Nathan Spear
OBRA,
Right now today's race is being uploaded to
http://www.nathanspear.com/movie/azencross2005_150.wmv and
http://www.nathanspear.com/movie/azencross2005_512.wmv. ETA for the 150
kbps file is 75 minutes from now ( in is midnight in Belgium, 3 pm in
Portland as I type this) and for the 512 kbps file 5 hours from now. Let me
know if you enjoyed them. We may be able to get Katerina's father to take
up the duty after I return. Sound good?
As Erik's email describes, this race is fast! There are three interesting
features in this 5 minute circuit; about a 10m high scaffolding bridge, a
ditch that is about 1m across (a few bunny hop but most dismount) and a 10
pack or so of bmx moguls. Sven Nys is the best cross racer in the world,
bar non. Amazing.
-Nathan
On 12/28/05, Jon Myers <jonem-@lycos.com> wrote:
We just got back from the Loenhout GVA, and all our guys in the elite
race finished it up. The course was spectacularly short and fast due to
the cold (-1^C = 30^F) and dry conditions today. 'Twas a 5min. lap,
and we did 12 of 'em, averaging I think over 20mph. There was a big
crash at the start, and I just barely got caught up in it. I tried to
go
wide, but another rider came wide, too, and just sandwiched me into the
fence. Then I got rear-ended. No, it wasn't as fun and erotic as it
sounds. Anyway, I extracted myself quickly after watching the top 30+
guys ride away, including all of our guys except Mr. Powers, who was
just behind the crash but not in it. I quickly hooked up with him, and
boy did we chase. Jeremy said later that he knew he'd get there if he
was with me--I think that's a nice compliment. After one lap we were
still not there, but at the end of #2 we were close. When I turned onto
the 400m-long (at least) finish straight, I could see Aphrodisiwicks
(who's so easy to spot) and Roger Hammond (similarly easy to spot for
opposite reasons) up the road by 10sec., so I made it my goal in life to
get there. Enter my best moments in the race. I checked to see that
Powers was on my wheel, ignored all else, and put it down. Not every
day
does somebody like me get to chase down in one pull a guy who has
finished on the podium at Paris-Roubaix. (After the race and reliving
another similar effort, Jon Baker said that following me on the pavement
was
"like riding behind a derny"--another nice compliment from a peer, me
thinks.) But those efforts were hard on me. The rest of the course
requires speed and power, too, but quickness was also key. I was not
able
to capitalize on my strengths; instead, I was ultimately hurt by them.
As things turned out, there were 13 of us split between 2 groups never
more than 8sec. apart for the last 8 or 9 laps. Hammond won that first
group, finishing 34th at 2:52 down. Thankfully, Powers actually put my
strength and then a whole lot of his to good use, stayed with that
group, and finished 36th overall. My group of 7 turned onto the finish
straight 4sec. after those 6, and Jon Baker got 2nd in that sprint to
finish 40th, with Wicks at 41st (or 42nd), still 4sec. back. Most of
the
rest of us kinda sprinted for a while, but I just rolled in today,
hitting the pavement last of the bunch and finishing there, in 45th,
losing
30sec. in the process. I was strong, but I had to use it early to get
in the race, often to chase, and throughout to close gaps. I just
wasn't good enough to get away or bridge to the next group. I don't
favor
tight crosses that are decided by seconds, as most of my friends know.
I don't really struggle with them; I just don't have the skills to beat
out guys in such fast and tight conditions. I'm there, but that's the
problem: I need to be in front by a couple of seconds on a day like
today. Admittedly, I was tired and frustrated by the finish....We've
had
very easy conditions thus far. Today was all gas all the time, but I
still think it was, relatively speaking, an easy-ish race. I mean, we
were barely a half-lap down but racing for 40th. It's cool to be only a
half lap down, but the joy is quite tempered by being in a 13 man group
racing for 34th place! Yes, this weather is cramping my style. Too
many guys are left standing in the races. I will pray for rain, and I
promise I will not complain if said rain causes me trouble. I'll also
work to improve my accelerating and sprinting....Today, I felt good,
like
I think I should be feeling. I think I'm better than last year, and
that's my goal. However, my finish places in 2 of 3 so far have been
worse than last year. That said, I've been closer to the front in 2 of
3,
coming up short in the one I stacked in. We'll see. The World Cup on
Saturday is my main goal, and I plan to actually put it all together
that day. Again, we'll see....Barry had been in that first group I keep
speaking of until he broke off his seatpost on the BMX humps. He tried
to carry his carbon shard and seat away by hand, then by stuffing it in
his jersey, and finally by biting into the seat, which he later said
tasted pretty good. I went by him but drifted to the back of my group
(which slowed it down because--no surprise here--nobody really pulled
that hard. So, we went by the pit, and I could see Barry take a pit
just
5sec. behind us. He made it to us by the finish straight, and then he
jumped up next to me and we both went to the front. Sweet! I love
riding with Wicks in crosses, but I think today he had stuff to put him
in
front of Hammond's group. No, he for sure had better stuff. He should
have been in the top 30. Last year, he and I finished, I think, 28th
and 30th here under much more favorable conditions, if you know what I
mean....Ryan finished 16th after fading to 28th after the very large
front group crashed late in the first lap. He was only 45sec. down, and
I
heard I nearly pulled off a move that coould have had him in the top
10. He's fast....Nijs is even faster. He was taken out in the same
crash I guess, and nearly went out of the top 20. He methodically
passed
one guy at a time and eventually won. All that brings me to the quote
of the day: "At this point, Sven can miss the start, get a flat, go
into the pit and have sex with his wife, and still win the f***ing
race."
Yup, Jeremy Powers is a funny kid. Did I all ready say that I love the
guy?!..Well, that's probably enough, what with the swearing, so I'll go
to my room now. Perhaps I'll write a rest-day journal tomorrow if
Newter lets me (and helps me) use his computer, again. --Erik
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