The first kermesse - for me

My first kermesse was pretty standard – a flat, rainy, 6k circuit through farm roads and the “downtown” area of Poelkapelle, a few k west of Westrozebeke, where we’re staying. Technically, the race was 10x7k and then 10x5k, or something like that – yes, they changed the course in the middle of the race. This actually makes some sense, because it means the Belgian tifosi (or whatever you call our beer-drinking fans) see more of the race as it gets closer to the finish.

Ryan told me to burn matches early to get to the front, but I may have taken him too literally. At any rate, “near the front” became “off the front” within about 2k of the start, where me and a pair of huge Belgians going as hard as we could to maintain a one second gap on the field. Oops. Most notable was the Belgian-style cornering: hammerfest until you can see the turn, then coast, then brake to 5 mph, then go through the corner one at a time, then hammer until you’re back at full gas.

Each lap has a 12 Euro prime, which meant the pace was really cracking through the town each time. I was near the front for the first 8 or so laps, at which point the elastic finally broke, and I drifted farther and farther back… man there’s still a lot of people here… and eventually was off the back. The race officials’ car took a long time to determine if I was just getting dropped or if I was having a heart attack before passing me. (I did not take the more Euro route of feigning illness. Maybe I need to apply morel leg oil before the races.)

As I was going backwards, Ryan bridged up to the winning breakaway. Unfortunately, the gigawatts he put out to do so took their toll on his bike, and he essentially ripped his pedal out of his left crankarm. That’s some power. Jason and Judd held on for the rest of the race, so they can now say they’ve raced an entire kermesse. Finishing took its toll on Jason’s bike, so he’s off to France to get it fixed. That’s what you get for riding a French frame!