I might get a chance to write a report on the Brissago race in the next couple of days. But in the meantime here is a couple of videos for you to have a look at. Both of them are just a test with my new editing software. And now I think I have some sort of harness hooked up in the car for filming a little bit more stable. But in the meantime enjoy the simple edits.
GP Brissago from Benny Devcich on Vimeo.
With the new software from Apple, the effects and graphics are pretty cool. Here I was just messing around a bit, and the effects are going to come in to a few more vids in the future. But think I could get inspired, stay tuned.
Test reel from Benny Devcich on Vimeo.
17 March 2009
16 March 2009
Tour of Majorca
With a little bit of time up our sleeve we managed to get a few of the riders away from the cold of the northern part of Europe to the sunny isle of Majorca (Ibiza is the island next door). This is an island off the coast of Spain, and it’s one of the those popular places that thousands of riders and many teams head to sooner or later when the winter in Europe gets too bad to ride. I had not been there before, but almost all of the riders I had ever met here were familiar with the island, so I was hanging out to ride around it. I had a road bike ready, and the weather was looking good on the island, a much better option than the 0’c, rain and snow we were getting in Holland at the time. First we had a small drive up to Denmark in the sleet and snow, to meet up with Susanne and Trine. Klas was dropping off a car that had to go back to Sweden, and we had another trip to make to our bike guys at Stevens, so it was a multi purpose trip. We flew from Copenhagen, but that’s after waiting for a few hours for the plane to get de-iced in Berlin, before it picked us up, I was look forward to getting some more sunshine, it had been a week since the seeing the sun Qatar, and my endless summer was looking like it was in jeopardy.
But we were soon on our way, and the week’s weather report in Majorca was looking great, fine weather and sun for the week. I was keen on a bit of riding, it had been a few weeks since my last ride, and so I was keen to stretch the old legs again. The riding was sweet, after a couple of days I took a day off the training, to be a tourist for the day, a good chance to get a good look around the place. The city was dripping with history, a very old Roman city was still in place (amongst some newer buildings) after all the centuries gone by, most of it still stands. The streets were fantastic to ride around, just wide enough for a small car to drive slowly down, the bike was perfect for a good reconnoitre, and for taking a few pics on of course. The towns Cathedral was pretty amazing, and with my addiction to churches (mostly the outsides) I was in heaven. This was a pretty impressive building to say the least, and the surrounding areas looked pretty original as well, with the small streets packed closely in to the Cathedral, it was a great day. As always, while looking for that ultimate shot, I stumbled on to a wicked old furniture workshop, it looked like it had been there for hundreds of years, unchanged to this day. I have seen a few of these similar looking workshops around my travels, I dream of the day when I find on old bike workshop that looks as old as this. With clutter and spares in every nook and cranny possible, with an old man in an old leather apron with his head down, concentrating on his work. If I don’t find one, maybe I can make one for myself to retire to, and people wandering by just like me, poking their cameras inside to capture a slice of life you don’t often see in this modern world anymore.
The riding was fantastic as well, with small country roads leading all over the place, there was something for everyone, and some great sights to see. I didn’t take my camera with me on the bike, except for one day (I was trying to save weight as there was some big climbs to contend with, I was not that fit yet), so you will just have to take my word for it. I did manage a video of a days ride around the very beautiful coast, but you will have to wait until I find some faster Internet before I post it up for your pleasure.
In the meantime have a look at a few shot of the city and surrounds HERE.
Found some, so have a look at a bumpy ride.
Tour of Majorca from Benny Devcich on Vimeo.
Or here if you have the right viewer for a higher quality view.
But we were soon on our way, and the week’s weather report in Majorca was looking great, fine weather and sun for the week. I was keen on a bit of riding, it had been a few weeks since my last ride, and so I was keen to stretch the old legs again. The riding was sweet, after a couple of days I took a day off the training, to be a tourist for the day, a good chance to get a good look around the place. The city was dripping with history, a very old Roman city was still in place (amongst some newer buildings) after all the centuries gone by, most of it still stands. The streets were fantastic to ride around, just wide enough for a small car to drive slowly down, the bike was perfect for a good reconnoitre, and for taking a few pics on of course. The towns Cathedral was pretty amazing, and with my addiction to churches (mostly the outsides) I was in heaven. This was a pretty impressive building to say the least, and the surrounding areas looked pretty original as well, with the small streets packed closely in to the Cathedral, it was a great day. As always, while looking for that ultimate shot, I stumbled on to a wicked old furniture workshop, it looked like it had been there for hundreds of years, unchanged to this day. I have seen a few of these similar looking workshops around my travels, I dream of the day when I find on old bike workshop that looks as old as this. With clutter and spares in every nook and cranny possible, with an old man in an old leather apron with his head down, concentrating on his work. If I don’t find one, maybe I can make one for myself to retire to, and people wandering by just like me, poking their cameras inside to capture a slice of life you don’t often see in this modern world anymore.
