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July 23, 2012
As the bus bumps and rolls along I am lulled to sleep, the hard days race still seeping into my legs. Not 30 minutes later I am jolted awake by the blasting horn of the bus. I think to myself in my half dreaming state “what in the hell could be so important you have to keep blasting that damn horn…?” Then my eyes lock on the green and white sedan barreling towards us at 100km/hr. I realize we are on the wrong side of the highway trying to pass a caravan of transport trucks. Everyone has there eyes locked on the car and it is as if the entire bus is holding its breath. At the last moment a gap opens up in the transport vehicles to our right and the bus driver dives for it. Barely clearing the front end and taking off the side view mirror of the truck in the rears.
Sadly during the three week trip to Qinghai all of us became so accustomed to these near death experiences that after the first week or so we stopped even noticing. In another incident in town our bus ripped the front bumper off a car and I can’t even count on both my hands the number of pedestrians that we almost ran over. Pregnant mom’s with toddlers in one arm and groceries in the other would just waltz into the street ignoring the police escort and apparently not intimidated by the fast moving buses. Another day I watched as a bus in front of us in the convoy filled with riders caught fire while blazing down a 14,000 ft mountain descent (don’t worry the flames somehow subsided on their own and the bus continued on).
The traffic was just one of many obstacles that we faced on the two week long Tour of Qinghai this year. This was my third time racing Qinghai and I have something of a love, hate relationship with the race. The average altitude of the race is 10,500 ft (peaking at something over 14,000ft) and many stages go much, much higher. It is a survival race that much I am sure of. There have been a lot of problems with food in the past, last time I was there I think about half the peleton got sick in some form or another, but this year seemed much better and the guys that did get sick weren’t as bad as in the past. Then there is the altitude to contest with, racing for 5 hours breathing through a straw is a pretty accurate description. If those two things don’t crack you then there is always the 15 hour time difference to adjust to, the language barrier and the freezing cold rain. But for some unknown reason I sort of love it.
This years Tour was the longest yet and the longest race on the calendar other than the three grand tours. Unfortunately the race was not as aggressive as in years past and the GC battle didn’t play out exactly as I had hoped, but none the less the team had a very successful Tour with one stage win and three podiums. After I became extremely ill three years ago at this very race I have made a habit out of packing all of my own food for the race. This is not an easy proposition considering the limited space and weight I have to work with but I have turned it into a bit of an art form. A rice cooker and water boiler serve as my kitchen appliances and I bring everything from dehydrated camping meals to lentils, oatmeal and beef jerky. It’s not glamorous but it gets the job done.
One of the most memorable moments of this years tour had to be the two days we raced along the Gobi dessert. To say this race takes place in the middle of nowhere is a serious understatement, but for a couple of stages it felt like we might as well have been on the moon. After finishing up a big 200km stage, I believe it was stage 10 or so (it all starts to run together after a while), we had a 3 hour transfer by bus to the hotel. For ages all we could see out the bus windows were sand dunes and caves cut into the more solid formations on the other side of the highway. The sand seemed to stretch for eternity every direction, I can hardly imagine how empty it must be there when there isn’t a race caravan driving through.
About an hour and a half into the transfer we pulled over at the only civilized structure we had seen since leaving the finishing town; a small convince store at a gas station. Since we didn’t have a meal after the stage most of us were starving and thirsty at this point. We all filed off the buses and made a bee-line for the shop, which had all of about ten things to pick from. I am pretty sure we spent more money there then the shop had seen in the past 10 years combined. We all clambered back onto the bus with our stash of cookies, water and shrimp flavored chips. After about another hour the water had run through all of our systems so we started yelling out to the bus driver for a nature break. Of course this was made difficult by the language barrier, but eventually we got the point across. The entire caravan came to a halt and all 150 riders clambered out of the now hot, sweaty buses. It would have been quite a sight if you had stubbled across us..150 skinny white guys, some still in brightly colored spandex, others in compression tights and track suits, all lined up along the roadside peeing in unison. It really is a traveling circus, you can’t take it too seriously.
Back in the bus just as we all started to feel that we couldn’t handle another 10km of transfer the road opened up as we came around a sharp bend and there smack dab in front of us was the most out of place thing I have ever seen. For a moment it crossed my mind that what I was looking at was really a mirage, I mean it was a long stage and I am pretty dehydrated up here at 12,000 ft. But I shake my head and concentrate a little harder, no, this is no mirage. The road has opened up from an infinitely long, chip seal, rolling two lane dessert highway to an eight lane, asphalt, super highway. The road side before was just sand, now it is marked by tidy shrubs and trees neatly packed into planter boxes. Light poles every 50 meters keep the road bright at night and make me feel like we are following the path to some futuristic wizard of oz. Everyone is asking the same question: What in the hell is a city like this doing in the absolute middle of nowhere and what on earth do the people who live here do?
