Early Season Belgium!

My first month or so in Belgium has passed & it's safe to say - there is a lot to report on! Unfortunately for me I've had more low's than high's. Destroyed personal belongings, cancelled race days & not too many results to brag about - but my condition is coming along nicely, I'm feeling strong, & the next few weeks look to be some of the most exciting of my career to date. You got to take the bad with the good I guess! Let the good times roll...

Vollezele Kermesse

It was fantastic to get that "race" feeling back in my legs. My first few races were so fun, to get stuck back into some proper competitive racing to blow out the cobwebs after (what felt like) the longest winter without that adrenaline rush!

I've clocked up 7 race days. On the kermesse scene I've raced at Vollezele, Brugge-Sint Kruis, Bellegem, Anzegem & Pollare. Then I rode the Kattekoers UCI 1.2 & the Pro Kermesse at Wanzele. All the kermesse races have gone good. No real results for me as of yet unfortunately, mostly just top 50's - but made some impact on pretty much every race I've done which is promising. Once the fields get smaller, the weather picks up & winter warriors start to prepare for 2014 again - the results should start to flow, I hope! In particular, the 165km pro kermesse at Wanzele is the race I enjoyed the most so far this season. I placed 53rd out of 240 starters.

On the non-racing front things haven't gone so smoothly for me since getting here. On the drive home after I crashed at the Kattekoers my car broke down. The gearbox and engine decided to pack up & it will cost too much to fix. That was a big blow! Thanks for the good times, and thanks for (just about!) getting us home that evening Astra! The next morning things weren't looking up either. Examining and cleaning the muck from my bike after the crash - I realised that the frame was cracked, and just to top it all off - due to the snow, the roof in my room started to leak. It really was a "character building" few days! I really have to thank my house/team mates & team management for helping me out with my car and bike. Thanks guys - much appreciated! Tough times don't last, but tough people do...

Some shots from the Brugge-Sint Kruis kermesse. Big field!

Since my run of bad luck in the past weeks, I've been taking less risks in the kermesse races & just using them primarily to train and prepare for the next few weeks.

I am very happy & excited to announce I will be lining up to start the biggest race of my career to date this Saturday (6th of April) at the UCI u23 Nation's Cups event - The Tour of Flanders.

I will be taking part in the grueling 180km race as part of the Irish u23 National Team and will also ride 2 more Nation's Cup events in the following days - La Cote de Picardie in France (10th) & the ZLM Tour (13th) in Holland. I am really chuffed to be able to ride races of such a caliber and I am sure it will be a fantastic experience.

After my spell with the National team I plan to pop home for a few days before coming back to Belgium & build towards some Stage Races I have coming up in May. 

Thanks to Paul at the Fermoy Bike Shop for his HIGH5 & Herbalife nutritional support & Glenn at the Kilworth Wellness Centre for helping with the use of his knowledge in nutrition & how to use the Herbalife range to get the most out of my body. 

A BIG thank you to FFWD Wheels for providing my with a sweet set of their F4R's for the upcoming season and in particular the u23 Ronde van Vlaanderen.  

Stay tuned for an update after the Nation's Cups.

Thanks for reading!

E