The riding was fantastic as well, with small country roads leading all over the place, there was something for everyone, and some great sights to see. I didn’t take my camera with me on the bike, except for one day (I was trying to save weight as there was some big climbs to contend with, I was not that fit yet), so you will just have to take my word for it. I did manage a video of a days ride around the very beautiful coast, but you will have to wait until I find some faster Internet before I post it up for your pleasure.
In the meantime have a look at a few shot of the city and surrounds HERE.
Found some, so have a look at a bumpy ride.
Tour of Majorca from Benny Devcich on Vimeo.
Or here if you have the right viewer for a higher quality view.
4 March 2009
Teams Presentation
With all the new clothes and the new bikes we had an official engagement to attend finally, our Teams Presentation. This is where we present the team and ourselves to the media and sponsors for the year. It’s kind of a drag, but an important part of any teams existence. It gives us a chance to take some press quality photos (we had hired professionals for this) of the girls and the team as a whole. These will be used for promotions, websites and assorted other uses throughout the season. It’s one of those times when a cyclist is really out of there comfort zone, having to look good standing still, feeling naked without a bike and helmet to hide themselves.
But I suppose there are some of the team that like to show their feminine side of their character for a change, and come out with full makeup and hair do’s, I hardly recognise some of them sometimes. Unfortunately Susanne was sick up in Sweden, so she had decided to stay at home, rather than infect all the rest of the team with her bugs. So we had the other nine riders to deal with for the day. But it all worked out well, after a bit of lounging around, waiting for the press to conduct interviews, and some talking with some of our favourite sponsors, the photos were all done. Now just the crowded room to deal with, as they called us one by one up on to the stage, for our introductions. I thought I had escaped the show by hiding near the front of the stage, taking a few photo’s of my own, but near the time I was due to go up, the events lady dragged my from my hiding place, into the limelight, for my 5 minutes on stage. But it was nice, as the crowd was silently stunned with such a fantastic looking team.
From the left, Trine, Loes M, Loes G, Saskia,Mirjam, Iris, Jacobien, Elisabeth and Anna (Susanne missing).
We looked good, new riding kits, two very clean shiny bikes, flanking the stage, what more could the media and public ask for. A good meal, with a team member on every table for added entertainment value, and it was getting late, a very long day for the girls. I had plenty of wheels and bikes to prepare in the coming days so we all looked to each-other to get out of there, our job was done for another year. I gathered the bikes and equipment up and made a dash for it, the girls were start to get a bit grumpy, so it was a good time to leave.
Some more phots HERE.
But I suppose there are some of the team that like to show their feminine side of their character for a change, and come out with full makeup and hair do’s, I hardly recognise some of them sometimes. Unfortunately Susanne was sick up in Sweden, so she had decided to stay at home, rather than infect all the rest of the team with her bugs. So we had the other nine riders to deal with for the day. But it all worked out well, after a bit of lounging around, waiting for the press to conduct interviews, and some talking with some of our favourite sponsors, the photos were all done. Now just the crowded room to deal with, as they called us one by one up on to the stage, for our introductions. I thought I had escaped the show by hiding near the front of the stage, taking a few photo’s of my own, but near the time I was due to go up, the events lady dragged my from my hiding place, into the limelight, for my 5 minutes on stage. But it was nice, as the crowd was silently stunned with such a fantastic looking team.
From the left, Trine, Loes M, Loes G, Saskia,Mirjam, Iris, Jacobien, Elisabeth and Anna (Susanne missing).We looked good, new riding kits, two very clean shiny bikes, flanking the stage, what more could the media and public ask for. A good meal, with a team member on every table for added entertainment value, and it was getting late, a very long day for the girls. I had plenty of wheels and bikes to prepare in the coming days so we all looked to each-other to get out of there, our job was done for another year. I gathered the bikes and equipment up and made a dash for it, the girls were start to get a bit grumpy, so it was a good time to leave.
Some more phots HERE.
Het Nieuwsblad
After spending a week putting the new machines together, it was finally time to give them a bit of a spin, and what a great test, with the first race of the European season, Het Nieuwsblad (renamed Het Volk). I have a lot faith in my own mechanical work, and I wouldn’t be human if I wasn’t a bit worried, with eight new bikes, being raced over some pretty shit roads. Also to top that, we had four or five sections of pretty bad cobblestones, some of them up to 3km long, and these are a real test for any machine, let alone a lightweight race bike. But I was feeling confident, I had checked the bikes over twice, and then a third time for good luck, I could relax in the car, knowing there was nothing more I could do. We had a bit of colour on the bike this season, so they were looking all new and pretty, lined up before the start. The new team clothing had arrived during the week as well, so the public would get their first look of our new colours for the season. We would be spending the day in the team car, trying to spot the girls in amongst the 150 riders or so in the peloton, at least the back of the uniform was simple, three bold colours, and dark shorts. It is always a bit of a challenge at the start of the season when most teams change their colours and riders, it can make for a bit of added confusion as to who is who, and which team are they riding for now, initially. But with in a couple of races, we have our eyes calibrated, and no one rider escapes our attention, unless of course they are getting dropped in the first half an hour, and we are trying not to look at the sorry faces, as they hurtle to the rear of the caravan.