The answer it turns out is really two parts. The city was built recently by the government, but there is no real industry there and nothing to successfully support the inhabitants so, it remains mostly uninhabited. The following day was a circuit race around town we assumed that the spectators would be out in hoards seeing as we must be one of the few spectacles that comes through town, but it felt more like a ghost town. There were a handful of people cheering at the half way point on the loop but other than that it was eerily quite. The race ended uneventfully and the next day we took off towards a much larger finishing town away from the dessert, but I certainly won’t forget those couple of days in the dessert.
Over the last few stages of the tour we did our best to shake up the GC on the brutal climbs, but it wasn’t to be with the finishes being too far away from the high mountains. In the end I had to concede victory and settle for 9th place, not what we had hoped but sometimes thats racing, even when the form is great and you do all of the right things the tactics just don’t play out for you. In any case I was very happy to finish my longest stage race yet and in one piece (minus the skin I lost on stage 12)!
Doing a 14 day long race you really do start to find a rhythm and I am still adjusting five days later to being home, but it sure does feel good to have familiar faces and food around. Traveling the world can be very fun and leads to plenty of great stories but it is also quite exhausting. With USA pro cycling challenge as the next big priority for me I need to recover quick and get back to it.
Go to the Source – http://www.kielreijnen.missingsaddle.com/
Filed by kielreijnen at July 23rd, 2012 under Featured, Kiel Reijnen
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As the bus bumps and rolls along I am lulled to sleep, the hard days race still seeping into my legs. Not 30 minutes later I am jolted awake by the blasting horn of the bus. I think to myself in my half dreaming state “what in the hell could be so important you have to keep blasting that damn horn…?” Then my eyes lock on the green and white sedan barreling towards us at 100km/hr. I realize we are on the wrong side of the highway trying to pass a caravan of transport trucks. Everyone has there eyes locked on the car and it is as if the entire bus is holding its breath. At the last moment a gap opens up in the transport vehicles to our right and the bus driver dives for it. Barely clearing the front end and taking off the side view mirror of the truck in the rears.
Sadly during the three week trip to Qinghai all of us became so accustomed to these near death experiences that after the first week or so we stopped even noticing. In another incident in town our bus ripped the front bumper off a car and I can’t even count on both my hands the number of pedestrians that we almost ran over. Pregnant mom’s with toddlers in one arm and groceries in the other would just waltz into the street ignoring the police escort and apparently not intimidated by the fast moving buses. Another day I watched as a bus in front of us in the convoy filled with riders caught fire while blazing down a 14,000 ft mountain descent (don’t worry the flames somehow subsided on their own and the bus continued on).
The traffic was just one of many obstacles that we faced on the two week long Tour of Qinghai this year. This was my third time racing Qinghai and I have something of a love, hate relationship with the race. The average altitude of the race is 10,500 ft (peaking at something over 14,000ft) and many stages go much, much higher. It is a survival race that much I am sure of. There have been a lot of problems with food in the past, last time I was there I think about half the peleton got sick in some form or another, but this year seemed much better and the guys that did get sick weren’t as bad as in the past. Then there is the altitude to contest with, racing for 5 hours breathing through a straw is a pretty accurate description. If those two things don’t crack you then there is always the 15 hour time difference to adjust to, the language barrier and the freezing cold rain. But for some unknown reason I sort of love it.
This years Tour was the longest yet and the longest race on the calendar other than the three grand tours. Unfortunately the race was not as aggressive as in years past and the GC battle didn’t play out exactly as I had hoped, but none the less the team had a very successful Tour with one stage win and three podiums. After I became extremely ill three years ago at this very race I have made a habit out of packing all of my own food for the race. This is not an easy proposition considering the limited space and weight I have to work with but I have turned it into a bit of an art form. A rice cooker and water boiler serve as my kitchen appliances and I bring everything from dehydrated camping meals to lentils, oatmeal and beef jerky. It’s not glamorous but it gets the job done.
One of the most memorable moments of this years tour had to be the two days we raced along the Gobi dessert. To say this race takes place in the middle of nowhere is a serious understatement, but for a couple of stages it felt like we might as well have been on the moon. After finishing up a big 200km stage, I believe it was stage 10 or so (it all starts to run together after a while), we had a 3 hour transfer by bus to the hotel. For ages all we could see out the bus windows were sand dunes and caves cut into the more solid formations on the other side of the highway. The sand seemed to stretch for eternity every direction, I can hardly imagine how empty it must be there when there isn’t a race caravan driving through.
