Today was the GVA at Baal. Baal is the hometown of Sven Nys and Niels Albert so their fans were out in full force. Over here, fans are far different than in the U.S. The majority of the pro riders have a "supporters club", the supporters club travels around in an RV together and wear matching jackets and hats. Usually the RV and clothing are decaled out to say "Supporter of Lars Boom" or "Supporter of Erwin Vervecken."
During the race, the crowd, which consists primarily of old Belgian men, sits quietly waiting for there favorite rider to come by and cheers only for them. Belgium does not necessarily have outwardly friendly culture and as an American I have zero fan base over here. Occasionally, the old Belgian men will yell out lines that they feel are the best choice. If you take their line sometimes you'll get a pat on the butt as you go buy... I suppose that this is their sign of approval.
The Baal course was by far the hilliest we have seen yet. The course snaked it's way up and down a grassy hillside while incorporating a flyover, a set of barriers, and a few tight corners. For our Junior race the ground was still frozen making the rutted corners especially tricky.
Geoff instructed us to be sure to get to the staging area early so we wouldn't miss our call up. Somehow, once again, I did not get one, despite the fact that I have points. So, once again, I was in the very last row. In cyclocross, this is very disadvantageous; every acceleration you have to make to pass someone is one that everyone ahead of you doesn't have to make. Not a very efficient way to race.
Through out the race, I gradually worked my way up. With two laps to go, I caught the group with three other Americans in it. Not thinking, I attacked on the road without allowing time to recover from my effort to catch the group. I eventually slinked back to the back end of the group and proceeded to sit on and not work for the majority of the rest of the race. In the end, I managed to finish at the front of the group, and produced a good result for over here: 19th. Good enough for twenty five euro.
Tomorrow is my final race for the trip in St. Niiklaas which will be followed by the formal team dinner. Unfortunately, I didn't have the time to get any photos. However, I do have race footage of the final lap.
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