The new bikes ready to race
The girls were happy with the new bikes and clothes, a few of the team had already given the bikes a test run earlier in the week, but more than half were riding a fresh bike. The eight girls (80% of the team) lined up before the race with the bikes and new uniforms for a few pics. They all looked pretty impressive, the bikes I mean, and the girls didn’t look too bad either, the race was about to start, so my work was about to slowdown for the day I hoped. I loaded the car, and attempted to turn the race radios on, but it was not happening. We had double-checked everything this week for our first Euro race, all except the radios, stupid I know, but they have never been a problem, until now. The two radios were just not working, so I checked all the fuses I could find (a modern car is unbelievable for the amount of electronics it has) in three different places in the car, but no luck. The radios were very important, first the race radio, so we can hear what is going on during the race, the action on the front, the rear, and everything in-between. Second, the rider’s radio, so we can talk to the girls and hear them when there are problems, and to direct them during the race. This was going to be difficult, with such bad road conditions, we would have to be very alert, and the girls would have to think a little bit more for themselves for the tactics if we were out of range. After a bit of messing around (my half hour of peace while the girls were warming up was lost, I am no auto electrician, that’s for sure), we could not get them going. Klas rushed to the organisation to borrow a race radio, and we would have to do with one of the small riders radio for our tactical directions.
What a fantastic lineup, new bikes, new riding kit.
The course was different than previous years, and this time we would be following the last 128 km of the men’s race, which would be raced in behind us, later on in the day. The race started, and before I could relax for the first time all morning, the first crash call came over the radio. Everyone from the team were safe, but it was a bad omen for the day, and before most of the girls were back in the bunch, crash number two for the day. One of our girls were down the radio said, a bit of stress, but Iris was down and up just as fast. But there was a real mess over the road with all the race cars scattered everywhere, too many club teams here today, they don’t have the experience like the UCI teams have. Iris had a bit of a nice gash on her calf, and some chainring punctures on her shin, but otherwise she and the bike were fine. Some really sharp corners, and a few more crashes later, Loes M got caught in another crash, she was not too good, a bit of a hit to the head and shoulder when she hit the road, so she battled on for a bit longer, then hitched a ride back to the finish with us. But just as she flipped the front seat back into position, and sat down, the borrowed race radios power lead got squashed underneath it, and severed our race info again. A bit of a cleanup and splicing on the wires and I was ready to plug it back in for some sound, but the shock must have shorted another fuse to the auxiliary power plug, so we were back to square one, I gave up, we would have to rely on the other cars for some race info now.
Loes M not looking too happy after her crash.
A few more crashes later, and the race was getting near to the end, there was a breakaway of about 26 riders, and we had four of our team in there. But we could do nothing, the speed was high, and our attacks were not successful at all. The race came into the finish chute for sprint, the girls went for it, but not being the sprinting type, we did not manage to beat the winner, Susanne DeGoede from Nurenburger. It was not a bad day after all that drama, (it was at least warm 13’c, and no rain) the girls performed pretty well so early in the season. Some nice riding from all the team, and some great efforts from the younger riders, a couple of crashes with the team in, and only one puncture (thanks to a nice big pothole), a few scratches on the new shifters, and no other damage for the day. The radios we won’t mention again for a while I hope. We were pretty lucky looking around at the damage and punctures that other teams suffered during the race. I kind of had to laugh when three members of one team crashed into each other at the back of the peloton. The three of them in the middle of the road, trying to get their bikes apart, crying and looking ahead to the disappearing bunch, oh well, maybe they should be concentrating a bit more next time.
And look HERE for a few more pics of the day.
The new bikes ready to race
The girls were happy with the new bikes and clothes, a few of the team had already given the bikes a test run earlier in the week, but more than half were riding a fresh bike. The eight girls (80% of the team) lined up before the race with the bikes and new uniforms for a few pics. They all looked pretty impressive, the bikes I mean, and the girls didn’t look too bad either, the race was about to start, so my work was about to slowdown for the day I hoped. I loaded the car, and attempted to turn the race radios on, but it was not happening. We had double-checked everything this week for our first Euro race, all except the radios, stupid I know, but they have never been a problem, until now. The two radios were just not working, so I checked all the fuses I could find (a modern car is unbelievable for the amount of electronics it has) in three different places in the car, but no luck. The radios were very important, first the race radio, so we can hear what is going on during the race, the action on the front, the rear, and everything in-between. Second, the rider’s radio, so we can talk to the girls and hear them when there are problems, and to direct them during the race. This was going to be difficult, with such bad road conditions, we would have to be very alert, and the girls would have to think a little bit more for themselves for the tactics if we were out of range. After a bit of messing around (my half hour of peace while the girls were warming up was lost, I am no auto electrician, that’s for sure), we could not get them going. Klas rushed to the organisation to borrow a race radio, and we would have to do with one of the small riders radio for our tactical directions.
What a fantastic lineup, new bikes, new riding kit.
