Legend of Kermess Racing

Last post I promised to update everybody with a post on Kermess racing. Well here it goes...

Kermesse in French and Kermis in Dutch mean carnival so when a kermess is raced its basically a carnival with a bike race around the town. Kermess lengths usually range from 100-130km on 3 to 15km laps often on technical circuits or up a steep hill or, my personal favorite, cobble sections. Unlike UCI races which put on the other races, Kermess racing is put on by the local townsfolk. In other words, the Belgian Mafia run the kermess racing scene. To go along with the Belgian Mafia is the racers who are usually retired or ex-pros. So they have quite a bit of time to train and race practically all week long. Next thing, the Kermess racing is divided into two categories: Elite/without contract/u23 and Pro/with contract. In the Elite kermesses, there is no anti-doping control, if there is somehow anti-doping control then the fields are a lot smaller. Now the best Kermess racers are the best because of the following: no anti-doping control, they know a bookie (people can bet on any kermess races), and they are in a league or alliance together with one another. In each race, there are about 10-12 kermess kings sometimes more or less depending on the size of the payout. They all know each other and know what the odds are on that rider to win. So they ride to make the break and when they do they decide which rider is the most beneficial to ride for (who can make everybody the most money, or if that rider is racing in his hometown). If one of the kermess kings does not make the break, they immediately drop out and drive to the next kermess race (races are held at 2pm, 3, 5, 6). So if he misses the break in the 3pm kermess, he has time to drive to the next one and make the break in the 6pm race. A very regular occurrence.

Let's say that you make the break with those riders. You will be approached and asked to not sprint or to not win for $x amount of euros. If you agree then you get the money if you play it right. If you dont agree, they either ride you off the break or crash you and you will never be allowed to make the break again. 

These Kermess Kings do not claim the prize money because they receive unemployment checks from the government. They make the real money (and quite a bit too) from the betting as the bookies are aligned with the racers. In other words, its a fixed race. It is a freaking hard fixed race though. I have raced kermesses and watched the Tour de l'Avenir winner, Jan Bakelandts get dropped from a break. Our directors would come up to us before the race and point at the Kermess Kings saying this guy beat Boonen last weekend in a pro kermess. Or this guy dropped Devolder in a kermess last year. It is scary...

Okay so I am back in Luxembourg training for Tarragona which starts June 2nd. Promise to try to give updates. We should have internet there...

Later,

David

Found this on a cycling forum. Looks pretty interesting talking about the wattages at the Giro.

Introduction

The return of two famous riders in this centenary Tour of Italy. 
van Basso and Lance Armstrong this year trying to return to the highest level. 
Before they stopped racing in 2005 and 2006, they were the two best grand tour racers. In 2006, Ivan Basso won the Giro, flying with 440 watts of average climbing power

He had, in particular, an astonishing performance at the Monte Bondone with 460 watts average for 45 minutes, better than Miguel Indurain in La Plagne in 1995. 
Before his first retirement, Lance Armstrong won for the seventh time the Tour de France in 2005 with 425 watts of average power standard. [and regular performances at 450 watts]

Ivan Basso also presents his physiological data on the sitewww.mapeisport.it. 
Shortly before the Giro, he developed 412 watts in the Giro del Trentino during the ascent of Alpe di Pampeago.

For Lance Armstrong, this is an interesting challenge and a great unknown. During his mini retirement, he kept in shape by participating in marathons and mountain bike racing.
Over the past two years, Alberto Contador took over as the best specialist in stage races in three weeks. 

He won three major national tours, but with a much inferior level of performance in the mountains: 425 watts average (435 maximum) in the Tour de France in 2007 and 410 watts average (425 maximum) in the Giro 2008. 
Contador did not defend Giro title. On the contrary, Carlos Sastre, Denis Menchov and Levi Leipheimer are the ones facing the two "ghosts from the past".

Stage 4: PADOVA-SAN MARTINO DI CASTROZZA

The first serious confrontation between the favorites of the race took place at the end of the fourth stage on the climb to San Martino di Castrozza. 

