'Dale

Geez

“It’s your reaction to adversity, not the adversity itself, that determines how your life’s story will develop.” - Dieter F. Uchtdorf Week 6: I have been medically cleared yesterday to have medium-to-full weight bearing on my leg. So, from today I am doing the one-crutch assisted moon walk thang. I have gone through a few dark valleys and struggled to get out of bed a few times, fighting to get back into my life. Honouring my feelings really helps I also remember that I always teach my son, Jonah, that “getting back up after life knocks you down is so important… and life will knock you back… as an opportunity for courage and growth… and then it’s time to stand up inside yourself…” I have to walk the talk, hey. That’s the job as one of his guides in Life. Off to the USA for a few weeks to spend retreat time in the snow-kissed mountains of Colorado. Looking forward to some ‘time out’, catching my breath and some meditation time in God’s garden. Grateful for my beautiful wife who makes my morning oats with chia seeds, and my son who ‘assesses my right leg’ every morning before school. And my friends who drive me around for the little things. Be safe out there on roads and trails, Peoples. 💟

Alpecin-Deceunick continues to thrive with its star racer and the current Rainbow Jersey, punching way above its weight in terms of team budget. What a team performance culminating into sheer dominance in the final - dropping the sharp end of the field at will with the velodrome still 60 kms away. 1-2 for the consecutive year for a team that is not a WorldTour team. 3rd Monument this year. Another green jersey in July? Morale must be sky high in this team, adding 15 watts per pedal stroke to every team member. The Roodhooft brothers created this team and built it around MVDP in the cyclocross space before branching it to road racing. A similar pathway is currently in place, seemingly for the young talent in Puck Pieterse. 47.85 km/h average speed. The fastest time ever, roughly 1 km/h faster than the previous fastest finishing time. 📸 Russ Ellis

Roglič allowing a peek for the public into the daily wound management required as he resets his pathway to the Tour de France. Rider safety is an ongoing debate. Complicated stuff. Races are getting faster with today’s Hell of the North winner exceeding 47 km/h (a course record), disc brakes are allowing for later braking and more risk taking, aero gains from helmets to innovations in frame geometry, a hyper-competitive culture in the professional ranks, sky high budgets incentivising winning ‘at all costs’, etc. Who will line up in France and in what form? It remains to be seen.

A woman in a white speedsuit with rainbow colours emerges victorious by more than a bike length, in the town of Roubaix, historically known for being popular in the textile industrial space. A rare sight. 📸 @thomas_maheux

“We are going for 400 watts average or 448 normalised power...” - Buff-Megamo team tactical discussion in the kitchen a day before the prologue. Gotta love the heart and soul in this video release.

Gusty winds 25-40 km/h and temps in the unseasonal 20s, with muddy spots after the week's rain, not recommended to choose a line on the smoother shoulder of the cobbled sectors. The women's peloton is downsizing by the sector. Pic: Getty Images

Lots of rain until about Thursday in northern France. There will be mud, grime and slippery cobblestones. Unfortunately, former winner Lizzie Deignan crashed out and broke a bone. Lotto Kopecky is very determined to take this win, as expressed in a recent interview, as she has won RvV. The Women's Ronde was the race of the year for me, followed closely by the beautiful chess on two wheels played by Mads & Company at Gent-Wevelgem. Sunday was met with sideways rain, a rainbow jersey in white bibs, a very resilient Nieuwadoma, and the excellent tactical masterclass by the Italian Champ and her teammates. Longo Borghini ('Lamborghini') won the race about 10 years ago and dedicate this victory to her new coach who believed in her to come back strong. Meanwhile, somewhere in EuroLand at altitude, Giro preparations continue. Pic: Top Ganna on Instagram

Will we have rain in northern France this weekend and will there be a muddy Paris-Roubaix in 2024? Can the Danish champ honour his broken Belgian teammate and bring some glory back to the team bus next weekend. Lidl-Trek Women sure did yesterday with a 1 and 3 on the podium. The 56T on this Trektor, eish. Pic: @roleurmagazine

"Winning the Tour of Flanders in the rainbow jersey is a dream come true... I cannot think about 'Roubaix just yet... I am a little forked after today... one of the hardest races I'v ever done..." - The Rainbow Jersey (3 x winner RvV, Mathieu van der Poel) Pic: @UCI_cycling

Just add water.💧 Lotto Kopecky wearing white shorts was just running up the Koppenberg too. Pic: Getty Images

With the rain and crosswinds, is Mads mad going in the break with a sore body and more than 80 kms to go? I’m wondering whether he is riding super domestique for another teammate. Whatever it is, it’s brave. Bettiol in stealth mode with his retro style jersey. This is high quality chess on two wheels. The rainbow jersey have burnt a few matches already, as well as the Vlisma Lease A Bike leader. This race is wide open, although the team with faux denim looks very much in control. 2400 m of vert today, with most of the hellingen arriving in the final 60 kms of the race.

Left piston cramp. Ow! It's always surreal to see a World Tour rider suffer with cramp. Here's hoping Bettiol had his share of that especially as we look to the Holy Week. With Powless out with knee injury that came on sharply and unexpectedly at Tirreno', all the lime light is on the Italian to represent. About tomorrow's little race that starts in Antwerp this time: Weather gods: cool and cloudy, 15°C and with the chance of rain. A SE wind will blow at 15-20km/h which makes it a factor in the headwind/tailwind sense at times but it won’t cause much crosswind action. The two rainbow jerseys are the outright favourites for both men and No curse there, seemingly. Vos's best result here is 13th after several appearances and she is looking in fine form after recent surgery. MVDP is the 2nd most successful finisher here, after Musseuw's 3 wins, 3 2nd spots and a handful of 3rd placings. From the team on Cannondales’ website - they’ll be wearing black and white retro jerseys as a "homage to all of the riders that have rattled over the cobbles and pushed through wind". Some cool and creative marketing by Rapha.

