Arnhem-Veenendaal Classic 1.1

The course map

My final race in Europe would be the most prestigious of all the events on my calendar.  Arnhem-Veenendaal is a UCI 1.1 event that consists of nearly 130 miles of racing. The race starts in the city of Arnhem where we would do circuits in a major park before heading west to Veenendaal to finish the race. Unlike my other races during this Euro trip, the race organizers only allowed 6 riders per team. This cut down the number of overall race starters from the normal 200 racers to just 105. Also present would be three World Tours teams: Cannondale, Belkin, and Movistar. I had no idea what to expect for a race of this length with riders of such caliber.

The start of the race included a 10 kilometer neutral rollout through the city and towards the park.  There we would be doing our first 5 “short laps” before rolling westwards towards Veenendaal. Once we got closer to the finishing town, the laps would be much larger.

The start of the race was surprisingly dry (Note: It always rained in Belgium).  I was moving comfortably around in the (relatively) smaller pack. When the flags waved and we were finally racing, the pack did not lunge forward and accelerate  as many of the other races had in the past. Instead the speed was steady and everyone was in a jolly talkative mood. As there was 130 miles to go, there was plenty of time to rip each others legs off later on in the race.

As the number of laps ticked down, the speed gradually increased and the roads were getting more wet as the afternoon light drizzle turned to rain. Belkin and Movistar moved to the front to control the pace.  As riders were getting more timid through a winding decent, I took advantage of the faster outside line that was being left open every lap and moved up towards the front.  I was hoping to keep Brecht out of trouble. 

It was not long till we finished our fifth and last lap and started to head westwards towards the finish.  As we moved away from the park, I looked in the distance and saw nothing but black skies. I could sense the field was gazing at the same thing and the energy of the riders changed. Many riders were taking risks to get up to the front and timid energy was going everywhere. I was riding close to my teammates, enjoying the pace that was being set by Movistar and Belkin. Moving westward, I knew the course was mostly flat, which was good for me considering I was not feeling as peppy as I normally do.  

Moving steadily, I saw a team car moving up past the peloton towards the break and hit a small group of riders, causing a wreck. It was a little nerve wrecking to see a small group of riders get taken out by a car, much like Johnny Hoogerland in the Tour a few years ago. But I kept my focus on what was going around me as well as my team. 

The closer to the finish, the darker the sky got. I was anxious as I anticipated the chaos the weather was going to create. Soon enough, the temperature rapidly dropped 10 degrees and the wind suddenly changed direction. I looked up and saw a flash of lightening followed by a wall of rain heading straight for the peloton.

extra embro please

Water droplets were like daggers cutting at my arms, legs, and face. The rain was so thick that all I could do was focus on the wheel in front of me and the bright neon green of the Astellas Rudy Project helmets. I was on Cortlan’s wheel moving up the right hand of the pack before he disappeared in a puddle of water as a wreck unfolded in front of him. I luckily got away unscathed, and was starting to move up the now open right side of the pack. I knew that I had teammates on my wheel, but I couldn’t look back. The roads were just too dangerous. I looked up to see the green jersey’s of Cannondale all falling back at once to put on warm rain vests near their team car. I kept fighting to move up and I found Chris. I stayed near his wheel for what could have been over a half hour of a torrential downpour before I was able to see and feel the skies starting to clear up. 

When things settled down a bit, I was able to see things much more clearly.  I could feel my legs were not where they needed to be if I wanted to get a result today. I used too much energy trying to move up in the storm and we still had over 40 miles of racing to go. Heading into the final laps on the larger circuit, I found myself getting dropped going up the largest hill of the race. I gave it everything I could but just could not catch onto the draft of any of the cars in the passing caravan.  When I hit the crest of the hill, there was a long straight decent into about 5 roundabouts all coming one after another. I dove hard into the roundabouts, nearly taking myself out as I was jumping from road to sidewalk back to road while holding over 35 mph. I came close to clipping several team cars. I could not afford to get dropped this far out from the finish. I had no idea where I was and I may have never make it home. I chased hard for several minutes. The pack slowed way down after the roundabouts, and I was able to safely get back into the fold of things. Near the back of the group I saw Clay and Chris. They were happy to see me back in the race after I lost connection.  At this point, we were already over 100 miles in and reaching the final hour of the race.

Before long, I hit a bump hard.  Next thing I knew, I was balancing my sternum on my stem as my hands slipped off the bars. I maneuvered my bike into the rider next to me, knocking him off the road and onto the sidewalk. I was able to regain control after a few moments of surprise from my own ability of not crashing. After saving myself, I turned to see the entire Cannondale team behind me cheering me on from my acrobatics.  Luckily nobody crashed, and I was able to get back into the swing of things. I stayed in the pack till about 10 kilometers to go where I got disconnected on another steep climb. This time, there was no chance of me catching back onto the group. I luckily had my own police escort to take me home to the finish were I finished the full length of the race…alive and in one piece.

Arnhem-Veenendaal concluded my European conquests and my summer.  It was a great experiencing racing against those at the highest level here in Europe and I plan to come back sometime again soon! My first day of the semester starts in just 3 days and I have lots of ocean in between here and home. 

till next time Europe!