About an hour and a half into the transfer we pulled over at the only civilized structure we had seen since leaving the finishing town; a small convince store at a gas station. Since we didn’t have a meal after the stage most of us were starving and thirsty at this point. We all filed off the buses and made a bee-line for the shop, which had all of about ten things to pick from. I am pretty sure we spent more money there then the shop had seen in the past 10 years combined. We all clambered back onto the bus with our stash of cookies, water and shrimp flavored chips. After about another hour the water had run through all of our systems so we started yelling out to the bus driver for a nature break. Of course this was made difficult by the language barrier, but eventually we got the point across. The entire caravan came to a halt and all 150 riders clambered out of the now hot, sweaty buses. It would have been quite a sight if you had stubbled across us..150 skinny white guys, some still in brightly colored spandex, others in compression tights and track suits, all lined up along the roadside peeing in unison. It really is a traveling circus, you can’t take it too seriously.
Back in the bus just as we all started to feel that we couldn’t handle another 10km of transfer the road opened up as we came around a sharp bend and there smack dab in front of us was the most out of place thing I have ever seen. For a moment it crossed my mind that what I was looking at was really a mirage, I mean it was a long stage and I am pretty dehydrated up here at 12,000 ft. But I shake my head and concentrate a little harder, no, this is no mirage. The road has opened up from an infinitely long, chip seal, rolling two lane dessert highway to an eight lane, asphalt, super highway. The road side before was just sand, now it is marked by tidy shrubs and trees neatly packed into planter boxes. Light poles every 50 meters keep the road bright at night and make me feel like we are following the path to some futuristic wizard of oz. Everyone is asking the same question: What in the hell is a city like this doing in the absolute middle of nowhere and what on earth do the people who live here do?
The answer it turns out is really two parts. The city was built recently by the government, but there is no real industry there and nothing to successfully support the inhabitants so, it remains mostly uninhabited. The following day was a circuit race around town we assumed that the spectators would be out in hoards seeing as we must be one of the few spectacles that comes through town, but it felt more like a ghost town. There were a handful of people cheering at the half way point on the loop but other than that it was eerily quite. The race ended uneventfully and the next day we took off towards a much larger finishing town away from the dessert, but I certainly won’t forget those couple of days in the dessert.
Over the last few stages of the tour we did our best to shake up the GC on the brutal climbs, but it wasn’t to be with the finishes being too far away from the high mountains. In the end I had to concede victory and settle for 9th place, not what we had hoped but sometimes thats racing, even when the form is great and you do all of the right things the tactics just don’t play out for you. In any case I was very happy to finish my longest stage race yet and in one piece (minus the skin I lost on stage 12)!
Doing a 14 day long race you really do start to find a rhythm and I am still adjusting five days later to being home, but it sure does feel good to have familiar faces and food around. Traveling the world can be very fun and leads to plenty of great stories but it is also quite exhausting. With USA pro cycling challenge as the next big priority for me I need to recover quick and get back to it.
Go to the Source – http://www.kielreijnen.missingsaddle.com/
Filed by kielreijnen at July 23rd, 2012 under Featured, Kiel Reijnen
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June 4, 2012
The team had an awesome weekend at the TDBank Philadelphia Classic. Not only did we get 1st and 2nd, we won the team GC and the KOM prize. There are very few races in the year if any that come together like yesterday did so you have to enjoy it while it lasts!
Philly is always one of my favorite races of the year, the crowds are huge and the atmosphere is hard to beat. The finishing stretch is always lined with hoards of people and the party on Manayunk Wall rivals the Dutch on Alp D’Huez during the Tour. The race was shortened slightly this year from 260km down to a scant 200km, and with seven assaults on Manayunk Wall it was guaranteed to be a more aggressive race than in years past. On the start line I predicted that it would take 2 hours for the break to finally roll away, in-fact it ended up being closer to 3.5 hours…Hard from the gun the field was strung out the very first time into “the wall”. I stayed near to the front as possible to keep an eye on any potential break away moves going over the top. By the way “the wall” for those of you who don’t know is about a kilometer long, with pitches reaching 17% (and holding steady) it probably averages about 15%. Towards the top I decided to have a dig to see if I could break some riders clear, I past the KOM line first and continued to push along the descent towards the waterfront, but was absorbed back into the field as the road flattened out. Attacks continued as we produced another very fast lap time. The second time up “the wall” the field was still together so the pace was fast and furious. Again I marked attacks towards the top of the climb, and put in a dig towards the top. At that stage in the race I had maximum points on two of the seven KOM’s so if the opportunity presented itself I decided to continue to try to collect points in the hopes of snagging the KOM jersey at the end of the day. The fast laps continued and although I found myself of the the front of the field numerous times nothing stuck for more than a lap. By lap four I had also secured 20 points towards the KOM jersey and the chances of someone leap frogging me were very slim. The aggressive riding continued all the way into the 5th big lap where finally a break of five riders broke clear. I was frustrated not to be with them but they went on the flat roads, not on the climb where I had expected it and with so many attacks all day there was certainly some luck involved.
