The Kemmelburg is a tough climb and doing it twice doesn’t make it any easier. I raced with my team Royal Antwerp Bicycling Club the oldest bicycling club in Belgium. The race was in West Flanders through the part were much of the World War I battles were fought. I didn’t have much time to look at the scenery and battle monuments because the race was strait to business. A 30-man group rolled away on the small roads and the chase was erratic. Two of my teammate made the move. A Belgian teammate Jan and my friend Brian, the group gained one minute thirty by the time the reached the Kemmel burg for the first pass. Brian tells me the front group attacked the climb hard and his pneumonia caught up with him and he was not able to recover over the top. The main packs assent of the Kemmel burg was a slower and guys were falling off their bike because of the steepness and rough terrain. The race was single file after the climb and the descent was the scariest part. The downhill is shorter and steeper than the way up and is also cobbled. Looking down the top of the decent of the Kemmel burg is like being o top of the big roller coaster hill and it is a wild ride down also. The race was over rolling terrain for the rest of the course. We ascended the Kemmel burg a second time and then finished in Wervik. I did not feel good the whole race and was just happy with my fitness. It has been very difficult since I broke my collarbone I seem to be hitting a lot of little problems that are keeping me from having a successful come back this year.
No comments:
Post a Comment