Index Ster van Zuid Limburg (the April trip)

Here is some more info for those of you who want to learn more about our April Ster van Zuid Limburg trip. I left for Belgium on April 13 and arrived on the 14th with John Piasta, Alex Howard and Addison Fuller. The first blog entry for the trip was on April 14.

The four of us stayed at the Chainstay in Oudenaarde and the guys rode their first race in Belgium on April 17 in Geluveld (Zonnebeke). They rode another kermesse race in Beernem the next day. On April 18 we moved to Tongeren to the Begeinhof youth hostel where we met up with Alistair and Erik who arrived that morning in Brussels and were picked up by our former au-pair Ann Kathrin. That night the boys went out with Ann Kathrin. I went back to Oudenaarde to pick up gear and to visit my mom the next day. I joined them in Tongeren two days later.

On Wednesday we went to see La Flèche Wallonne in Huy. On Thursday Hunter Grove joined us and on Friday we started the Ster race in Borlo. The first road stage was a wild adventure. In the end Hunter was the only American (both on our team and the National team) who would survive the three day ordeal and be ranked. All the others were lost due to crashes, flat tires, and other mayhem. The officials were exceptionally strict this year and only about a third of the field survived in the end. On the last day we lost Alistair due to illness, and Erik due to a crash. We returned on April 27. Alistair was quite sick by then and I suffered the same fate shortly after returning home. All that is detailed in the daily entries. Enjoy!

Look what I found

More pictures from the Ster van Zuid Limburg on the internet.
Prologue TT:

Addison went first

Erik was second

John

Alex wearing the AC skin suit

Hunter had the best time of the day for AC

Alistair was the last one to start

Second RR from Bilzen

Second RR

Alistair on the replacement bike after the mega-crash on Day 2

Hunter on Day 3

Alistair on Monday, early on

Alistair was sick and had to abandon the race on Monday

Hunter on the last day

Above the law

Saying "UCI ignores all court rulings anyways," the Belgian Appellate Court withdrew its order to rescind Iljo Keisse's suspension. The immediate effect is that the embattled rider can no longer race in Belgium either and now has to wait until August 6 before he can race anywhere again.

The fact that Keisse's suspension is about to end did play a major role in the Court's decision, but the admission by a High Court that its rulings "would be ignored" and would thus be "senseless" did shock some people. In essence the justices did not want to intervene any longer but the way they put it seemed to imply that UCI was effectively above the law and could do as it saw fit. The news was largely ignored outside cycling circles and was no doubt welcomed in Switzerland, but it should give all citizens of the free world pause. If any organization can put itself above the law, then what exactly does the "rule of law mean?"

In the US meanwhile we have seen many similar "adjustments" albeit outside the world of sports. Here too, government lawyers and government officials feel emboldened to legalize any behavior they wish to engage in, be it revoking "habeas corpus," spying on citizens, illegal detainment and kidnapping, torture, pre-emptive strikes, or ignoring the sovereignty of nations.

It now appears neo-pro Marcel Kittel is going to win every single stage of the vierdaagse van Duinkerken. The cyclo-crossers who are using this race as their road debut are barely visible. Stybar did manage to get into a break-away yesterday but Sven Nys could do no more than avoid a major crash.

Marcel Kittel (R) here with Taylor Phinney at the U23 worlds

Tomorrow is the start of the Giro d'Italia. For you endurance racing fans, tomorrow is also the second running of Ironman St. George, considered by many the toughest race in the lower 48. And while we have seen pictures of snow-covered peaks for the former, the latter is going to be a scorcher with temperatures above 30C/ 88F.

And finally, a great shot of Hunter in the final stage of the Ster van Zuid-Limburg.

A safer place

Now that the world has become a safer place -except for team managers driving follow cars that is, as this photo from the Tour of Asturias clearly illustrates, we can all relax and enjoy the view.

Team Andalucia in the ditch. 

The view from the back of the caravan

Lots of exciting things are happening in the cycling world. But first I want to state for the record that I was able to run a 10K yesterday -despite the cold and coughing. It isn't exactly an endurance event but it felt like it. I have now been sick for more than a week and our house has turned into a mini-hospital with two more sick children. 

But back to cycling: on the eve of the Giro d'Italia, BMC put Alessandro Ballan on non-active and Contador is trying to sneak in another win before he will most certainly go non-active in summer. All that to prepare for the soon-to-be-oldest winner of the Tour day France.

The Australian invasion continues unabated. Rabobank is replacing its top rider Theo Bos, who is suffering from a respiratory infection, with Aussie Graeme Brown who ended third in Nokere Koerse earlier this year. And in Sint-Truiden I noticed other evidence of down-under, right before the start of the final stage in the Ster van Zuid-Limburg.

Home-made Australian Ice Cream in Sint-Truiden

Ironically enough, one of the Australian home-made flavors was speculoos.

Finally, for your continued enjoyment, more shots of Belgium and things Belgian.

Smurf display at BRU

Moots ready for the Koppenberg

Mementos from the Ster

Ster: Team Leader and Soigneur badges

View outside Bilzen

Erik in the laudromat Tongeren

Waiting for the Giro

Cadel Evans, the soon-to-be oldest winner of the Tour de France, showed his mettle in the lesser and close-to-home Tour of Romandie. Cadel had won an earlier edition in 2006. Before winning the 2011 Tour the Australian plans to show his commitment by winning the Dauphiné Liberé. Ben Swift of Team Sky won the sprint in the final stage.

