Back in the Saddle
This past week I was in Belgium, where soccer is king, cycling the prince, and cyclocross the jester.
Coincidently, the UCI world championships were happening in Zurich. That meant there was plenty of cycling on television.
In the end, the women’s elite road race was more exciting than the men’s. The Dutch team and Demi Vollering shot themselves in the foot and allowed Kopecky to get back into the race and win the gold. Yes, Lotte Kopecky was lucky, but only after she showed great grit in tough weather.
Sunday’s men’s elite left me wanting more. Tadej’s attack with 100km was near sure suicide. Yet, there was no teamwork among the chasers, in part due to the tantrums from Remco. When things got going a bit, he wanted more and derailed budding teamwork. Tadej is the deserving world champion.
While in Belgium, I took advantage of buying some bad weather cycling gear: gloves, leggings, and a warm cap. However, a Team Belgium cycling jersey remained elusive. I must have visited over 5 cycling stores with no luck. I’ll order it online.
I finally got back in the saddle with a few slow and easy rides, with the longest being near 20 miles. I am looking forward to my ride with Team South Bay Blaze on Saturday to kick off my ALC training in earnest.
Fundraising status: ready to blast off. Can you add some fuel? https://giving.aidslifecycle.org/participant/JanVanBruaene
I also created an Instagram ALC2025 Highlight group to follow along.