Track Race/Hooglede Kermesse

Track racing in Oostende is quiet different from racing in the US. Racing on road bikes on a track with less than 20% banking in the corners compared to fixed gears and an 86 inch gear. We had 3 races: a 10 lap scratch race, a 5 lap win and out and a 16 lap points. As I waited in the cold weather for the commissaires to call up our group I looked around and saw a small field and was very hopeful. When we started our race I put in a few efforts and didn't get much of a gap. Coming into the final sprint I didn't quiet have the legs and came in at third. My next race was the win and out, which I also got third in. Having just missed the win I knew I wasn't going to be able to hold on for second, so I conserved and settled for third. Going into my last race I wasn't so confident, but I was hoping for a second place. With about three laps to go I got a gap. I soloed off the front and got the last sprint. I ended up with third in the omnium.
-Joel S.

On Saturday, those who did not race at the track went to the nearby town of Hooglede to do a 12 x 5km kermesse. The course was dead flat, half on big wide open roads and half on super narrow and twisty farm roads. The four USA national team members who raced were A.J. Meyer, Ian Boswell, Cody Foster, and me. Expectations were high going into the race because the four of us were expected to extend our winning streak to four races. The plan was to try and form a break with as many USA guys as possible and try to keep that break away until the finish. The first break to get a significant gap (usually 20-30 seconds) tends to stay away for the remainder of the race because teams are not allowed to organize a chase. Cody basically attacked from the start and after he was caught, I attacked, and then Ian attacked, and so on for the first couple laps. Four laps into the race, AJ went for a prime and his acceleration created a gap in the field. AJ and Cody rolled off the front together and the pack hesitated. That hesitation is always a sign that the break might stick because no one is really willing to chase. I let their gap open to about 20 seconds and I punched it into a corner and bridged up to them. The three of us worked well together and half a lap later, Ian Boswell pulled himself and two other riders up to us. One of the riders who bridged up with Ian was dropped immediately as Ian went to the front and opened the gap to the field to 40 seconds. We were out of sight from the peloton and started to work well together. We took most of the primes, but we did let the other rider in our break kill himself to sprint for one or two. With the two laps to go, the four USA riders were still working smoothly, but our opponent had stopped taking pulls, as one should if he is up against four national team members. Somehow, we convinced him to keep pulling. With a lap and a half left in the race, we decided to do the textbook attack and sit-on tactic. I attacked first and held about a five second gap while my three teammates sat on the other rider. The other rider started to fade and Cody attacked and bridged up to me. Cody and I hammered to get away at went through the finishing area with one to go and a 10 second lead. Ian and AJ tried hard to attack and bridge up to Cody and I, but the opponent would have nothing of it and found new legs to stick to them. Cody and I pushed very hard for the rest of the lap and turned onto the finishing straight with no one behind us. I wanted to roll across the line together but Cody was more fond of a mano-a-mano sprint. So we sprinted and I pipped him at the line for the win. AJ and Ian beat the other rider in the sprint and the USA national team went 1, 2, 3, 4, a feat never before done by Americans in Europe (or so we like to think). Any one of the four of us was strong enough to win, but it just so turned out that I was in the right place at the right time. The team made 240 euros in the race and the four of us split it evenly. It was a great day of racing and I look forward to watching the other half of my team race tomorrow in our hometown of Izegem.

-Charlie Avis