During the stage, the first pass of the Giro, the Croce d'Aune, was been climbed together by the pack at 393 watts average. 
It is a relatively high value that has not really cracked the peloton with 80 riders still in the peloton at the top of the first pass.

Voigt, De Bonis and Bellotti started the rise to San Martino with a lead reduced to 2'10 "on the pack of favorites. Voigt dropped his latest escape companions, but would be caught and passed by the pack at 2 km from the arrival.

Several teams (LPR and Acqua & Sapone) take turns on the final climb's modest 6% slope. At the end of the climb, Basso of the Liquigas team took the race in hand. Soler attacked twice, but he was cauht by Di Luca in the last fifty meters. 
Danilo Di Luca won the stage in a sprint of 30 riders. Lance Armstrong was dropped in the last kilometer and conceded 15 seconds. 33 riders came to the top of San Martino at a 430 watts average. 

This calculated power is a valid one [by "valid" they mean it's not abnormal for a group this large], because starting from 25 km / h, riders placed in the middle of the group can benefit from drafting wheels.

We thus had 33 riders who have developed more than 400 watts for 26 minutes. This shows that the overall level is high and conforms to recent years. For a first contact with the mountains, Lance Armstrong has been very resilient.

Croce d'aune
Peloton: 393w
Voigt+Bellotti+De Bonis: 373w

San Martino di Castrozza
Peloton: 430w
Armstrong: 425w


Stage 5: SAN MARTINO DI CASTROZZA-ALPE DI SIUSI

The riders of the Tour of Italy must this time climb at the end of the stage the long climb to the Alpe di Siusi. The rise of 24.9 km was relatively easy until 7km from the finish.

Breakaways of the day Voeckler, Serpa, Ochoa, Visconti, Pietropoli had 1 minute advantage on the peloton at 15kms to go. In front of the peloton, the Liquigas team set a fast pace on a rapid pace. The advance of the escapees rapidly decreased. Bunch packed () at 10 km from the finish.

A peloton of about 80 riders arrived together at the last part of the climb to the Alpe of Siusi. Cheula attacked, then was joined by Devenyns but took only 5 seconds and the peloton came back to them quickly enough. 

The Liquigas team powered on at 410watts for the first mile. Armstrong was dropped at 6.5 km from the summit. A little further forward, Garzelli and Cunego were dropped from the pink jersey group.

The top group contained only 25 riders at 5 km from the summit. It was still led by Szmyd, teammate of Basso. The latter then took over and accelerated gradually. He maintained an average power of 430 watts. Only 7 riders could follow: Di Luca, Leipheimer, Horner, pink jersey Lovkvist, Menchov, Sastre and Arroyo. 

Arroyo was distanced, Lovkvist yielded but then came back. Basso slowed somewhat in the last kilometer, Rogers returned and Menchov won the sprint.
The first six of the stage, Menchov, Di Luca, Lovkvist, Basso, Leipheimer and Horner have developed an average power of 425 watts for about a little over 26 minutes. 
The stage was short (125 km) but with a very long final climb and a partial recovery in the middle. 

Basso appears less strong than in 2006. We believe his real power to be 417 watts (69 kg). Armstrong was dropped and achieved a worse climb than the previous day. With 375 watts of average, he was 80 watts from his maximum threshold (between 2000 and 2005 at the Tour de France).


Alpe di Siusi
Menchov, Di Luca: 425w
Lovkvist, Basso: 424w
Leipheimer, Horner: 423w
Sastre: 420w
Arroyo, Rogers, Kessiakoff: 419w
ten Dam: 418w
Soler: 412w
Pellizotti, Simoni: 411w
Cunego: 381w
Armstrong: 377w

Stages 6 and 8:

The analysis is boring. all you need to know is that Garzelli's failed attack in stage 6 (not 8) was insanely powerful for a solo man.

Stage 10: CUNEO-PINEROLLO
The only climb done at speed is too short (under 20 mins) for conclusions to be drawn.


Stage 12 ITT
Comparisons to usual climbing performances cannot be drawn easily due to the riders using time trial equipment to improve performance. Still, the strongly prevalent idea is that Menchov and Leipheimer's performances were quite superhuman.


