Oh my god that was hard. Thankfully, even the top guys consider it one of the toughest. The sand is long and deep and then wet and mucky, and the course is short. We did 10 laps, the leaders doing just around 6min. per lap. I’m happy to say that I survived on the lead lap, though just barely.
I was, I think, the last guy to make it through. Wicks was the next guy in front of me, at the start of the last lap probably far less than a minute up. However, our last lap was goofy because the course was choked with spectators, so I had to go pretty easy, just kind of riding it. I don’t know what that did to my final time, but I know that I was about 6min. down at the start of the last lap. Page was in front of Wicks before one to go, went into the pit and declared that he was done, but was convinced to finish the race. I must have passed him in the finish chute because he rolled in after me, so he must have been the last official rider on the lead lap….I botched the start, letting myself get out-muscled before the gun went off and then missing my pedal. I was nearly last of 66 riders around the first turn, then got stuck behind a crash and had to run up both of the course’s early hills. Pathetic.
I couldn’t even see Ryan and Barry and Page; Jon Baker was 20 spots ahead; and only Powers (I love Jeremy–great kid) was close. I’m good at damage control, so I waited to move up until the most efficient time, which was the first sand section and after. I got to the forties and kept plugging away at it, just slacked-jawed, cross-eyed and both drooling and snotting. After a few laps I was surprised that I had come to just 15sec. behind Wicks and Page, but that was as close as I could get to them. By the midpoint, I was with the guys I would ultimately slug it out with, and first Page and then Wicks moved just out of sight but still close. I could see that Ryan was maybe in the top 20 at that point….Ryan is the real deal, with all the power necessary to get to the top. If he sticks with it he’ll probably gain the experience and hone the skill he’ll need for the future.
Page is the real deal. Barry is, too, but he still has work to do. I was essentially with those two today, and I had lots stacked against me, so that I’m proud of. However, I don’t think I’m the real deal. On the other hand, perhaps if I really pursued it over here for a few more years, I could get to another lever that would be beyond respectable. Respectable is where I’m at now. It’s important to keep in mind that this is crunch time over me, and that’s the Belgians talking. This is when all the top guys are riding their absolute fastest, so to at least finish a World Cup held on one of the tougest courses, on the leader’s lap, is “not bad”, as we say in MN….The racing is intense.
It’s hard to tell if you’re feeling good, at least it is for me. Right now, I really don’t feel like myself. But then, I haven’t been riding this hard all year. I mean, I’m with a group of about 5 guys late in the race, and we’re just murdering each other as if a big win is on the line. We’re crashing into each other, taking ourselves out, all the while battling to not get lapped. I swear, you’re never just “riding it in”….I proved to have a little more, but whether or not it was power or resolve, I’m not sure. Some of the guys over here tend to let up if they are close to getting lapped, either saving it for another day or, perhaps, bowing to the best. Not me. When I could feel Nijs’ presence behind me, I turned it on. I had been dropped by my group, but I found another gear and rode the last half lap as fast as the race leaders, going by the four guys in front of me and then, as I’ve said, catching Page. I don’t stop racing until I’m forcibly removed from the course. Nuts to that….The crowd was, in our Belgian handlers own word, “UN-BE-LIEV-ABLE”. So freaking many people. I’m so glad many know me and cheer me on. Not everybody gets that. First, you have to be in there. They’ll ignore anybody who clearly can’t hang. Next, you have to give them a reason to support you, whether it’s being friendly and approachable at your team’s van, handing out trading cards, looking different, etc. I think I have all those covered. But finally, they like to have a favorite who is THEIR favorite. Kinda like how I’m a Green Bay fan no matter what. The first place guy isn’t everything. In my very fortunate case, some of the crowd has really latched on to me over that past three seasons, and the same crew comes out to watch all the races every year, and then its size grows every year, and that’s not even half of it–I’m too embarassed by it all to go on. Suffice it to say, the support from some of the Belgian fans makes me think that I’m not wasting my time and money after all. Well, until the next race, the GVA at Loenhout. Some say it’s the biggest race in Belgium. Crazy. –Erik