The course was different than previous years, and this time we would be following the last 128 km of the men’s race, which would be raced in behind us, later on in the day. The race started, and before I could relax for the first time all morning, the first crash call came over the radio. Everyone from the team were safe, but it was a bad omen for the day, and before most of the girls were back in the bunch, crash number two for the day. One of our girls were down the radio said, a bit of stress, but Iris was down and up just as fast. But there was a real mess over the road with all the race cars scattered everywhere, too many club teams here today, they don’t have the experience like the UCI teams have. Iris had a bit of a nice gash on her calf, and some chainring punctures on her shin, but otherwise she and the bike were fine. Some really sharp corners, and a few more crashes later, Loes M got caught in another crash, she was not too good, a bit of a hit to the head and shoulder when she hit the road, so she battled on for a bit longer, then hitched a ride back to the finish with us. But just as she flipped the front seat back into position, and sat down, the borrowed race radios power lead got squashed underneath it, and severed our race info again. A bit of a cleanup and splicing on the wires and I was ready to plug it back in for some sound, but the shock must have shorted another fuse to the auxiliary power plug, so we were back to square one, I gave up, we would have to rely on the other cars for some race info now.
Loes M not looking too happy after her crash.
A few more crashes later, and the race was getting near to the end, there was a breakaway of about 26 riders, and we had four of our team in there. But we could do nothing, the speed was high, and our attacks were not successful at all. The race came into the finish chute for sprint, the girls went for it, but not being the sprinting type, we did not manage to beat the winner, Susanne DeGoede from Nurenburger. It was not a bad day after all that drama, (it was at least warm 13’c, and no rain) the girls performed pretty well so early in the season. Some nice riding from all the team, and some great efforts from the younger riders, a couple of crashes with the team in, and only one puncture (thanks to a nice big pothole), a few scratches on the new shifters, and no other damage for the day. The radios we won’t mention again for a while I hope. We were pretty lucky looking around at the damage and punctures that other teams suffered during the race. I kind of had to laugh when three members of one team crashed into each other at the back of the peloton. The three of them in the middle of the road, trying to get their bikes apart, crying and looking ahead to the disappearing bunch, oh well, maybe they should be concentrating a bit more next time.
And look HERE for a few more pics of the day.
21 February 2009
New Seasons Bikes
With the sunshine of Qatar gone for another year, we headed back to the cold weather of Holland. Winter was still there, it had not gone anywhere, but we had a bit of work to do, so at least I would be busy and warm for a few days. The bikes were ready for delivery, or more importantly, ready for us to pick up. Stevens Bike Company was in the north of Germany, in the city of Hamburg only about 600km away. We decided it would be quicker to pick everything up at once, rather than waiting around for delivery. As well as the bikes, there was a stack of new wheels for the season as well. Normally we use Bontrager wheels in the season, but this year there is a bit of a change of wheel sponsor. Stevens has stepped in, with a custom built wheel, very nice in three sizes. We still have a lot of good Bontrager wheels still in house, so a combination of the both will be used for the various races.
The van half loaded with 20 bikes, doesn't look like much, but it's a big van
We hit the road early for the trip to Hamburg, with the weather on our side, it was going to be an easy trip. We encountered a little snow half way up, but we still arrived just on lunchtime. After waiting for the warehouse staff to finish their own lunch, we organised the pile of bikes and equipment into the van. We were perfectly on time to pick up the last wheel being built in front of us. It looked like the old guy had been doing it for years, and it was nice to see him run a tensionometer over every spoke before he gave us the last wheel to pack away. Now a small drive home, and then we could start to build our new machines for the year. Not too far from Hamburg, there seemed to be a bit of a block on the autobahn. After moving less than a kilometre in an hour, we were herded off the highway, on to a very small road. Seems there was a problem further down the road, so thousands of cars and trucks were just sent off on their own devices, thank god for the GPS. But it didn’t help too much, within a half hour, we thought we had found an on-ramp, but it was blocked as well. We then had a great idea to head cross-country, to miss all the traffic, this was our first fatal mistake. With in a few minutes, we were heading down some very small country roads, every time we thought we were back on track, there was another bridge or road closed for repair. It was killing us as the highway was in full view the whole time, but as yet the van could not jump the barriers onto the highway. Finally after three hours, we found our way onto the right road, and were off again. It was a long day, but we had the bikes, the group-sets, wheels etc, so it was not all bad. Now to unpack everything, and start the mission of building the new bikes, it was exciting, even though it can be a drag sometimes.
A small part of the Steven's warehouse
The next day, we organised all the new equipment into the ‘service course’, and started organising the build. Building bikes is not really the hard bit, getting all the setups right for every rider, can get a bit tricky first up. But I had managed to decipher and measure all the setups for most of the girls, so the building began. We only had a few days before we were leaving Holland for the warmer climate of the island of Majorca, a larger than I thought island, off the coast of Spain. Near the island of Ibiza, very popular for cyclists wanting to escape the cold winter of Europe. So finishing nine of the teams bikes was the plan, two days later they were done. It’s always nice building the bikes at the start of the season, at least they will be done properly, and up to my very high standard. It’s always nice to have them built of course, but now I know the inside and out of every bike we will race, it’s a good feeling. I forgot to take any pictures of the new bikes, so you will have to wait till I get back to base for a look at them.
