Stage 4 was the longest stage in this tour, with 117km and 1800 vertical metres. I was silently hoping that I had recovered from my bonk 2 days earlier, but 5km into a fast and flat section, I realized that this was not the case. I tried to hold a wheel, but it was never the same one. I was slowly cycling backwards through the peloton. The mood sunk deep, both on myself and my team mate. I prepared myself for another day of riding in silence.
After the 15k mark it was my turn to sample some Black Forest bee venom. I had not noticed the little evil critter, but it stung me right on the inside of my right thigh. My second one in a week, I felt so special. I screamed in pain, stopped threw my bike into a bush and started to rub the spot. Johan gave me about five seconds to recover and then told me we needed to start riding if we want to get anywhere. Just the kind of reaction that I have learned to brush off and forget about when it comes stage racing.
The rest of the stage was slow, but we survived. The finish was in the home town, or better village, of Sabine Spitz. She was not there at the moment and the place had no other claim to fame. The camp was the worst: fifty bags crammed into a room that had only space for thirty beds. The other camp options were an equally tight room in the town hall or the floor of the local firestation garage, right under a big red truck. Thank you very much, I slept under the stars that night. A good habit that I learned in last year’s Transalp Challenge and is always good for bonding with new friends.
Even after a good night’s sleep and my first espresso since the start of Trans Schwarzwald, my mood was not the best before the start of the fifth and final stage. My leg showed a big bump where I was stung, I did not look forward to mountain biking at all. For the first time johan and I stepped in to the back end of the start box. today’s ride was hard again: 63km with 2000 vertical metres upwards and only 1000 down.
We started slow and in silence, I guess we both knew what to do. For me that was not to blow up before the last climb, for Johan trying to ride as slow as possible, but not so slow he would fall over. 20km uphill went by, a 10km downhill followed and I started to feel better again. The second climb we started to overtake other riders (still many of them with camelbaks, don’t get any ideas here). Another descent and then the last steep climb over 600 metres to the ski station of Feldberg. It was like a resurrection: I was riding uphill in the middle ring, dropping other riders and saw Johan almost breaking a sweat.
I used his power only once to get rid of a rider that was sucking our wheel. I asked Johan to let me get ahead for a bit and then sprint to close the gap. Team tactics! It felt like racing again.
The finish was steep and hard but I did not want to give up. Reach the finish line at full blast or lie by the side of the road with both my lungs hanging out of my mouth. After the finish line and all the high fives that come with it, it was straight to the sausage stand and bierstube for some rewards. I have never before suffered this hard in any stage race. Also it must be my worst result ever. I wish I had stayed registered as a solo rider and therefore not ruined Johan’s race. This was his main goal for the year and I know he worked hard to get here.
Trans Schwarzwald, a retrospective.
I have learned a lot of things during this week and made at least a hundred mental notes, all of them in a haze so I forgot most of the good ones. I ruined my performance by going out much harder than my current fitness level allows. When the race organizers tell you to take it easy in stage 1, it actually makes sense for some people. My old rule of going hard to secure the start box and trying to recover on day 2 did definitely not apply here.
I also have decided that 29er wheels are the way to go for marathons and stage racing. The bikes are a bit heavier but offer a ton of extra grip on steep climbs. Descending on a 29er has turned me from the slowest guy in the pack to a speed demon. I am also proud to say that none of our two bikes suffered any mechanicals. This confirms that taking time to tune a bicycle actually makes the difference between a good and a bad mechanic, in this case myself.
A few more bullet points:
* I enjoyed Trans Schwarzwald. It is not as well organized as any Plan B event (Trans alp or Trans Germany), but that is part of it’s charm. Things are just more ‘flexible’ and the registration fee makes it very good value for money.
* Since this race ends on a Sunday, it feels incomplete. Every stage race needs a big finisher party.
* Sleeping in the camp is and will always be my preferred way of travelling over campervan or hotels. It is very social and convenient if you can ignore a few hick ups when it comes to privacy, hygiene or comfort.
* I have to and will come to my next stage race in a much better physical shape. It will be for next year though, when hopefully my shop has survived it’s first winter and everything is a bit more organized and stable.
* Training is actually not overrated, it’s good for you. Now go out and do it to prepare for your next challenge. Do not disappoint yourself with a weak performance
I apologize if this blog was a bit long, I have two hours to kill on the bus back to the starting line. From there my friend Steven and myself will have a five hour drive back to Antwerp, where the shop will be open for business again a few hours later. Thanks for tuning in, next stop is the Eurobike demoday and bike exhibition in Friedrichshafen. If you cannot wait that long for more stories, are in need of some bike tuning or want to enjoy a stage of the Vuelta while sipping a free espresso, feel free to drop by at the shop. Opening times and address are on www.berchembikeservice.be