The flied then settled in to chase, but as we got organized the sky opened up and for the first time in the race’s history it rained. In fact, it didn’t just rain it poured. It was impossible to see anything and I knew it was only a matter of time before there would be crashes. Sure enough leading into the wall there were two major pile ups, I was lucky enough to miss both and made my way to the front of the field as the pressure up the climb increased. Splits started to form everywhere, but by the start/finish line everyone was back together with a 2:30 minute lead to the breakaway. United Health care and ourselves set to continue the pace making and Joey, Alex E. and I did our best to reduce the gap. After 15km or so of flat out riding the gap had come down to a minute, but I was spent I took one last long hard pull into mt. Lemon and my job was done. Fortunately other teams came to help in the closing kilometers and the break was absorbed in the final 3km. Now it was up to our sprinters, Aldo, Alex S. and Danielle C. to get the job done. we had done our best to protect them all day and the freshness showed in their legs when Aldo jumped at 500meters clear from the field with Alex and Danielle on his wheel. Alex easily slipped around Aldo in the closing meters and Danielle held on for fourth. It was a 1, 2, 4 finish with 1st in team GC and the KOM jersey for me.
Everyone was very happy with the day and the teams efforts. We worked well together and it showed in the final. Now some guys will head to Canada and others will prepare for Qinghai myself included.
On a side note, my very good friend Kate Powlison is taking on an extreme challenge with 5 other girls. They are all riding the 2012 Tour de France Course!!! Check out more about their causes and mission here: http://www.stayclassy.org/fundraise?fcid=193005 and here: http://www.velodramatic.com/archives/7439 Wish her luck!!
Go to the Source – http://www.kielreijnen.missingsaddle.com/
Filed by kielreijnen at June 4th, 2012 under Featured, Kiel Reijnen
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May 29, 2012
This memorial day as most families were piling in their cars heading to the beach or the mountains, as myself and 100 of the top American cyclist lined up in the swelteringly heat at the downtown start line in Greenville, SC for the Road Race National Championship. With Nation
als coming just after Tour of California this year it was always set to be a fast and furious show down, with all the favorites in top form. Because Team Type 1 didn’t take part in this years edition of California I was fresh off the plane from Circuit de Lorraine in France, a little bit jet lagged and not used to the heat that everyone else had been experiencing all week in CA.
Since it was memorial day we were treated to a very special national anthem sung by a local talent, and then we were off. It was a fast and furious start to the 116mi. race with three local laps, followed by four large laps (including the Paris mountain climb) and then a final three local laps. The normal early break tired hard to establish on the initial local laps. Various teams threw team mates up the road to make sure they were represented. Nationals is always on of those races where the tactics are unpredictable, sometimes the early move stick, sometimes it is a field sprint, sometimes a late attack, it seems to be different every year. After three local laps of attacking a move of 10 or so finally broke clear after establishing a minute gap heading out of town however BMC’s Tejay Van Garderen and Liquigas’ Timmy Duggan decided that it was dangerous and their respective teams weren’t represented, so the chase ensued. The chase however was so fast and unexpected that gaps started to open and before we knew it the main field was well behind. As soon as we caught up with the initial breakaway there was a lull and I started to help pull since I was committed to the move at that point. After a short time Garmin (which was the best represented team in the break) took over duties at the front and began to stretch the gap out. By the time we completed the first big lap it was out to three minutes and Garmin seemed to have the best cards to play with their sprinter Tyler Farrar safely tucked in the group. Things were mostly unchanged by the time we started the 3rd big lap. Garmin was still pulling our break of 25 or so riders along and the field was still chasing but the gap was coming down. By the time we hit Paris mountain the gap was down to a mere 40 seconds. This forced a stronger pace from us in the front, which lead to Farrar and a number of others getting dropped out of the break. Over the top of the climb the gap was hovering around 30 seconds and Garmin had run out of riders to work (other than Tom Peterson who road an incredible day, sacrificing himself for his team mates).
I decided that after spending all day in the break I didn’t want to see us caught by the field so I helped with the work on the descent into town. It was enough to re-motivate the group and distance us a bit from the shattered peleton behind. Once the gap started to go back out again the Competitive cyclist team (who was also well represented with four riders) took over the work duties and the gap went back out to three and a half minutes before the final assault on Paris mountain.