Facing off the Stems with Klas's 'Top Secret' tool. Designed to make sure the stem is providing the perfect pressure on the headset bearings. Crooked stems are half the problem with bearing failures. And when you see how much material comes off one side of the stem, you tend to agree pretty quick. More on this tool later.
Next race for the team is the ‘Omloop Het Nieuwsblad’ on 28.02.2009. Renamed ‘Omloop Het Volk’ (a newspaper ‘The People’ sponsored the race for years, now it’s sold, thus the name change). Normally the start of the racing in Europe, and signifies the real start to the season. The race starts Gent in Belgium, so it’s nice and close to get to. I just hope the weather gets a bit better before we race.
The van half loaded with 20 bikes, doesn't look like much, but it's a big van
We hit the road early for the trip to Hamburg, with the weather on our side, it was going to be an easy trip. We encountered a little snow half way up, but we still arrived just on lunchtime. After waiting for the warehouse staff to finish their own lunch, we organised the pile of bikes and equipment into the van. We were perfectly on time to pick up the last wheel being built in front of us. It looked like the old guy had been doing it for years, and it was nice to see him run a tensionometer over every spoke before he gave us the last wheel to pack away. Now a small drive home, and then we could start to build our new machines for the year. Not too far from Hamburg, there seemed to be a bit of a block on the autobahn. After moving less than a kilometre in an hour, we were herded off the highway, on to a very small road. Seems there was a problem further down the road, so thousands of cars and trucks were just sent off on their own devices, thank god for the GPS. But it didn’t help too much, within a half hour, we thought we had found an on-ramp, but it was blocked as well. We then had a great idea to head cross-country, to miss all the traffic, this was our first fatal mistake. With in a few minutes, we were heading down some very small country roads, every time we thought we were back on track, there was another bridge or road closed for repair. It was killing us as the highway was in full view the whole time, but as yet the van could not jump the barriers onto the highway. Finally after three hours, we found our way onto the right road, and were off again. It was a long day, but we had the bikes, the group-sets, wheels etc, so it was not all bad. Now to unpack everything, and start the mission of building the new bikes, it was exciting, even though it can be a drag sometimes.
A small part of the Steven's warehouse
The next day, we organised all the new equipment into the ‘service course’, and started organising the build. Building bikes is not really the hard bit, getting all the setups right for every rider, can get a bit tricky first up. But I had managed to decipher and measure all the setups for most of the girls, so the building began. We only had a few days before we were leaving Holland for the warmer climate of the island of Majorca, a larger than I thought island, off the coast of Spain. Near the island of Ibiza, very popular for cyclists wanting to escape the cold winter of Europe. So finishing nine of the teams bikes was the plan, two days later they were done. It’s always nice building the bikes at the start of the season, at least they will be done properly, and up to my very high standard. It’s always nice to have them built of course, but now I know the inside and out of every bike we will race, it’s a good feeling. I forgot to take any pictures of the new bikes, so you will have to wait till I get back to base for a look at them.
Facing off the Stems with Klas's 'Top Secret' tool. Designed to make sure the stem is providing the perfect pressure on the headset bearings. Crooked stems are half the problem with bearing failures. And when you see how much material comes off one side of the stem, you tend to agree pretty quick. More on this tool later.
Next race for the team is the ‘Omloop Het Nieuwsblad’ on 28.02.2009. Renamed ‘Omloop Het Volk’ (a newspaper ‘The People’ sponsored the race for years, now it’s sold, thus the name change). Normally the start of the racing in Europe, and signifies the real start to the season. The race starts Gent in Belgium, so it’s nice and close to get to. I just hope the weather gets a bit better before we race.
16 February 2009
Short Qatar Flick
Trine loaded my video the other day, have a look. Only one days racing, as I forgot to charge my video camera amongst other things.
Or have a look here for a higher quality version of the same thing.
Or have a look here for a higher quality version of the same thing.
Tour of Qatar- Race review
After a bit of a drive we arrived at the airport in Frankfurt for the flight to Doha, the biggest city of Qatar. We had a team of six riders, and staff of three, so the pile of bikes and luggage was pretty massive, we were expecting a bit of a fight to get it all on the plane, let alone for free. We only had eight bikes, five spare sets of wheels, massage table, nine very large personal bags, tools and work-stand, radio gear, 100 bidons, massage, nutrition and hydration products, so you can imagine the pile. At least we were on time, if not a bit early, which always helps. We were pretty well looked after at the desk, with a personal check-in lady organising everything for us effortlessly. A quick estimate of the weight (we under estimated by about 40%, just in case we had to pay the excess ourselves), and all was sorted very quickly. We found out later that Qatar Airlines had sponsored the flights and luggage, lucky for us, they had a special container for the bikes, so at least they would be a bit safer. Two other teams were on the flight, Columbia and Nurenburger, so we didn’t feel so bad, as they had just as much equipment as us, if not a bit more.
