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Lisa Jacobs & Lisa's Mum - now blogging for Cyclingtribe
First euro race and GP de Beauraing
I had my first euro race on Saturday - a 78km kermesse in Belgium. It was fun and I didn't get dropped, and we won beer, which made it a good day all round. Actually, it was a lot more fun than I'd anticipated. I made all the girls afterwards pose for a picture so I could prove to everyone back home that I wasn't just drinking beer and discovering spiritualism on some big adventure overseas. (Although I'd be lying if I said I didn't drop a prayer or two before race start.) What made it a top day for me was how well the girls looked out for me and and talked me through the whole race. They've all been racing overseas a lot longer than I have and have been so generous with sharing their experience. It's a big learning curve but that day just made me feel wow, it's going to be AWESOME.
Regulation 5.4.1 of the Belgian Cycling Federation race rules states that race sign on must take place in a pub and that all spectators must be able to blow at least 0.09 by race end
The next day we raced the GP de Beauraing, which also happened to be the regional championship of Wallonia, the French-speaking part of Belgium. It was the equivalent of a state championship in oz. The race was 10 laps of a 9km circuit... which actually turned out to be 9 laps when they rang the bell one lap too early, but no one was complaining. It was a tricky little course that reminded us a lot of the Australian road nationals course - a climb followed by a tight narrow descent. I lost both my bidons on some potholes in the first 2 laps and there was no feeding until the 7th lap. For the weight weenies out there (you know who you are), yes this represented a significant weight advantage when going uphill in the first part of each subsequent lap. For my part, I was quite grateful when Beth, the AIS soigneur, handed me a bidon on the 7th lap which managed to stay in the cage where I had put it.
But the best part of the GP de Beauraing was that Spratty won it. It was an amazing solo effort that saw her break away in the first third of the race (at about the point where I was chomping stem and getting yelled at in Flemish), then ride her breakaway companion off her wheel on a bike that she later discovered had its front skewer undone. Her victory salute (the Kangaroo) was pure gold and if I can track down a photo I'll post it here. Then Kirsty won the bunch sprint for 3rd. So it was a good day for team AIS.
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Supercoach Dave McPartland talks race tactics
We are here in Leuven, Belgium, until Sat.Our next race is on Fri night, then on Sat we pack up and head to France for a 2-day tour on Sun/ Mon. Then back to Italy for a gelati refuel.
Above left: Race faces ON!
Above right: We painted the cars so that we knew which ones were ours
Above left: Varese by moonlight
Above right: Pizza night in Varese
Ok, that's enough from me for now. Ride happy.
Lisa's Mum hits the Giro d'Italia
I've received some mail asking where Lisa's Mum has been while I've been in Belgium. To be honest, I'm not exactly sure. I stowed her in my hand luggage when I left in Melbourne, and by the time I hit Italy she was nowhere to be found.
It wasn't until I checked my credit card statement and saw several purchases made at Gucci in Milano that I realised where she was. It is no secret that Lisa's Mum has lofty ambitions for joining the SBS commentary team at Le Tour de France, and it looks like she has taken this one step further by heading to the Giro d'Italia.
Lisa's Mum was extremely excited about today's Giro stage, where a break of 56 riders caught Vinokourov and Cadel napping and rode off to a 10min lead by the day's end. Her word from the inside is that both stopped for a picnic and, while arguing about who forgot to pack the cutlery, the break slipped past unnoticed. Mum is particularly pleased that Richie Porte has kicked Vino out of the pink, mostly because Richie is a superstar but also because blue lycra suits Vino's eyes much better.Lisa's Mum doesn't want to be greedy but does think that Australia's dominance over all the jerseys of significance in the Giro so far is reflective of Aussies' grit, determination, and ability to withstand a large number of gels without encountering gastro-intestinal difficulty. She suspects some talent may be involved too. Mum is hoping that Richie's catapultion into the maglia rosa today will also serve as inspiration to other Tasmanians that they too can leave Tasmania one day and travel further than Melbourne.*
Lisa's Mum is enjoying the Giro at the moment but she is struggling to adjust to some of the cultural differences in Italy. For example, in Carrara, home of the stage 6 finish, it is customary to appoint only extremely tall women as podium chicks.
Don't let the picture fool you, Matty Lloyd is actually 6 ft 4
However, despite the differences, Lisa's Mum has found Italians very friendly and approachable. She even got to see her idol Mario Cipollini, who was thrilled to meet her and immediately demanded a photo. Lisa's Mum is usually camera-shy, but few women are able to say no to Cipo.
Lisa's Mum pauses for a photo with Cipo
That's enough from Lisa's Mum for now. She is off to par-tay with Saxo Bank (SOMEONE has to drink all that champagne, those riders certainly can't).
Ciao
*Lisa's Mum wishes to apologise in advance to any Tasmanians she may have offended with that last statement, and also to anyone she may have offended with the Tasmanian jokes she told at the stage 11 after-party. Mum wishes to emphasise that in no way did she mean that you all had 2 heads and married your sister.
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