IWT UCI 1.2

Today Brandon McKeever, John Murphy, three Cyclingcenter riders, and I took part in a UCI 1.2 race called IWT. It was 175k with a bunch of climbs. Some of the climbs were cobbled and some weren’t. There were also a few cobblestone sections. We did a big 112k loop. Then there were 4 x 15k finishing circuits with two climbs and two cobbled sections. Some big teams that were there were Beveren 2000 (Quicksteps devo team), Davo (Unibet’s devo team), and FIDEA. I was sick with an upper respiratory tract infection a week and a half before the race, and until about three days before it I could start riding, so I wasn’t very sure how I was going. The race started with some attacks, and a split of about ten riders went off. The first climb was about twenty k in. It was pretty easy until then. No other splits happened on the first climb because it was only 300 meters long. Stuff didn’t really start happening until the Bosberg (a 1k cobbled climb about70 k into the race). This climb was easier than I expected it would be. After the Bosberg I tried to stay near John Murphy since he has a lot of experience. The next point of significance was the Muur Van Geraardsbergen, a two k cobbled climb with some pitches of over 20%. I started the climb in about fortieth place about ten or fifteen riders behind John Murphy. All the way to the top people were passing me. It was really a tough climb. John ended up making a split of about ten riders over the top. I think a lot of people passed me up the Muur because I haven’t been riding consistently from being sick. After the Muur I was in a group behind another split. It didn’t appear that my group would catch the next group, so I bridged the gap on my own. About ten k later I got a flat, and there were no neutral cars behind me, so I had no choice but drop out. Less than a k later Brandon also got a flat and had the same fate as me. The group I was in ended up being the peloton, which was pulled after one finishing circuit. A group got off the front of that and ended up finishing the race. I think if I didn’t get a flat I could have made that group. John finished about 30^th I think. He was off the front of the third group on the road. It was a little annoying that I got a flat, but I look forward to my next and last race here this Sunday called Willebroek. It is also a UCI 1.2. Hopefully the 100k I did in the race helped boost my form enough to have a good race.