So before I could watch four movies in a row, we had landed, midnight in Doha, now the fun really started. After sitting in the passport control line for what seemed like the best part of an hour, one of the riders finally got to an officer. We were all watching in anticipation as none of us had, or wanted to pay for an entry Visa (about 25 Euro). It was all too much for the system, riders had blocked every counter, none of them having any luck getting through. Well it was all too much for the passport control, so they herded all the teams into and area and told us to wait, while they tried to sort out the problem. After another half an hour or so, we started asking the important one what the story was, it was getting late, and the riders needed to sleep, he looked at us with confusion. He asked what we were doing sitting over where we were told to sit, and then in a moment, he waved us through. After gathering up all the teams bikes and bags, we packed it all on some open bed trucks, hoping nothing would fall off the side, en-route to the Hotel. An hour later we made it to the hotel and got a bit of a impromptu tour of the city as well. But we still had not seen the truck with our luggage yet, so no relaxing for me yet. The girls checked in, and I waited, and waited, and waited, 2 am rolled around, still waiting, I had visions of the truck stopping somewhere, and few bikes and bags being offloaded in the night. After a while, one of the teams went and had a look at the bike tent (still up from the men’s tour, and ready for us for the race), and what do you know, the two trucks were sitting and waiting for an hour for us there. We unloaded the bikes, delivered the bags to the team, and finally hit the bed. The hotel was a dream, the Ritz-Carlton, next door to the ‘Pearl of Qatar’, we had a nice room on the 21st floor, looking through the central atrium, to the foyer below, put the shits up me. Think it was a bit of jet lag playing with my head, the balcony outside was just as creepy, I hung onto the rail as if the building was swaying in the wind. A short sleep later, I was ready for action.
The girls on the front, causing a bit of a stretched bunch.
A few hours to unpack the bikes, and the girls were ready for a nice training ride. The team for the race was Susanne, Mirjam, Loes G, Loes M, Trine and Iris, the best team we could muster for this early in the season, but pretty strong all the same. Training was pretty boring, 3 corners, then a nice straight road 40 km out, and 40 km back, not a corner or camel in sight. The bikes made it without any damage, we had all of the gang riding on last seasons bikes, just in case they wrecked them. The new bikes we were picking up when we arrived home, so you have to wait for a close look at them later. The race started the next morning, so I race tuned and prepped the bikes, wheels and cars, a few hours work, little bit of tyre pumping, and I was ready to roll. It was nice looking around the tent at the other mechanics still working as I walked out fully organised, experience is a great trait for races like these. Being organised before you leave, can save a lot of time, especially when sleep is at a premium.
The warm and dry weather, was a welcome change from the snow and ice of Holland. I had only a few days or so of this, but it was enough, a week in the sun was just what I needed (I had two weeks of winter, that was enough). Temperatures were sweet, at about 25’c, and all the bikes and riders were loaded, ready for the small transfer to the start. The ‘Museum of Arabian Art’ was our start point, a fantastic looking building and surrounds, holding some of the countries most precious art and artefacts. The setting was unreal, with the half built city in the foreground, and old Asian junks floating close by, giving us the impression Qatar has come a long way, very quickly. But we had a race to start, so I donned my mechanics cap for the first race of the season, and looked busy. A 94 km stage, six corners, with two straights of about 40km long each, simple to remember for the riders. We had a special plan for the day, attack from the 14km mark, so the girls were really motivated for some early fireworks. And by the looks at the 20km mark, no one was expecting us to attack. We had been practicing a bit of team time-trailing the day before, and it seemed to have worked out perfect. The bunch split badly, with a small group of about 12 riders out the front, we had half of the team in there. The bunch put the hammer down for the chase, they had been caught out by our attack, and the race was on. About the time we turned at about the 60 km mark, the gap was about a minute, not much, but the damage was done. Half of the peloton was at 8 mins, and the chasing group of about 20 was about to join the leaders. A small group of 30 made it to a sprint finish, with Giorgia Bronzini (Italian National Team) taking the win, Mirjam was in 5th, loes about 8th and Susanne in 10th. Not bad for stage one, three in top ten, four in main group, with the bunch distanced sitting on about 14 mins behind.
Most of the teams were suffering many punctures after stage 1, the tent had a nice smell of fresh glue, we seemed to be lucky, with not a single flat so far. But that was all to change. Stage 2 started a bit out of town at the Oryx Farm, but we could not spot a single one, it was good to know that there was some wildlife that could live here, besides a few camels, and plenty of sand and rocks. The girls were in good shape, with their two hours on the front yesterday not really bothering them too much. They were ready for more action, most of the other teams were ready though, with a stage of 110 km, and a total of four corners, it was going to be fun. We had planned to attack the bunch again, no one else was going to, so we had to try and make the day a little bit interesting. The Men’s race a few days before had enormous amounts of wind, we seemed to have a bit of a lull for our race. We needed the wind to cause some damage, but nothing was happening today, but we had to give pain either way. And pain we gave, the team performed well, hoping to smash the bunch again, soon they would be submissive and would not fight back. But just as things were looking good, with 5 of the team in a small breakaway, the first puncture happened. Loes M was our first customer of the day, with a quick fix, she was back in the bunch. Then it was Trine’s turn, and then Mirjam in the front group (neutral service looked after her), our plan was failing with all the punctures going on. Then it was Susanne’s turn, 4 in total for the day, funnily enough three flats in the front wheels, one rear (normally the other way around). The plan was over for us, but at least the other teams were suffering as much as us, punctures everywhere, with the roads state, you could not escape it, rocks and holes are not easy to navigate around sitting in a big bunch. Eventually there was a small breakaway of two riders, Eva Lutz and Veronica Adreasson, they had a couple of minutes up on the bunch. They were both on 14 mins behind, so no one was really chasing them. Lutz sprinted for the win, Veronica second, and the funny thing was Rochelle Gilmore, sprinting the bunch home, thinking she had won giving a full victory salute for third place. Apparently her team had not told her there were two girls out the front, opps.
