Dan Patten’s Blog – As the season rolls on the races are coming thick and fast. May was always going to be an important month with the Belgium Cup (Beker Van Belgie/Coupe de Belgique) series taking center stage.
As I mentioned in my last blog post, I’d been to see the doctor after feeling very low for a couple of weeks. Of course, things weren’t going to turn around overnight but I was hoping that it wouldn’t take long before I was feeling back to normal.
I continued to keep things easy in training and low and behold on the day of my first cup race of the season in Kampenhout the body didnt feel half bad.
Despite how I had been feeling previously, I put myself at the head of the action from the off… maybe getting a littled carried away considering how little riding I had been doing, but I wasnt there to make up the numbers.
Despite going off the front a number of times in the first half of the race and being in the thick of the action nothing was being allowed to stay away for too long, and with an average speed of getting on for 44 km/hr by the end of the race it is easy to see why.
Being a public holiday in Belgium meant even larger crowds out on the course, which you couldnt help but feed off.
After a larger out and back loop the 160km race finished with 7 laps of a tight, fast kermesse type circuit.
In the last 30km I began to pay a little for the earlier efforts and was forced to sit in (or hang on as it was at certain points) as we motored around the finishing circuits).
In the last few kms I thought I would try and salvage something from the day’s efforts and moved from the back, passing riders all the way to the line, ending up around the 30’s placing. Nothing spectacular in terms of positioning (officially placed as 22nd along with many riders) but some points for the team and certainly something to take into the next round of the cup when hopefully the body will be even better.
Whilst I did the Belgium Cup I made the conscious decision to give myself a week off racing afterwards, since I hadnt had one all season. Hopefully it’s allowed me to recharge the batteries a bit.
I’ve been getting back to basics and just getting some steady km’s in the saddle and trying (as much as possible) to chill out inbetween.
Living in a nice town like Oudenaarde has its advantages here too. With a community of British speaking riders based here, it’s easy to meet up and just go and spend some time chilling at a café or two in town… it dosnt always have to be hard graft!
With the sun shining and an evening kermesse just down the road in Kluisbergen-Ruien, it seemed the ideal night to test the body out, and so I did, tearing it up early on and with it bagging myself a few primes.
The main reason for being there was to test the body and on what was a pleasant evening in Belgium and with good crowds, cobbles and primes every lap I couldnt help but do it by attacking through the start finish cobble sections.
A normalized power of 339 watts for the 102km race with a max of 1216 watts (no doubt on one of my attacks through the cobbles) tells me that the body had it’s test right enough.
Now to the weekend!
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Results
GP Raymond Impanis – Kampenhout Interclub
1 CLAUWAERT Joeri WC SOENENS- JARTAZI-CONSTRUKT GLAS
2 MAES Jo VL TECHNICS – ABUTRIEK CYCLING TEAM
3 REYNVOET Niels DAVO – LOTTO – DAVITAMON
4 MEERSMANS Bjorn ROCK WERCHTER-CHOCOLADE JACQUES C.T.
5 STALLAERT Joeri WC SOENENS- JARTAZI-CONSTRUKT GLAS
6 VAN DER SANDE Tosh WIELERGROEP BEVEREN 2000 VZW
7 STEVENS Timothy PWS EIJSSEN CYCLING TEAM
8 DE BIE Sean PWS EIJSSEN CYCLING TEAM
9 DUPONT Timothy JONG VLAANDEREN – BAUKNECHT
10 VAN ACKER Kevin BIANCHI NIEUWE HOOP TIELEN VZW
11 VERWAEST Kevin JONG VLAANDEREN – BAUKNECHT
12 VERRAES Benjamin JONG VLAANDEREN – BAUKNECHT
13 SALOMEIN Jarl WIELERGROEP BEVEREN 2000 VZW
14 MANNAERTS Jelle DAVO – LOTTO – DAVITAMON
15 VERBEEK Dieter VAN EYCK SPORT
16 DECOUTTERE Jonas BCV WORKS CT INGELMUNSTER
17 DE KEULENAER Reno DAVO – LOTTO – DAVITAMON
18 VERVERKEN Gerdy CT FORCE – WERVIK VZW
19 FOUBERT Glen VAN GOETHEM – PRORACE – CYCLING TEAM
20 DE KERF Erwin WSC HAND IN HAND BAAL
21 LASIS Normunds COLBA-MERCURY-DOURPHONIE
22 THYS Nico KON. W.C. STEEDS VOORAAN – KONTICH
22 LAUWERS Valentijn KON. W.C. STEEDS VOORAAN – KONTICH
22 BACKAERT Frederik ISOREX CYCLING TEAM
22 MERCKEN Kenneth VAN GOETHEM – PRORACE – CYCLING TEAM
22 VAN GOIDSENHOVEN Kurt VAN GOETHEM – PRORACE – CYCLING TEAM
22 VAN CAMP Jeroen WIELERSPORTVER. ARTEVELDE VZW GENT
22 VERCRUYCE Jim COLBA-MERCURY-DOURPHONIE
22 VERBIST Evert VAN GOETHEM – PRORACE – CYCLING TEAM
22 KESTELEYN Maarten ISOREX CYCLING TEAM
22 DE BUYSSCHER Lorenzo COLBA-MERCURY-DOURPHONIE
22 EVERS Dries CT FORCE – WERVIK VZW
22 DE GREYT Willem WIELERSPORTVER. ARTEVELDE VZW GENT
22 HENDRICKX Jorg WSC HAND IN HAND BAAL
22 PATTEN Daniel ASFRA RACING TEAM
Kluisbergen-Ruien
1. Jurgen Guns
2. Matthew Green
3. Mathieu Selwa Ec Raismes Petite Fôret
4. Andrew Ydens
5. Peter Ronsse
6. Jelle Wallaeys – Beveren 2000
7. Joeri Clauwaert – Wc Soenens-germond Ingelmunster
8. Kenny Terweduwe Jong – Vlaanderen – Bauknecht
9. Olivier Chevalier
10. Thierry Declercq – Wielerteam Decock — Sportivo
11. Zico Waeytens – Cyclingteam Davo – Lotto
12. Jo Maes
13. Kevin Degezelle- : Wielerteam Decock — Sportivo
14. Jesse Reams
15. Quincy Vens – Wielerteam Decock — Sportivo
16. Kristof Vercouillie
17. Birger Donie
18. Kenneth Mercken – Van Goethem-prorace Cycling Team
19. Frederik Backaert – Isorex Cycling Team
20. Pieter De Paepe – Wc Soenens-germond Ingelmunster
21. Sander Goddaert
22. Daniel Patten – ASFRA RACING TEAM