Amstel Gold (and hopefully, more kibbeling)

On that last trip in the fall, my Navy classmate Chris regaled me with stories of life in the cycling capital of the world….the Spring Classics are in his backyard, the most prestigious one-day races on the planet. 

Ghent-Welvegem, Liege-Bastogne-Liege, Paris Roubaix…the latter is 150 miles, with 30 of them cobblestones; choking dust on dry days and ice skating on wet ones. 

And Amstel Gold….Starts and ends in Maastricht. Something like 30 climbs, a bunch of loops, and plenty of drunk Dane spectators to make things spicy. 

I told Chris last fall that I would return to watch some of these goodies in person. And here I am once again!

Lovely riverside city, home of the first treaties to create the European Union. 

Race morning was more than a little nuts. 

Each team of 10 riders will have several support cars, each with a half dozen or more spares. And a whole lot of extra wheels inside….Each bike is probably $15,000 or so!!

Team introductions…

No more ‘hopefully!’ And I don’t care if the time of day is more suited to pastries…for NBC, it’s lightly fried cod cheeks at 10am!!!

For years, I drove an official’s car in Bend’s Cascade Cycling Classic. So much fun to see the race from the inside!

The cargo on this one car could pay off my house!

And they’re off!!

Pro teams (at least the well-financed ones) have their own RV…

Chris and I got into an animated discussion about last week’s epic Paris-Roubaix race…250km, with 20% over cobblestones!! The hometown winner, Wout van Aert, has a habit of showing off the best hair in the business….

Chris called him ‘Heat Miser.’

I opted for Buster Poindexter. 

I think we’re both right. 

You find the strangest things in the Netherlands, like this hat. Meanwhile, an Oregon kid just broke the NCAA record for the 1500m on his own track with a 3:31, that’s just ridiculous. 

The breakaway came thru as the rain started to fall, with the pack several minutes in arrears. 

We watched the rest of the race from Chris and Mary Martha’s lovely home in Eijsden, just a few miles south.

Belgium, a stone’s throw away. 

Chris’s daughter did some damage in Corvallis. 

I did some damage at the restaurant….scampi salad?!? Yes please. 

Chris’s wife Mary Martha said “you’re the reason we moved here!” Since I didn’t know them until 3 years after they relocated, I took that to mean they enjoy having visitors!

Lovely town, great experience, excellent friends!

More fun on two wheels...

the race had potential for disaster. 

16 mile loop. Men do 5 laps, women do 3. Women start 50 minutes after the men. 

there was also a men's cat 2/3 race that started after the pros. 

15 min before women started, I hear all sorts of spectator shouts (the start was around 400 yards off the main loop). I say to my official, I think the men just passed. he looks at his watch and says, no it's too soon. 

no, it's not. 

by the time we started, the men were halfway thru their second lap. I think this could be a mess at the end, two races converging. 

with 8 miles left in the women's race, we're hearing position reports on the men. They are coming up fast. 

with 3k to go, we hit a road that has a divided median for 2k. Each group is supposed to stay to the right. But that won't work with two separate pelotons. Quick decision made: women will go to the left, men go right of the median. 

Police notified. Ok. 

I confirm with my official, then go left. As soon as we are on the left of the barrier (against the flow of normal traffic), we hear frantic calls for women to stay on the right. 

too late. 

The police shut down all vehicles not in the race, and we were fine. However, the men started passing the women's field behind us (we had a breakaway), and I also heard reports for the caravan (team cars) to  STOP. 

this is inside 2 miles left. The riders are cranking it up, while cars are going left, right, stopping. 

crazy. 

I turn off the main loop for the finish line 300m up. Some volunteer is motioning for me to turn off the final stretch. ????? No, Officials cars drive straight thru the finish. 

Right then, the men's and women's pack completely converge. Just a mess!

However, no accidents from what I can tell. The police did a great job. 

Big screwup; the women should have started IMMEDIATELY after the men's field completed one lap. 

no harm, no foul. But a very interesting final lap!

I had a good official. he gave very clear directions. The only bummer was that our car didn't have a sunroof, so he had to sit behind me. Felt a little too much like chauffering. 

pretty hot, too. Tough day for the riders.