22/06/13 WAOD Kermis koers Zomergem. Not the best weather, not the best legs after falling in the Ghent tramtracks yesterday but started out anyways on the glowing 4,1 km course in Zomergem, covering 13 laps into a total of 52 km. Team Freddie Merckx featering Ron Vandenbussche, Mathieu Blancke andLucas Vermeire was up front from start to finish. Also local and FxM symphatizer Arno De Wispelaere was up there all along. Soon it became quite clear it'd be a race with zero recovery oppurtunities and heavy winds. The only places where the pace went down were the 2 sharp corners and the uphill sections. A lot of attempted break aways, we were either in them or closing the gaps and controlling the race along with some other guys. After about 7 laps I found my better legs and started riding smoother, realizing I could go for top 10. All went well, all break aways were caught and a bunch sprint looked imminent. Until it started raining. With 2 laps to go my rear wheel slipped on the uphill cobbled section and I hit the deck, I immediately tried getting up and getting back in the race but a bent derailler pad decided otherwise. Race over, altho I'm very pleased with how the race went, knowing I could lead out the sprint for Ron and finish top 10 myself. Massive kudo's go to Ron, finishing 6th and Arno finishing 9th. More kudo's go to Mathieu 'Franky' Blancke for being such a bad ass cyclist, riding the same awesome frame like I do and having the prettiest eyes a man can have. And last but not least to Lucas Vermeire who rode his first sanctioned race today and did really great! Rubber side down. http://app.strava.com/activities/62123709
