Don't cry for me

To say that the Belgian cycling world is disappointed with Opening Weekend is an understatement. "We wait and look out for more and better," read one headline. Another proclaimed, "Crying for the Belgians ? Yes, that is possible."

Belgian Champion Stijn Devolder was even more blunt, saying he was disgusted with Opening Weekend. "It is a weekend to quickly forget." he added. Devolder had problems in both races. He blamed the lack of radios with having to wait 20 km before he could change bikes after his derailleur malfunctioned on Saturday. And on Sunday he crashed on the Oude Kwaremont. Tom Boonen also blamed the absence of radios for bad results. That and plenty of "fresh cowboys in the peloton."

Not a bad weekend for Ivan Basso apparently. The Italian went on to win the GP of Lugano in neighboring Switzerland.

Cadel Evans, meanwhile is taking it easy. The Australian will start his season on Thursday in Fruili, Italy. Evans is aiming for the Tour and he plans to only race 30 or so times before that event. "He could become the oldest winner since Henri Pelissier in 1923," said his manager. That is if he wins! Evans will be 34 by the time the Tour comes along, the same age as Pelissier.

It was pretty cold, but sunny in Northern California. On Saturday I went on a 28 mile bike ride, but yesterday I opted for some indoor training on the treadmill. I have lost some weight since the holiday and that appears to have helped my performance. I managed 325W on my 20 minute test recently and yesterday I ran 8.35 miles on the treadmill in one hour (including warmup). That means I ran over 8.5 for most of the hour.

Going to El Norte

The focus of cycling is finally shifting away from the troubled regions in the Middle East and Northern Africa to friendlier places such as Andalucia, Sardinia, and the French Riveria. There, the sun is still warm enough for a short sleeve jersey and shorts but there is no need to dodge road pirates, tear gas, tanks and stray bullets. Although an occasional flock of goats and a few badly behaving dogs can add some spice to otherwise mellow pre-season favorites.

Another advantage of moving North is many more spectators.

Oscar Freire took his first win of the season in the Ruta del Sol, while Damiano Cunego scored a double in Sardinia. So far we have not heard anything about the earphone protests that were predicted to paralyze European races. It appears riders are happy to be out and about.

All that sounds good and well but what has Belgian aficionados really riled up this week is the absence of the big names for the upcoming opening weekend. 

Heinrich Haussler, Fabian Cancellara, Tyler Farrar, Alessandro Ballan and Nick Nuyens all bailed out of Omloop Het Nieuwsblad and Brussel Kuurne Brussel. Blame the weather says Greg Van Avermaet of team BMC, "Not everyone has an appetite for a serving of narrow roads, Flemish hills and rough cobblestones. Certainly not in the pouring rain and icy wind."

Traksel, victory at the end of misery

Many probably remember last year's Kuurne Brussel Kuurne, won by Bobby Traksel of Vacansoleil, a race so miserable only 26 riders finished. At one point a chase group split up and 40 riders called it quits. This type of suffering has lost a lot of its luster and today's favorites prefer Milan San Remo or the Tirreno Adriatico where the sun adds warmth and glamour, over the mud and sleet on the cobbles of Flanders.

Racing Flemish style

The forecast for Saturday is rain with highs hovering in the low 40s (4-9C). Sunday will supposedly be better with some sun and only partly cloudy skies, but in Belgium such forecasts always err on the side of optimism.

Speaking of weather, although Northern California is warmer right now, it is not by much. Plus we are looking at a cold Alaskan storm that will bring rain and snow to the area in the upcoming days. Today is overcast and cold, although yesterday was very nice. I have been riding on rollers pretty much every day of the past week, except for Sunday and yesterday, when I went on 8 mile runs. 

Opening weekend

This upcoming weekend is opening weekend for the cycling season. It is marked by two races, the first, Omloop Het Nieuwsblad, formerly known as Omloop Het Volk (both are newspapers and Het Nieuwsblad bought Het Volk recently and renamed the race), and Kuurne-Brussel-Kuurne.

Unfortunately, although I will be in Belgium, I probably won't be able to see either one of these. The reason for my visit is the somber task of attending the funeral of my brother in law, who recently died of cancer.

I read today that two teams, Het Landbouwkrediet and Quickstep were out on the course of the Omloop to see what conditions were like. Belgium suffered through a long harsh winter and the roads are in poor shape. Het Landbouwkrediet team apparently suffered 11 flats, although Quickstep -a more experienced team one could say- suffered none.

Quickstep's big guns were not present, preferring to stay in Spain until the weekend, something management did not object too. Clearly Tom Boonen is familiar with the course and even though there were minor changes, and lots of new potholes, Boonen will have the support of his team to take care of that.

Meanwhile here in Northern California, it is raining too, albeit a bit warmer than in Belgium. Thursday I rode on rollers for 45 minutes. Friday I ran 9.5 miles in the hills. Saturday I again rode on rollers for 45 minutes, going quite hard for about 30, and on Sunday I drove Alistair to the Ronde van Brisbeen crit, where he rode in the rain. Afterwards I went running in the rain. I ran a 10K and I was soaked. Yesterday was sunny and warm and I rode 31 miles on Alistair's new bike, just to check it out. It feels great although I need to become more familiar with the SRAM shifting.

Today I rode 1:03 minutes on rollers. Now I have to get ready for my trip to the home country and the sad task of burying my sister's husband.