Meanwhile, Belgian team coach Carlo Bomans took both Philippe Gilbert and Tom Boonen to Copenhagen, Denmark to reconnoiter the world championship course. Mr Bomans called the course the easiest since Zolder -too easy for Gilbert- and described the slightly-uphill finish as similar to the one in Gent where Steegmans outsprinted Tom Boonen. So much for moral support from the coach. Boonen was unfazed and declared himself a favorite.

Here are a few more pictures of the AC guys on training rides around Tongeren, Belgium:

And here is a picture of Jupiler's new drink for men called FORCE. A brewed, alcohol-free soda in a can. I have to admit that I like the taste. Finally there is a picture of a perfectly poured Westmalle trappist, a more commonly consumed beverage for men in the land of the Belgae.

Jupiler FORCE

Westmalle Tripel

A few updates and more pictures

UCI said Iljo Keisse can race (abroad) again on August 6. Ironically enough due to a lot of legal wrangling the embattled cyclist who can race only in Belgium may soon be barred from racing there until a later date. A decision about that is expected on May 24.

Cycling has now entered its quiet period after the Spring Classics and just before the Grand Tours. Various smaller Tours and Grand Prix events are going on right now but these rarely grab headlines. There is the Tour of Rioja in Spain, the Tour of Turkey, the Tour of Romandie and the Tour of Asturias. A win in these events may be just enough to displace the various prognostications about the upcoming Giro or the news of yet another doping scandal.

Here are some more pictures from the Belgian trip, in no particular order:

Alex after a ride

Breakfast before the Ster stage 1

Erik wearing compression socks

Team dinner

Paperwork for Ster entry

Pasta in the square: sometimes you need a second dinner

Team cars arrive at the Begeinhof

Some teams bring trucks full of bikes

Traveling to Belgium for bike racing

Today, Alistair and I flew back to California from Belgium. We arrived after a 14 hr ordeal that was quite eventful and now I will go to sleep. Alistair is very sick. He coughed all night last night and then threw up. He is running a high fever. It seems likely this played a role in his Ster performance on Monday.

Tomorrow I will post more wrap-up and pictures. Stay tuned and thanks for your support.

At BRU

More duty free beer

Dulles airport

Thank you

The last few days we've been so busy I almost forgot to tell you about the spectacular victory of Philippe Gilbert in Liège-Bastogne-Liège. We saw it all happen in real time while driving in the caravan for the Ster thanks to the built-in TV in our car. Although we were very busy we managed to see Gilbert leave the Schleck brothers behind while he won his fourth race in a row on Sunday.

Now that our adventure is coming to a close I would like to thank the following people and groups for their support:

Above Category Racing, Above Category Cycling and Chad Norwall who generously provided kits for the riders. Those Assos bibs made the team look really sharp.

Rocktape and Greg van den Dries, who provided us with cycling kits and tape.

Cyclingsupport.be for giving us access to a ProTour type car with all built-in amenities and gadgets.
Bruno Naessens, the CEO of Cyclingsupport and his son Simon, who was our driver and helper during the event.

Flanders Cycles (Oudenaarde), the Asfra Racing Team and Luc and Ronny Assez, who provided us with spare bikes and wheels.

The Chainstay and Gregg Germer, who provided us with transport, rollers, pumps and other necessities (such as getting kalenderkaarten).

Ralf Medlof for his advice and help.

Omer Bovy, the organizer of the race, who invited us to come to this most fantastic event.

Many of the support personnel of the Ster, who I do not know by name, but who helped us with local transport and arrangements.

Het Begeinhof in Tongeren and Ward Mouha who made our stay easy and pleasant.

I would also like to thank the riders and their parents and coaches who believed in this adventure and made it happen!

The day after

Yesterday started out spectacularly on the Grote Markt in St. Truiden. But before that could happen, the guys had to do laundry. Then three riders took to the start.

In the laundromat

Grote Markt, St. Truiden

Hunter getting ready. He would be the only survivor of the day

Matt Lipscomb before the start. He was second in GC, 2 sec back

It was hot in the sun

What followed was not so beautiful. As soon as we rounded the corner, race radio announced the first flat of the day. This was followed by the first crash. All within the neutral zone. It never stopped after that.

When the race hit the open country there was a strong tailwind and the pace was very fast. Then race radio announced a turn into the wind. And then, "waaiers, waaiers," (echelons). I looked at Simon the driver and he looked at me and we both knew mayhem had started.

A typical Haspengouw farm

Riders were falling off the pace left and ride and pretty soon, even we (car 29) were zigzagging between dropped riders. Then we found Alistair who was caught behind a crash and had to bridge. We helped him for about 500m until we ran into the US Team car (car 2) on the left, with a mini-pack of riders drafting. All had been involved in the crash or were held up by it. At least 3 US National Team members were behind the car, as well as several others. Here we had to let go of Alistair.

Our car had live TV and we watched Liege Bastogne Liege on Sunday

Once we hit the Maas/Meuse river the climbing started. The first climb was very steep, almost like the mur in Huy but a bit shorter. The second one was pretty bad too with lots of exposure at the top. This was followed by some very fast descents, one of which was a totally dark tree-tunnel on a bad road surface. Needless to say, there were more crashes here and many more flats.

A little ways further up the road we saw Erik riding in a small pack with Matt Lipscomb. Many times they would come close to rejoining the main group but it never quite worked for them either. 

Return to Flanders after a stint in Wallonia

Pit stop, even the drivers need a break

Hunter stayed in the pack all the way to finish while the others were pulled at the start of the local circuits. By now, even the best teams had lost riders. Of the 157 that started only 64 finished.  Hunter was 43rd. Unfortunately he lost so much time the day before that he ended up last in GC with a gap of 21:16.

After the finish: Hunter and Erik

After the race, the organizer removes the ad banners