RVV musings: The 2023 champion is cooling his heels a bit from a highly successful racing stint. I think I saw somewhere that he is sitting at a 34% winning ratio for every race that he has started as a professional. The Slovenian is heading back to altitude training and will be back for some more race days in the Ardennes and then the Giro. He is clearly wanting to win all the races on the race calendar. Box ticking of the most demanding kind. Wout will likely reset and be at the Tour de France. It seems that the Giro was an opportunity and 'reward' to pursue individual interests. Into the fold steps the American from Idaho, an unlikely yet very capable new hire, formerly at Movistar, to hold up Vlisma Lease A Bike's Spring ambitions. He's living the dream! Mads admitted in recent interviews that RvV is not well suited to him even thought he will line up at the start. He was able to find his bike and get back in the saddle at DDV. I suspect he will target Paris-Roubaix next weekend and turn that 4th at MSR into a podium or win in the old mining town's velodrome. Mah-tay-yoh - no curse of the rainbow jersey there. He is looking in superior form. Hard to see who can stop him from getting on the top step. And, then again, this is a team sport. Where are the Steppers? Are they now fully repurposed as a GC team? The next two weekends of Holy Week will be crucial for them. Can Asgreen execute some magic? I am holding thumbs for a certain Italian in a pink jersey who is a previous winner. Pic: @podiumcafe

You may not control all the events that happen to you, but you can decide not to be reduced by them. —Maya Angelou Week 5 since the hit & run incident in Green Point, Peoples. My right leg is losing its musculature due to lack of activation and mobility. My ankle and calf is still under reconstruction and finding its way to full recovery with daily wound management and physiotherapy 3 x daily. My left leg is working twice as hard and compensating for its missing twin. I will walk again and my right leg is getting ready to kiss the earth in a few weeks’ time. Looking forward to the horizon, I have ordered a new road bike and replaced all my accessories which felt like an administrative task as my relationship to my endurance sport is under a necessary and important life review. My inner recovery work arising now is to search for any splinters of post traumatic stress when I visit the scene of the incident in the new few days. This task of facing the past is an important part of healing, recovery and becoming Whole again. Grateful for so many things: The loving and protective bubble around me at home, a durable and resilient body, a steadfast mind, the privilege of having a superb medical team attending to me and all those caring messages and lekka visits that pulls me back towards Life. Be safe out there, Online Community. 💟

While we count the slapies / skapies until Sunday’s 2nd Monument of 2024, I saw this interesting graph (by full gaz cycling) as posted by @lucasaganronald on TweetieBird. Interestingly, Alpecin-Deceunick operating at an estimated 15-25 million kudos - classic example of overachievement. Budget caps from 2025? It’s complicated.

I rent a bike when I’m rolling for 7 days or less; I travel with my own bike when I roll for more than 7 days - thereabouts. Enjoy beautiful Lake Como. Just remember 14 degrees at the southern tip of Mama Africa is not the same as 14 degrees in northern Italia.

About 250 professional wins now for Marianne The Mighty, winning for the first time at Omloop’ a few weeks ago and now celebrating her first win at DDV. Both her and Tadej are colouring in all the blocks on the racing calendar. Geez, if I see tough athletes like Jasper Stuyven, WvA and Bini (his 2nd high speed crash in as many seasons) in so much pain, I know that the crash was very eina. I’m hoping all of them will get back to the office (throwing their leg over the saddle for a WT race) with full recovery. On another note, the American is having a magnificent March. What mixed fortune for the team in yellow. 4 sleeps to the Tour of Flanders! Pic: @jeredgruber

Intriguing stats. Father Sun seemingly sure had a say.

Tired eyes; full hearts. 30th on the ladder.

Stuyven had an unfortunate technical while being part of the winning break. Man mountain sprinter Jonathan Milan was simply superb as he pressured the rainbow jersey to chase, chase and chase again. Lidl-Trek will draw a lot of confidence and resolve from their team performance. This bodes well for RvV and The Hell of the North. Another highlight of the weekend was the elegant Egan Bernal on a WT stage race podium. Take a bow, champion.

Gent-Wevelgem: 76 kms to go and a tactical masterclass by Lidl-Trek thus far. It’s been a day of echelons with 30 km/h crosswinds on a cool and dry Belgian day. Beautiful racing.

3 superlatives for the 30 year old Matt Beers: Professional. Stoic. Gritty. He comes across as a 'caring hammer' when his teammate is the nail. I have lost count with the number of teammates that he has won this special yellow jersey - a total reflection on him as an athlete. Respect. And the Specialized brand continue to dominate the Cape Epic.

Last chance for many teams to taste stage win glory - it's gonna be hard racing on very weary bodies and minds. For the amateur, a lifetime achievement is a handful of hours away.

"This is Africa. Rain is a blessing" - Stefan Sahm. That is a lot of VAM required for today. And it will be slippery. Tyre choice and pressure very key. There'll be weary bodies and minds today, which can lead to delayed reflexes and errors in judgements. Hope all the amateurs makes it through safely to move oh so close to their personal and team ambitions.