back racing in europe

I’ve now had the opportunity to race in Holland, Belgium, and Germany. I must say Germany has been my favorite. The riders there are a little more chill and don’t feel it necessary to run you off the road. We did a UCI 1.2 race in Belgium with a few pro teams and it was nuts. For 180K it was flat out and with lots of narrow roads and few sections of cobbles. I think of the 200 riders only 60 finished. I’m not sure where I ended up but was happy with how I felt considering I had landed in Europe less then 24 hours before. Yesterday I did a race in Germany and had a great time even though I wasn’t allowed to finish. I got a flat and with no free lap I had to beg to the officials to let me ride to get experience and training. They let me but told me I had to pull out with 3 laps to go. By that point there was only 25 riders left out of the 100 that started. The course was fast and fun. It was 105K of 2.5K laps with an uphill and then a ripping downhill into a gradual corner. We were hitting between 45 and 50 mph on the downhill every lap. Monday we head to Germany for three days of post tour crits. We know Eric Zabel will be there for sure but don’t know what other Tour de France stars will be there. Apart from the racing it’s been a little easier to adjust this trip because I know were everything is and how it works. The only new adjustment I’ve had to make is driving. I’ve been the one driving the team to the races. When we leave I say a prayer that we make it there because I have no clue where I’m going. Believe it or not we’re only missed one turn. The most lost I got was coming home from the gas station the other night in our own town. It’s Sunday and has been raining all day. After 3 days of hard racing and training it’s a good day to take it easy. Hopefully it’ll clear and I can go spin later. If not I might ride the trainer for an hour. I’ll keep thing updated and try and get some good photos from the post tour crits.