Stage three was our last chance, Mir was still in 5th, Loes G in 8th and Susanne in 12th, so we were still looking ok in the GC. Our start area for the day, was the ‘Camel Racing Track’, everyone was looking forward to that. We had seen the odd camel along the way, but this was a good photo opportunity, and great to see the most popular sport in the country, up close. It was cool as we arrived, groups of camels and their handlers everywhere. Small bunches of race ready camels, cruising the course, it was pretty amazing to see, with the music blaring out on the loud speakers, it was surreal. I think the jockeys (if that’s what you call them) were just as surprised to see a bunch of lycra clad Women, as we were to see a bunch of locals, training and racing camels. It was a funny situation, right up to the point when one of the girls (she shall remain nameless this time) noticed she had left her shoes at the hotel. With a 45km drive back to the hotel, this was not an option. A panicked scout around the other teams, and we managed to find a spare pair of shoes, a couple of sizes too small, but she kept quiet, they would fit, no matter what. The race was under way, and again we tried a few things, but the wind was even slower than the previous days, so we just kept awake, and took any opportunity we could. We raced, the bunch split as usual near the end, Bronzini won the last stage, Kristen Wild took overall honours, and we managed to hold on to the team’s classification. Not too bad, as all the team was coming out of a cold winter. A quick bit of bike, and equipment packing and we were ready to fly. A few hours in the hotel waiting for our flights, and then we were out of there. Four days, three stages, five punctures, one crash, and six nice trophies later, we were content for the first race of the season.
And if you have not seen the photo pages look further, Stage #1, Stage #2, Stage #3
So before I could watch four movies in a row, we had landed, midnight in Doha, now the fun really started. After sitting in the passport control line for what seemed like the best part of an hour, one of the riders finally got to an officer. We were all watching in anticipation as none of us had, or wanted to pay for an entry Visa (about 25 Euro). It was all too much for the system, riders had blocked every counter, none of them having any luck getting through. Well it was all too much for the passport control, so they herded all the teams into and area and told us to wait, while they tried to sort out the problem. After another half an hour or so, we started asking the important one what the story was, it was getting late, and the riders needed to sleep, he looked at us with confusion. He asked what we were doing sitting over where we were told to sit, and then in a moment, he waved us through. After gathering up all the teams bikes and bags, we packed it all on some open bed trucks, hoping nothing would fall off the side, en-route to the Hotel. An hour later we made it to the hotel and got a bit of a impromptu tour of the city as well. But we still had not seen the truck with our luggage yet, so no relaxing for me yet. The girls checked in, and I waited, and waited, and waited, 2 am rolled around, still waiting, I had visions of the truck stopping somewhere, and few bikes and bags being offloaded in the night. After a while, one of the teams went and had a look at the bike tent (still up from the men’s tour, and ready for us for the race), and what do you know, the two trucks were sitting and waiting for an hour for us there. We unloaded the bikes, delivered the bags to the team, and finally hit the bed. The hotel was a dream, the Ritz-Carlton, next door to the ‘Pearl of Qatar’, we had a nice room on the 21st floor, looking through the central atrium, to the foyer below, put the shits up me. Think it was a bit of jet lag playing with my head, the balcony outside was just as creepy, I hung onto the rail as if the building was swaying in the wind. A short sleep later, I was ready for action.
The girls on the front, causing a bit of a stretched bunch.A few hours to unpack the bikes, and the girls were ready for a nice training ride. The team for the race was Susanne, Mirjam, Loes G, Loes M, Trine and Iris, the best team we could muster for this early in the season, but pretty strong all the same. Training was pretty boring, 3 corners, then a nice straight road 40 km out, and 40 km back, not a corner or camel in sight. The bikes made it without any damage, we had all of the gang riding on last seasons bikes, just in case they wrecked them. The new bikes we were picking up when we arrived home, so you have to wait for a close look at them later. The race started the next morning, so I race tuned and prepped the bikes, wheels and cars, a few hours work, little bit of tyre pumping, and I was ready to roll. It was nice looking around the tent at the other mechanics still working as I walked out fully organised, experience is a great trait for races like these. Being organised before you leave, can save a lot of time, especially when sleep is at a premium.