Tom Danielson led in to the climb with a vicious attack that put me into the red right away. I don’t know if I was suffering because of the heat or if I just didn’t have my climbing legs but either way there was no way I was going to keep that pace up. After a kilometer or so of fighting I decided to ride at my own pace up the climb and hope that others would catch up and we could chase back down the leaders coming into town. The five strongest climbers of the break crested the climb close enough to one another to for one group and as I suspected towards the top of the climb and along the descent I was joined by some of the other dropped riders. Our group of 8 then set to work to chase down the leading 5. Normally 8 vs. 5 would be no contest but everyone was very tired at this point and having some of the strongest riders up the road meant that my group had to bank on a tactical cat and mouse battle up front slowing the leaders. As luck would have it that is exactly what happened and with 900 meters left in the race we made contact. Timmy Duggan had already taken off from the leaders with 20km remaining and was another 30 seconds ahead (with only 900 meters of racing left there was no chance or catching him) so the race was for second place. Once we latched we were only allowed one deep breath before the final fight for the line began. Ben Jacques-Maynes of Bissell took of first with Adam Hanson of Kelly Benefits following. Frank Pipp of Bissell and myself grabbed Hanson’s wheel and held on as best we could as we rounded the final bend. As Hanson closed on Jaques-Maynes with 200 meters to go Pipp lit out to over come Hanson. I knew this was the final effort of the race so I gave my all to try to come around the right side. I had just enough power to get by Hanson in the closing 50 meters but Pipp proved to powerful and I had to settle for 3rd.
It just goes to show that the race is never really over until you cross the line. It was a very different race than any edition before and I played the best tactical cards I had given that we only had three riders in the race. I had hoped to be a bit stronger on the climb the final time, but now I have something to train for! It was a great race, Timmy was a very deserving winner and Frank a very deserving second. I was happy to share the all-Boulder podium with both of those guys. I am really looking forward to Philly next weekend as it can be a similar type of course.
Go to the Source – http://www.kielreijnen.missingsaddle.com/
Filed by kielreijnen at May 29th, 2012 under Featured, Kiel Reijnen
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March 19, 2012
312km with the neutral start to be exact. You might think that 7:30 hrs in the saddle might be boring, well, you would be right.
Spending the night in Milan, well the outskirts anyway, fails to give you the sense of what is to come the following morning. A seven and a half hour race, is well, seven and a half hours so unlike the typical Italian races it has to start early. 6:45 AM and the alarm was buzzing, not the sound you want to hear when you feel like you could sleep for two more hours. Knowing the challenge ahead, you want every last ounce of food and sleep you can get. But never the less I dragged my butt out of bed and down stairs for one last gorging. After breakfast it was into the bus and over to the start. What awaited us was, as my French teammate put it, Noir de monde. A crowd like you wouldn’t believe. The traveling circus was in full swing.
Sign-in, team meeting, food check, radio check…and then off to the start. We paraded through the streets of Milan for what seemed an eternity as we awaited the 0km mark and the flag to drop. Martijn, Vegard and I were on break away duty so we were primed ready to make the first move. As the flag finally swung it was Vegard to jump first. When he jumped he never looked back, a few more attacks went and finally a group of 8 more riders bridged up to Vegard. That was it as quickly as the flurry of attacks went, they stopped. And the peleton took a big breath and relaxed for a bout 40km. The gap to the 9 riders ahead steadily grew, 4 min, 8min, 12:30, all the way out to 14 minutes. At that point a few teams without riders in the move put their workers to the front. and the gap ceased to grow.
The next 100kms are pretty uneventful and quite predictable, but they are maybe some of the most important kms of the race. This is when eating and drinking is so important. Constant runs back and forth to the car. I must have consumed 10 panini’s in that 100km. It was about that time we hit the first climb of the day, not steep but long and with a very long descent to the coast on the other side. Everyone in the field was still fresh so there wasn’t much suffering but everyone was nervous. Constant break and accelerating, swerving left and right. It was certainly enough to keep you on your toes and let me tell you in a seven and a half hour race keeping your mental concentration is not an easy task. By the top of the climb things evened out and it was a smooth descent to the coast where we cruised along at a good clip. With half the race now under our belts the first real test awaited us on the La Manie. As we approached the pace increased steadily at first and the violently. It turned into all out war. Guys sprinting up the sides of the bunch for all they were worth. Wheels touching, I must have had a dozen near crashes by the time we banked hard right onto the La Manie.
The beginning of the La Manie, is only about as wide as a bike lane, and a field of 200 riders approaching at 60km/hr from a 4 lane highway, well it just seems impossible. Screeching brakes, shouting, I came to a complete stand still, balancing on a brick wall as we stuffed ourselves into the corner. I fought hard leading into the climb and it paid off because I don’t think the last 50 riders in the bunch ever saw the front again. Once around the corner it was single file and full gas. It was like riding through a mine field, guys were dropping like stones others where battling to try to get back up to the front. As we twisted our way up the La Manie the coast slowly dropped below us in a bed of fog.
Last year the group split in half, not up the La Manie, but down it. The road is so narrow and the race is so strung out at that point all it takes is for one rider to make a bad move and the leaders are already a km up the road. Turned out to be the same case this year. With some major riders towards the back over the top of the La Manie it didn’t take long for the riders at the front to drive the pace and cause a split. Once back down on the coast we were flying. Sky chased hard from behind but to no avail. The coastal road began to roll steeper and steeper as we approached the Cipressa. Riders were starting to get impatient as the climb approached but the fatigue was also starting to set in (as we were 260km into the race at this point).
