Zottegem UCI 1.1 My first UCI race with some World Tour Talent

Since I have no pictures of Zottegem. Here's a photo in
Amsterdam!

Going into my first ever UCI 1.1, I had no idea what to expect. There was rain and cobbles on the horizon.  Many teams were eager to get their bit of glory, and with 205 starters, the talent rode deep into the peloton.  There was no telling how things were going to shake out.

Format of the race: a neutral rollout through town to showcase the peloton to the host city, a large 75 km loop which would include many long stretched out crosswind sections, a 4km cobbled road, and one cobbled climb that was part of the tour of Flanders this past year. This was then followed by several smaller laps closer to town which included a very narrow technical section at the end and start of each lap.

The moment the gun was fired, it was a very chaotic and hectic. Although we were in a neutral rollout everyone was fighting for every inch of road available in order to get right up to the front and directly behind the lead moto’s bumper. As the flag dropped, the pace escalated. I was able to get in a rhythm in the middle of the race. 

This was my first UCI sanctioned race where a World Tour Team was in attendance. Lotto Belisol was the lone World Tour team and it was obvious from the start of the race that many of the other teams were cuing off of how they were racing their bikes.

Within the first 20 km of the race, we could feel some drizzle just moments before we came across the 4km cobbled section.  As we made it over the cobbles, everyone stayed calm.  That was short-lived as the field strung out in the strong crosswinds. I found myself stuck in the gutter, with no chance of moving up. I just held onto the wheel in front of me and waited things out. Before long, we came up onto the one cobbled climb. On the actual climb, I felt good and was moving up a few positions as the gaps started to open. As we made it to the top, I thought I was still in some sort of lead group. I soon realized that over 75 riders split off the front of the group and were already over a minute up the road. 

I kept calm and found Clay. The two of us got near the front of the group to keep the momentum going. We knew that if there were 75 riders up the road, then there would be 125 riders in my group.  As more riders went into panic mode, we wound up in single file for the next half hour or so before we did finally catch the lead group. Once we all came together, I quickly tried to move up to the front. The chase was hard and my legs were not responding the way that I wanted them to. As the kilometers started to add up, the peloton would go through moments of pure speed, and other moments of coasting. A group with a few strong teams went up the road and the chase was not as consistent as it should've been. 

I got to the front with a few 3M riders and tried to keep the speed on the front high, but it was obvious no one wanted to do much in the pack. 

The next and last time I got near the front was at 2 laps to go of the smaller circuits.  I found the back of my team was pushing towards the front. Leopard U23 was chasing hard and keeping things strung out before we made it into the technical section of the course. I was the last Astellas rider in line and was in a constant battle to hold my teammates wheel. I was being pushed and was bashed on from all sides. Before long we were heading into the final circuits where I lost Chris’ wheel. I gave it one last go to make it back to the front, but my legs could no longer turn the pedals like they needed to. I was fading back fast, and the pack was single file. I tried to grab the draft of the back of the pack, but the whip shedding riders by the turn was not going to help me. I started to fade back through the caravan and soon found myself off the back. I took a quick look at my Garmin and saw that I just crossed the 90 mile threshold. 

I completed the next lap by myself before I went back to the car. I was tired, wet, cold, and a little displeased with how I rode. As my team finished I found out that we never caught the break and the race was won by that small group that went early in the race.