Before you go...and when you get there

Before you leave to go racing in Belgium, make sure you are at a high level of fitness. Racing in Belgium is very competitive and unless you do well at the regional level in the US, you will have a very hard time staying in the races in Flanders. It is probably best to try to peak around the time you go, especially the first time.

Don't set your expectations too high. Most foreign riders don't do so well on their first trip. Several who attend the USA cycling camp for nieuwelingen don't even manage to finish one race without a mishap or without getting pulled.  And these are pre-selected riders, so don't let early poor results worry you too much.

Racing in Belgium takes some getting used to. For young people it is best to try out European racing at the earliest possible age, which is 15 years (racing) age or 1st year nieuwelingen. For anyone younger than 17 it is probably best not to go alone. Although it can be done it is better not to, in case something happens and you need medical assistance. At that time, it is better to have an adult around.

Make sure your bike handling and pack riding skills are well honed. You can sharpen your skills by mountain biking and mountain biking is a good way to prepare for Belgium in more ways than one. I mentioned this before in this post.

Expect to ride in aggressive large packs, even in local kermiskoersen and expect the race to be very fast, especially in the beginning. When you go to Belgium, try to arrive several days before your first race so your jet lag clears somewhat. Ride around to become familiar with the roads, the width of the roads, and the pavement types. Go out to where your first race will be held and see if you can ride the course. Definitely arrive early on race day and ride the course. Most are relatively short loops so there is time to explore. Pay attention to the many obstacles that you will have to maneuver around in the race.

Try to ride near the front of the pack as much as you can. Don't overdo it though and don't go pulling all the time. Belgian riders will gladly let you pull and do all the work. But remember, it is the finish that matters, and the key reason for riding near the front is to stay out of trouble, not to show off. To stay near the front, you have to try to start in front and that means arriving early and holding on to your spot.

When you stay in Belgium for a whole season, and especially when you are an U23 rider, make sure not to race too much. Even younger riders should watch their calendar, although the restrictions that are in place for younger age groups do help somewhat. Even so, most riders overreach and burn out. Racing in Belgium is not like racing in the US. If you race several times a week, chances are very high that you will overreach and your performance will suffer.

Overreaching

Overreaching is the term USA Cycling prefers for what many people call overtraining. USA Cycling reserves the latter for a more chronic condition that is persistent for an extended period of time and cannot be remedied by a few days of rest. It is all in the definition I guess.

No matter what you call it, overreaching is a serious matter and it is something that occurs rather frequently, especially in the younger and older age groups. It is also largely unrecognized and many believe that any drop in performance is necessarily caused by too little training instead of by too much training.

One prominent masters racer recently told me: "I haven't seen anyone around here train too much or race too much." One could hardly hope for a clearer statement. It is also wrong. And I know it is wrong, because I was one of those people once who trained too much. And I wasn't even racing all that often or riding mega-miles. Yet I was clearly overreached and it showed in poor results, trouble sleeping, edgy behavior, mood swings and the like.

At the time I rode almost everyday. I was part of a group of elite racers, whose average fitness at the time was well beyond mine, and therefore I was riding too hard too often. Although my daily rides were 30 miles or less, with two 50+ milers on the weekend, the overall intensity was such that it was too much for me. I was constantly tired, slept poorly, was prone to fits of anger and suffered declining performance. It was only after I backed off a little that things started improving. The backing off was done rather naturally (and unintentionally) by the demands of work. My performance quickly improved.

Ever since I started following junior racing up close, I have seen many examples of overreaching, and even a few of overtraining. I have also seen and heard of junior racers who are so stressed by high expectations that they simply burn out and leave the sport altogether.