And just like that the crowds swelled, took over the road and forced us hard right onto the start of the Cipressa. Immediately it was single file, I still felt good at this point so I did my best to move up the line, things were looking really good, but you could tell riders were starting to fatigue heavily. As we approached the top some riders touched wheels (not sure who) and a handful of riders near the front came down including Gilbert. I was fortunate enough to not get caught up but I did get held up a bit. This wasn’t a big problem until descent strung out the remaining riders. I could see the front of the group two switchback below me the whole way down. I knew it would be a real struggle once we hit the flats. As I made the final turn onto the coast road from the Cipressa I sprinted for all I was worth. 53-11, 200RPMs and every last ounce of strength I had left. It was enough for about 5 more kilometers, but with 15km to go a gap opened in front of me and I didn’t have any gas left to close it. Moments later we swept onto the slopes of the poggio, the leaders just in sight ahead of us. The fire works began at the front as I, well…exploded. I was completely spent the roaring fast stretch along the coast left me empty and now it didn’t matter what I ate or drank I was bonked. I crept my way up the poggio and by the time I hit the top and started descending I could barely hold on to the bars. At this point I was solo (which was probably a good thing considering if someone was with me I probably would have crashed them). I swerved my way like a drunken sailor so thankful to the see the 3km to go sign at the bottom. I put my head down and slowly ticked off the gears as best I could. I must have been creeping at this point, tunnel vision, the whole bit. I felt like collapsing as I crossed the line. I slowly limped my way to the team bus and laid down inside. Everything hurt. It was amazing how in that last 15km I went from feeling strong and in the race to completely disassembled. But that is what happens when you race for 300km for the first time in your life.
All in all I was happy with my race, I didn’t know quite what to expect doing my first real classic, but I fell in love. It was a beautiful race and I can’t think of anything more fun than racing 300km…well maybe somethings. I certainly hope to be back next with a little more insight. Thanks to everyone for your support! Next week I will be in Belgium for three days of De Panne. Thanks for reading.
Go to the Source – http://www.kielreijnen.missingsaddle.com/
Filed by kielreijnen at March 19th, 2012 under Featured, Kiel Reijnen
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February 19, 2011
A lot of people would assume that being an athlete the hardest thing we do is compete. But the truth is we live for competing and all the things it involves. Training is hard and races are even harder but when you push your body hard and it responds there is no better feeling in the world. On the other hand…when you push and the body doesn’t respond or worse responds negatively, that can be the most frustrating and difficult thing an athlete can face. This past week and a few select days prior I have been feeling super fatigued, a blood test revealed all as being well so I should up here at Haut Var hoping to push through whatever was going on. Instead the opposite happened. I went out and pushed hard today and in return my body decided to make me pay. I spent the day throwing up battling stomach cramps and by kilometer 145 of the race I was dangling off the back of the field.
Seven and a half minutes after the first riders crossed the finish line I came crawling up the last kilometer swerving side to side from lack of food and water. Completely ruined from the days effort. I felt like someone had stripped me of all my energy leaving only a few droplets for me to ration. On a day that saw the majority of the field finish together (an indication that the stage was not the most difficult) I felt like I had just finished a grand tour. The hardest races of my life are never the ones I perform well in.
I am glad that I made the effort to finish (although at dinner I found out that my team doctor isn’t going to let me start tomorrow). Right now the doctor seems to think that I have been suffering from a bacterial infection of the stomach. I will be heading with him to Milan tomorrow to under go tests to get to the bottom of this. It has been a very frustrating last couple of weeks and with things at their worst I am struggling to keep my spirits up. I am just praying that this will come to a quick resolution.
On a more upbeat note Jure finished 10th today and the guys rode well as a team. I wish I could have been there to help them.
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Filed by kielreijnen at February 19th, 2011 under Featured, Kiel Reijnen
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February 18, 2011
Its been a rough week leading up to Haut Var for me, nothing felt right on and off the bike, it just wasn’t clicking. Chalk it up to a thousand different things, maybe its just something you have to go through when you uproot your life and move to the other side of the world. But enough whining….I’m here, I’m gonna race hard and if that gets me a spot on the podium or last place at least I went out swinging. We are staying in the “hollywood” of France my roommate Ruben’s has told me. Its very beautiful and we have an awesome view of the Mediterranean from our mini apartment (see picture). Upon arriving yesterday the sky had opened up and rain poured down all day and all night. Luckily this morning I had the treat of waking up to perfectly clear skies and an amazing view. Now the sun is settling casting an orange hugh over the coastline. Not a bad life at all…..
