with the peloton for 47 minutes on Saturday and 56 minutes on Sunday.  On the second day I remember looking at my computer with 33 minutes gone and chanting to myself “pain is temporary, pride lasts forever” every time we hit the cross winds.  My computer showed an average speed of over 27 mph both days and considering that (due to the concertina effect) us guys at the back were braking to about 10 mph into some of those corners that average is pretty high!  It was pan flat, properly flat, making my max speed of 38.2 mph equally incredible (who on earth was on the front when that was going on?!).

On the Sunday I decided I would defend my position more aggressively so I hit the corners harder and I admit I probably had my elbows out a bit more too and I was impressed by how many people corner at the same time yet there were no crashes all weekend.

Another nice touch, the Marshalls were all people who were less privileged than us and the race gives them food for the day and a couple of euros for helping out.

After I had ridden back to the finish on my own I got changed, had a drink and then watched Martin who was still racing!  Although he missed the winning break on both days he clearly demonstrated that he knew his way around and backed this up further by his fantastic 2nd place in a kermesse earlier this year.  That win will come Martin 😉

Thanks to Martin and the 100 or so kermesses he has under his belt this trip felt a lot less daunting than it could have.  I would never have done this.  In fact, it is within everyone’s grasp.  All you need is your licence and a letter from British Cycling, a ferry or the tunnel, and 5 minutes on this website http://new.wiebovlaanderen.be/COMPETITIE/Weg/KalenderUitslagen/tabid/74/Default.aspx and you could do this as a day trip.

I am definitely going back, more than once!

As long as you can handle yourself in a bunch, it’s not even worth worrying about whether you’re fit enough either.  Nothing will prepare you for this!  Just go along, enjoy riding your bike in a country where cycling is the national sport and treat it as a huge learning experience. Any questions, drop us a line and we’ll try to help.

Oh, one more thing (although I’m sure this goes without saying) you need to ride very very very fast!

 

 

 

Uncategorized
Share: / / /