FINDING SUCCESS IN EUROPE

Racing in Belgium is the hardest bike racing I've ever done. The Belgians are so aggressive. They are so fast. It's so hard and everyone is going for it. And that's exactly how I won the Heestert Kermesse and it was a great win for me! I broke away in the 63-kilometer kermesse with about three kilometers to go and won a race with 97 riders.

An American Coup in Belgium

As part of the 2011 USA Cycling 15/16 European Development Camp, six Americans travelled to Belgium to compete in four kermesses and a four-day stage race. The USA National team consisted of Logan Owen (WA), Miguel Byron (FL), Geoffrey Curran (CA), Stephen Bassett (TN), Will Barta (ID), and me, Diego Binatena (CA). In the West Flanders Cycling Tour I finished 40th out of 156 racers, but that doesn't tell the whole story...

In the first stage, Geoffrey won the prologue to claim the yellow jersey. Logan finished second, only 1 second behind, with the rest of the team all finishing in the top 20.

After stage two, Logan claimed the yellow jersey. I survived a crash and a flat but I worked my way back in the peloton to finish in the lead group. It was a brutal day!

The third stage of the Tour was extremely difficult. We had a huge target on our backs, and we did all we could to hold off the endless attacks from 25 European teams working together to rip the jersey from our backs. Sadly, at day's end, we lost the yellow jersey.

On the last day of the Tour, a determined and focused Team USA regained the yellow jersey for the victory, showing some American might on European soil! Logan attacked with 10k to go with some non GC contenders and captured the yellow and green jerseys, and Team USA claimed the overall team GC title at the West Flanders Cycling Tour Stage Race!

The Future...

I really enjoyed my three-week experience in Belgium. The racing is out of the world and so is the coffee! Surprisingly, I found out that we young Americans are pretty equal with the best in Belgium and that we are fast enough to win races there. This trip has given me the encouragement to believe I have a future in cycling and that I can succeed in Europe. Racing there has changed me forever!

Many thanks go to USA Cycling Race Director Michael Heitz, Team Mechanic Nicholas Salerno, Larry Nolan and Team Specialized Racing Juniors, and last but not least my teammates on the "European Dream Team" for all of their support.

Diego Binatena, Team Specialized Racing Juniors