About that time...

Friday I finished my last race over here which means my trip is coming to an end. Before I go into some juicy details about Friday's race I would like to talk about a another race I did 6 days ago.

WILLEBROEK -1.2
Pulling up to the start line I realized this is a different race then normal. I was going to race against the best competition that i have raced while here. Several teams that have raced races like Paris-Roubaix, Tour of Flanders, Liege-Bastogne-Liege, Amstel Gold Race, Tour Down Under, Tour de Langkawi, etc. My next thought was this is gonna hurt...bad. I introduce my time line back for this special event for this 190km race:
13:00 - Start
13:01 - I am at the front riding in front of TV cameras!!!
1302 - I hate my life
1303- I am spun out in my 53x11
1304- Blanking out
1400 - Hey look it has slowed down, and we are going kinda slow in the headwind. 50km down in the first hour. Only 140km to go!
1405- Wait...why are we turning? Oh...no...
1406- Single file...crosswind...Turn g-force destabilizer on. Approaching Mach 1 speeds....Tunnel vision setting in...help me...i wish i took up golf...
1415- its over!!! i survived! hey why is the group so small?
1419- turning right...you've got to be kidding me
1420- I hate crosswinds (repeat thought process from 1406)
1500- 2 hours into the race. a little less then 100km to go!
1523- my tummy is getting hungry!
1524- searching for food...
1525- missed my feed :(
1540- drop back through the field to get bottles.
1542- yeah i got a bottle!
1550- hey! why is the race getting hard again?

And from this point on I dont know what went on. I just remember a lot of pain especially from my leg region. At one point the field was guttered out single file flying along a bike path when I hear that familiar metal-scratching-the-pavement noise followed by yelling. I look up in time and see one guy hit a 3 foot high metal post on the bike path. He guys over the bars. the 2nd guy does a 180 and I T-Bone him. He falls, I dont...know how. David 1 -- Belgian 0. 16km to go I bonked which in non-cycling lingo terms is running out of food. May be the missed feed had something to do with that ;) Or the fact that nearly 120miles is a tad long for me. But it was a fun race and one the hardest I have done.

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Geel - 1.12 top-competition
Another 170km, flat, windy, cobbled race that suits me. the top competition means the best teams show up and also i think top-competition in Flemish means "lots of crashes". Luckily none of us got caught up in them. My legs were on the dull side and I paid for it. Not too much I could do about that. But this is the part where it gets interesting.

I am called for "Doping Control" which is to give a urine sample so they could test it and see if you are taking any performance enhancing drugs or not. Now most people never talk about this aspect of cycling so I shall try to give you some details on it. First, I reported to the control with my director. I have my passport and my rider's license. The controller checks me off and I sign a green sheet indicating I have reported to doping control within the hour after the race. (you have 1 hour to report to doping control after the race). i stand there and chug water for a bit then walk inside and sit down with the 9 other riders who were selected "randomly" plus the 1-2-3 for the race. I sit until I am called. 50 mins later, I am called into a back room where there is a doctor sitting there. He fills out a pink slip of paper with my address, basic info, the controller's names, agency, what medicines i have took the day of the race. (Now you are supposed to pick out a cup to pee in and once you pick that cup up the controller cant touch it until you seal it off, didnt realize this until after.) I pick it out but one of the controllers handles it. We walk to a broom closet sized bathroom. As with any person once somebody walks to the bathroom, the instinct is to close the door. I almost shut the door on the controller. But he nudges his way in the 3x4ft bathroom. He makes sure I am actually pissing in the cup and not cheating. W/e...that's done. So I start walking out of the building but the controller grabs me and my urine and says no come back to the back room. The doctor and the controller fill out the pink sheet some more. I pick out a box and the urine is split into two jars: Jar A, Jar B. (They test Jar A first to see if there is any indication of performance enhancing drugs. If there is they check the B sample. if the A sample is positive, they check to see if the B sample confirms it or not. If B sample is negative for drugs then the athlete is free.) Anyway, I seal the jars with this crazy lock system. I put them in the box. He asks me if I have any comments about the control. I dont know what to say so I say nothing. I get a copy of the pink sheet. Like I can read Flemish anyway...It was a weird and eerie experience for sure. But hey if it keeps cheaters from cheating I dont care. Any more questions dont hesitate to ask...