Today we rode along the coast and cut inland passing along the local vineyards. It was a rather pleasant ride and a nice opportunity to take in some of the sights I am sure to miss tomorrow when I am hanging on to the peleton for dear life.
Tomorrows stage is a grueling 165km with 4 categorized climbs and a 1.5km uphill kick to the finish it sure to be a selective day.
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Filed by kielreijnen at February 18th, 2011 under Featured, Kiel Reijnen
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February 12, 2011
With all the recent articles surrounding the Ricco case, Floyd Landis’ allegations and other negative press it is hard not to be discouraged. When I read this quote from Floyd Landis: ”If you want a role model look at your mum and dad and if you have bad parents find someone else. You won’t find it in an athlete” I have to admit I was more than upset. Why can’t athletes be role models?
If you go to your favorite cycling website right now I’m willing to bet that over half the articles are related to somebody who is either returning from a ban, receiving a ban or currently banned, but that is totally skewed, half the peleton isn’t currently involved in a suspension?!?!?! These articles involve a very small percentage of professional cyclists and I want to know why the other 95% don’t get talked about. These articles get replayed so many times its ridiculous its the same story delivered three different ways.
Floyd wasn’t right when he said that athletes are bad role models, but the media seems, for the most part, to give attention to the ones that are. I don’t want to hear about Floyd’s latest rant or Ricco’s second positive, or so and so’s involvement with this or that. There are plenty of athletes out there who aren’t making headlines that are more than worthy role models and I want to read about them. I could fill an entire book with all the inspiring athletes I have met over the years, individuals that I continue to model myself after. The problem isn’t that athletes aren’t capable of being good role models, the problem is that no one is paying attention to the ones that are.
I hope the next in depth cycling story I read is about the sports top domestics or maybe young riders tackling their first grand tour instead of the latest speculations from an Spanish newspaper’s anonymous source. I wouldn’t be in this sport if I didn’t believe that was filled with role models and heros.
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Filed by kielreijnen at February 12th, 2011 under Featured, Kiel Reijnen
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February 4, 2011
Jelly Belly cyclists describe what they’re wearing during a cold and rainy stage of the 2009 Amgen Tour of California.
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Filed by kielreijnen at February 4th, 2011 under Featured, Kiel Reijnen
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There was a break of 3 that went early and stayed away to the finish (1 fdj, 1 big mat, and 1 dalkia). They escaped after a flurry of attacks in the first 20km. We were very active in the attacks but with only 3 gone and major teams missing we felt comfortable to let it roll.
After a lull in the pace the gap was at 7 min so ag2r and la pomme picked up the pace making for a short while over the first GPM(climb) then pretty much the rest of the day it was Vacansoleil with a couple of guys jamming it over every rise. The first few climbs were stiff and hurt the legs but not long enough to do serious damage.
Over the big climb topping out at 87 km in the race (8km long pretty good grade too in places) the field blew. I did a big effort and took Jure and Rubens (teammates) across to the front group and we stayed there. The climb was followed by a long twisty damp descent where I quickly found the limits of my bike. After the big climb it was down to maybe 40-50 of us chasing the break, the field was totally shattered. With 10km to go to the finish a small riser cracked me and Rubens and split our front group into two, maybe 20-25riders in the front and 20-25 with us. Jure made the split and seemed to be in a good situation sprinting from a select tired group so we didn’t help chase. Ag2r lead the chase in our group to try and catch back on We got within maybe 20 second of catching back on before we hit the finish. I finished around 30th I think, Rubens probably 40th but the big result of the day was Jure’s 4th place! A solid result for the first race of the season. The race was 139km and took us about 3:30hrs. After finishing we got straight on the bus where we have 2 full sized hot showers, fresh panini’s and hot tea waiting. The staff takes very good care of us.
I am happy considering how my legs felt (not great) and glad I did something useful for the team.
Hopefully the nerves are gone and we will be ready to rock in 3 days for Etoile de Besseges. Legs are super sore/tight but to be expected for the first race. Gonna rest up. I couldn’t be happier about the team. Really good stuff is gonna happen this year.
We are rolling in high class here in Europe (see attached bus photo serious rock star rig) The morning newspaper featured the race and had a 7 page spread in the morning newspaper (3 of which where the first 3 pages) it is a serious sport here…
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Filed by kielreijnen at January 31st, 2011 under Featured, Kiel Reijnen
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October 21, 2010
Sorry about the delay on getting the last write up out, but after the race there is plenty to do. Packing bikes, eating, washing clothes, repacking bags and of course the closing ceremonies, but I am getting ahead of myself, first the final stage.
