05.14.10 - Canadian National Team Junior European Project

Blog Entry - Friday May 14, 2010
By: Kris Dahl

After a few days at the CCA Team base in Tielt-Winge, Belgium, the team has really started to settle in. Thursday morning, the team woke up to chilly morning rain. Nevertheless, we attempted a short recovery ride to spin out the legs in preparation for the coming race later in the afternoon; a classic Belgian Kermesse in the streets of Kumtich Kienen, about 16 km away from the team base in Tielt-Winge. Five out of the six junior men were racing.

Upon arrival in Kumtich Kienen, we received many stares as we were most likely the only non-local racers in this particular race. This seemed to add to the excitement as for most of us, this was the first European race of the season.

The race took place on a 7 km winding course through the town. It incorporated a few hairpin turns, cobblestone sections, and a considerable amount of climbing. Once the race was underway, the team was aggressive from the start, riding up front and launching attacks, as well as covering attacks from other racers. Early in the race, Craig and Jean-Samuel broke away with another Belgian rider. They remained in the break for a good portion of the race while the rest of the team covered attacks in the pack or attempted to bridge up to the break group. All the guys worked extremely well together as a team and I can already tell that this trip will be a great success. The winner of the Kermesse will be at Pays de Vaud, so we’ll have another opportunity to race him. I’m sure we’re all look forward to racing more of the Belgian Kermesses, as well as the coming races in Switzerland and Germany.

Fortunately, the weather is starting to improve. Today’s ride was a 1.5 hours recovery ride in lieu of yesterday’s race and we all stayed dry and warm. Keep checking the CCA website for updates on our racing life in Belgium!

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