The warm and dry weather, was a welcome change from the snow and ice of Holland. I had only a few days or so of this, but it was enough, a week in the sun was just what I needed (I had two weeks of winter, that was enough). Temperatures were sweet, at about 25’c, and all the bikes and riders were loaded, ready for the small transfer to the start. The ‘Museum of Arabian Art’ was our start point, a fantastic looking building and surrounds, holding some of the countries most precious art and artefacts. The setting was unreal, with the half built city in the foreground, and old Asian junks floating close by, giving us the impression Qatar has come a long way, very quickly. But we had a race to start, so I donned my mechanics cap for the first race of the season, and looked busy. A 94 km stage, six corners, with two straights of about 40km long each, simple to remember for the riders. We had a special plan for the day, attack from the 14km mark, so the girls were really motivated for some early fireworks. And by the looks at the 20km mark, no one was expecting us to attack. We had been practicing a bit of team time-trailing the day before, and it seemed to have worked out perfect. The bunch split badly, with a small group of about 12 riders out the front, we had half of the team in there. The bunch put the hammer down for the chase, they had been caught out by our attack, and the race was on. About the time we turned at about the 60 km mark, the gap was about a minute, not much, but the damage was done. Half of the peloton was at 8 mins, and the chasing group of about 20 was about to join the leaders. A small group of 30 made it to a sprint finish, with Giorgia Bronzini (Italian National Team) taking the win, Mirjam was in 5th, loes about 8th and Susanne in 10th. Not bad for stage one, three in top ten, four in main group, with the bunch distanced sitting on about 14 mins behind.
A bit of rehydration after stage No.1
Most of the teams were suffering many punctures after stage 1, the tent had a nice smell of fresh glue, we seemed to be lucky, with not a single flat so far. But that was all to change. Stage 2 started a bit out of town at the Oryx Farm, but we could not spot a single one, it was good to know that there was some wildlife that could live here, besides a few camels, and plenty of sand and rocks. The girls were in good shape, with their two hours on the front yesterday not really bothering them too much. They were ready for more action, most of the other teams were ready though, with a stage of 110 km, and a total of four corners, it was going to be fun. We had planned to attack the bunch again, no one else was going to, so we had to try and make the day a little bit interesting. The Men’s race a few days before had enormous amounts of wind, we seemed to have a bit of a lull for our race. We needed the wind to cause some damage, but nothing was happening today, but we had to give pain either way. And pain we gave, the team performed well, hoping to smash the bunch again, soon they would be submissive and would not fight back. But just as things were looking good, with 5 of the team in a small breakaway, the first puncture happened. Loes M was our first customer of the day, with a quick fix, she was back in the bunch. Then it was Trine’s turn, and then Mirjam in the front group (neutral service looked after her), our plan was failing with all the punctures going on. Then it was Susanne’s turn, 4 in total for the day, funnily enough three flats in the front wheels, one rear (normally the other way around). The plan was over for us, but at least the other teams were suffering as much as us, punctures everywhere, with the roads state, you could not escape it, rocks and holes are not easy to navigate around sitting in a big bunch. Eventually there was a small breakaway of two riders, Eva Lutz and Veronica Adreasson, they had a couple of minutes up on the bunch. They were both on 14 mins behind, so no one was really chasing them. Lutz sprinted for the win, Veronica second, and the funny thing was Rochelle Gilmore, sprinting the bunch home, thinking she had won giving a full victory salute for third place. Apparently her team had not told her there were two girls out the front, opps.
The water carriers are very important in the desert, what would we do without them.
Stage three was our last chance, Mir was still in 5th, Loes G in 8th and Susanne in 12th, so we were still looking ok in the GC. Our start area for the day, was the ‘Camel Racing Track’, everyone was looking forward to that. We had seen the odd camel along the way, but this was a good photo opportunity, and great to see the most popular sport in the country, up close. It was cool as we arrived, groups of camels and their handlers everywhere. Small bunches of race ready camels, cruising the course, it was pretty amazing to see, with the music blaring out on the loud speakers, it was surreal. I think the jockeys (if that’s what you call them) were just as surprised to see a bunch of lycra clad Women, as we were to see a bunch of locals, training and racing camels. It was a funny situation, right up to the point when one of the girls (she shall remain nameless this time) noticed she had left her shoes at the hotel. With a 45km drive back to the hotel, this was not an option. A panicked scout around the other teams, and we managed to find a spare pair of shoes, a couple of sizes too small, but she kept quiet, they would fit, no matter what. The race was under way, and again we tried a few things, but the wind was even slower than the previous days, so we just kept awake, and took any opportunity we could. We raced, the bunch split as usual near the end, Bronzini won the last stage, Kristen Wild took overall honours, and we managed to hold on to the team’s classification. Not too bad, as all the team was coming out of a cold winter. A quick bit of bike, and equipment packing and we were ready to fly. A few hours in the hotel waiting for our flights, and then we were out of there. Four days, three stages, five punctures, one crash, and six nice trophies later, we were content for the first race of the season.
Finally a corner, we get to see some of the race today.
And if you have not seen the photo pages look further, Stage #1, Stage #2, Stage #3
8 February 2009
Qatar Stage 1
The second bunch coming through the last km's
Just loaded a few pics of Stage #1, have a look here.
Car number 7, and we still saw nothing. Story to come.
The girls were pretty happy with their effort for the day.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