The last day of this Tour was a particularly brutal one, rolling terrain all day and a a whopping 220km. The plan for the day was to fight for the three remaining bonuses in the hopes that I could move from 4th up to 2nd overall only 2 sec away. Astana having a 19 sec gap to 2nd place was pleased just to let a break roll for the day and soak up the bonuses so if we wanted the race to stay together for the intermediate sprints it was going to be up to us to ride the front. In the first 20km a break of three non-threatening riders managed to escape, shortly after Danny barked orders into our earpieces. “Will and Sean to the front hold the gap at 1 minute and bring it back on the short climb just before the first sprint”. I patted the boys on the back, gave them my bottles and up to work they went. Riding the front of a bike race is not an easy thing and I knew that these two guys would probably ride themselves right out of the race today in an effort to keep me fresh and ready for the sprints. That is a lot to ask but as I said before this is a team sport and their is not a guy out there who wins without the support of his team.
Will and Sean rode the front steadily bringing the break to 1 minute. The first sprint was at 113km and a 3km long rise at the 105km mark seemed like the best place to reabsorb the break without more attacks coming from the field. Like clockwork Will and Sean reeled them in on the rise and over the top everything was together. Now it was up to Brad, Sergio and Bernie to make sure I had lead out to the line. The other teams battling to keep us from jumping over them had their trains ready to go as well. The speed ramped up as we approached 1km to go, I yelled ahead to Bernie to step on the gas. He peeled of a Brad came through putting me on the right wheel. With 200 meters to go I stepped out into the wind and put my head down, it was going to be a super close sprint we were six wide coming to the line all within a wheel length. I pushed as hard as I could and in the end I was 4th to the line. It was heart breaking. Bonuses go three deep, 3 sec of first, 2 sec for second and 1 sec for third, it was a huge effort for everyone on the team and I wasn’t able to seal the deal. The competing teams had send their sprinters to battle me for the bonuses, a move that I hadn’t anticipated. (In other words the GC guys from the other teams knew they would have a tough time beating me in the sprints so rather than risking it they sent the strongest sprinters from their team up to absorb as many of the seconds as they could so that I wouldn’t have a chance at jumping them in the GC. With most of the sprinters minutes down in the GC it essentially nullifies any effects the time bonuses may have had.) A quick reassessment and Danny was on the radio again. “Okay boys, I know we were close on that sprint and the next sprint is only 20km further, Sean and Will use whatever energy you have left to keep the field together until then and we line it up once more.” Everyone took a deep breath and dug in once more. Will and Sean gave the last of their energy to keep the attacks at bay while Sergio, Brad, Bernie and I got ready for another high speed sprint. It was almost the exact same scenario as the first sprint and it was all I had to manage 5th. Again no bonuses. At this point Will was now dropped and slogging along minutes behind the field and Sean was hurting just barely hanging on to the back. It was time to go to plan B. Rather than waste Bernie and Sergio going for the third sprint we decided to save what energy we had left to make the category 2 climb as hard as possible. 220km is a long day in the saddle and with the climb coming so late in the race (190km) there was a chance to break the race apart. We downed as much food and water as we could heading into the climb and when we hit the lower slopes it was all out to the top. The climb was very short and VERY steep. Over the top I looked back, a handful of guys made it over the top together while the field right behind was single file and small gaps were forming. Astana was very quick to respond and before any major damage could be done they had the front under control. Maybe the climb was too short or maybe I just didn’t have enough in the tank that day but either way it looked like it was going to be a bunch kick to the finish. Time to start focusing on Brad. Bernie and I made sure he was topped off with fluids and gels and when we hit the coast with 15km to go we placed our selves in a line near the front waiting for the 3km to go sign to make our move. Down to just three of us it was going to be tough to do a proper lead out but it wasn’t going to stop us from trying. With 3km to go Bernie hit out, myself and Brad on his wheel, with 2km to go Bernie swung off and I dragged Brad the last few meters to third wheel behind Ukraine. With 500meters to go I hit out one last time on the right hand side. With 400 meters to go I swung off, at the same moment a surge from the Japanese team on the left hand side swarmed the field. Brad lost position very quickly without protection, only managing 18th place across the line.
As easy as it is to look at the day and be a bit disappointed, I can’t be. I had a whole team of guys ride their hearts out for me and I know that I gave everything I could in return to try to change the outcome of the race. Simply said: “no excuses we played like champions.” Rather than settling for what we had we made a huge effort to aim higher and the reality is that sometimes it doesn’t always work out. After the race a huge weight was lifted off my shoulders, regardless of what happened it was the end of a very successful season for Team Jelly Belly and we couldn’t be happier about it. I want to thank everyone of my teammates and staff for giving 100% all year. We rode selflessly all year and because of that we won a lot of races. I couldn’t have asked to race with a better group of guys.
Next year is going to be a big change for me, with the recent announcement of my move to Team Type 1 I have a lot to look forward too. Racing in Europe is going to be a serious challenge but after this year I am going into next season with a huge amount of confidence and I owe that the team.
Filed by kielreijnen at October 21st, 2010 under Kiel Reijnen
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