World Masters Cycling Tour in Stavelot, Belgium Race Report
World Masters Cycling Tour in Stavelot, Province of Liege in Belgium
September 9-11, 2011
This was the UCI inaugural world tour for master cyclists and consisted of a Time Trial of approx. 20 km and a 106km Road Race.
763 racers registered from 29 various countries to compete for the highly coveted UCI World Championship jersey in their respective age categories. Participants qualified through a series of qualifying races, the first held on our own Rottnest Island in Perth, WA. The first 25% of racers per age category were automatically guaranteed entry to the Worlds.
188 registered for the TT, in which I participated in my age group of 55-59 years. The TT course was changed a couple of weeks before the race to ensure rider safety. What we got was a decidedly uncharacteristic TT course, yet wildly exciting! I won’t forget my feelings on the preview when I hit the cobblestones and thought my teeth were going to rattle right out of my mouth! The fact of the matter was it had to be conquered because otherwise you could not finish! I have to admit that it did get better with more speed afforded by a disc wheel and 808 on the front!
The day before race day was lovely. The day of the race was wet and somewhat miserable, but as usual we all set up and did our thing. The start ramp was rather interesting, being much narrower than usual and with a bump in it that proved to be somewhat too much of a challenge for some who headed over the side of it!
On the start ramp it was “how good is your French ? “or watch the numbers on the digital clock! Cinq, quartre, trios, deux, un... Go! Vite! 8 km of flat bike path ahead of me, I was delighted to be picked up by my very own motor bike escort and not too long after, into the first rail tunnel we went. I felt like a pro and probably went too hard, as many did!. Then two switch backs down a ramp to the road and we embarked on 2 x 2km climbs of up to 5-6% average but with definite short kick ups in places and some undulating terrain I was grateful for Frank having put on his spare Conti competition Black Chilli tubular tyres for me as it was wet, curvy and fast downhill! This was followed by the exhilarating (how fast do you dare to go) “nose dive” into Stavelot, down a narrow town street. I was lucky in that the little lady with the shopping cart had not yet ventured out, but later on my friend Pete encountered her at the cobblestone bridge and had to take evasive action.
I heard them calling Marti’s name and I knew that I was not too far behind, but not too far behind me was Marion, 13 times world champ and new to our age group of 55-59 years. As we pulled up, my escort smiled and put his thumb up. In his eyes I was a champ! The result: second to Marion (+37 secs) and ahead of Marti by 11 seconds! The real delight was three women with Dutch blood in their veins on the podium as I am an Australian born to Dutch parents.
The overall result for both races was that the United States was the strongest country in the UWCT final with 25 medals. Australia won a total of 6 medals. I highly recommend going to this race for the experience and the friends you make in travelling overseas. However, do allow more than 4 days to acclimatise. Allow more like 2 weeks and play alot on the course beforehand. Late press.....the race will be in South Africa, Natale province so no more cobblestones I guess!
Jennifer Sammons is Remotely coached by David Heatley.
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