Conclusion (AKA the important part. If you skip all else, read this)

What is the trend after 12 stages? Menchov, Leipheimer and Di Luca appear in the mountains to be just above the others. Menchov has just completed perhaps his finest achievement as a cyclist in his absolute show in the Cinque Terre time trial with a climb of 21 minutes at almost 470 watts (again, time trial equipment used). 

Leipheimer is in a very good year, better than the Tour de France 2007 and Di Luca has regained his form of the Giro 2007. However, the road to Rome is still long, nothing says that the trend will continue.

Sastre is currently at the same level as the Tour de France 2008. Garzelli was a great animator [of the race]. He has not won a stage but currently enjoys fabulous fitness.

Basso does not have the same potential as at the Giro and the Tour in 2006 and 2005. It would be about 30 watts above what he's shown this year.

After a period of 3 seasons and a recent fracture of the clavicle, Armstrong was already a surprise. He's improves over time. The american probably does not have the same weight as when he won the Tour. 
His relative climbing power is 415 watts maximum, or 40 watts less than in 2004. 
To be among the favorites of the Tour de France, he must in a month and a half lose a few kilograms and improve 20 or 30 watts (absolute) power.
Armstrong is able to improve this way in such short a time, as he has already proved in the past. 

Other riders have already been in bad shape in the Tour of Italy prior to shinin in the Tour de France (Greg LeMond, Jan Ullrich ...).

-----

I am doing well. Just getting warmed up for Tarragona in 8 days. I did do some races Thursday and Saturday. Thursday was really sketchy but I came out okay. Saturday is a local kermess. Got shoved into a ditch with 30km to go. Dont worry I am okay. I well try to make a post dedicated to kermess racing in a little bit. 

David

Europe...

So I imagine a lot has changed since my last post. I guess I could write about swine flu or whatever its called now. Think I will go with bike racing in Europe instead...

Short recap what has happened since Valley of the Sun: training, racing local races, winning a crit (stop laughing), almost dying of hypothermia in the road race, crashing 4 days before Redlands and spending some time in the hospital and a weekend trip on lortabs, then racing in Bisbee, AZ (weird town) with crazy Mexicans (they wear armwarmers and legwarmers in 100 degree heat, and team attack in feed zones). Now I am sitting in Kautenbach, Luxembroug getting ready for the first series of my races.

Now I have been over here for 8 days so I will recap the first week for you:

Flight started off well, I flew from Chattanooga on a pack of gum with propellers. The flight attendant would speak into the intercom like the plane was a 747 when she could have just turned around and told all 12 people the pre-flight safety instructions. The dude sitting next to me, looks like Hulk Hogan with hair starts laughing as he looks at his phone, he leans over to me *I cower in the corner as I thought he was going to beat the crap out of me* and says, "I get my horoscope everyday (points at his phone) and says, "Be very careful today. Stay away from all sorts of transportation" He laughs after this and says, "gotta love this." I proceed to laugh and cry at the same time. Crying because I might die on this pack of gum. Laugh because Hulk Hogan with hair is wearing a pink shirt and comments about his horoscope. 

First day in Europe I get picked up, drove to Izegem, then hope in a van and go to Luxembroug as the Izegem house is too full. First not in LUX, I got food poisoning. enough said. I lived near the toilet the first night. 2nd Night, still sick. Third night, first day downstairs. Stomach still messed up. Fourth day, I am told I am racing Tryptique Ardennes. Great. Tryptique Ardennes is an awesome race but I just wasnt healthy and unfortunately I got the short end of the stick and had to start TA. Start of TA, first time on my new road bike (I had been riding a 58 size frame the day before, dont ask why), its raining = a bad day for me. Seat post dropped with 50km to go and we couldnt fix it. I got dropped big time and got pulled in the local lap. They told me I wasnt starting again the next day.

Fast-forward a couple of days and I am just now starting to get over this stomach bug. I finally feel normal and I can train reguarly now. My next races are some local races in Belgium the 21st, 23rd, 24th. After that, its open in the air. 

Thats all for now. Not an ideal start, but I still have some days left. 

David