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Published: April 5th 2018
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Terneuzen
The port city race start Scheldprijs - the oldest bike race in Europe. What a fun race! It is a small one day race that starts off and ends in smaller towns - so much fun to visit. Yesterday we started off in Terneuzen which is a small city on the water - that leads to the North Sea we think based on our rudimentary Dutch speaking ability. This was their first year hosting the start of this race, and they did it up proud. The school kids lined the presentation path and cheered for all of the riders - who stopped for autographs and pictures to the delight of the kids. Dave and I did wish Taylor Phinney a good race, and I think that is the reason he finished first from his team and 19th overall.
It was a little cool, rainy, and a lot windy up there, and I think the 200 km race was like that most of the way. The race broke into echelons fighting the wind, 30 some riders were disqualified when they ducked under a railway arm, a lot of riders did not finish, and the defending champion had at least 3 flat tires. The race ended up
EF Drapac Team Presentation
An American team - Taylor Phinney's team being decided in a sprint at the finish in Schoten and was won by Fabio Jakobsen from Quik Step Floors - the team that has won most everything this spring.
We ate lunch at a local cafe, and ended up just guessing at what we were ordering. Ended up being a delicious ham salad sandwich. We were seated next to some cycling fans from the Netherlands ... And they were fun to talk to. They did not like anything about or anyone on Quik Step Floors, so I am sure they were not happy with the result for the race. They were a hoot - I think they were lifetime members of the Spartacus Forever Fan Club and it seemed they were dedicated to keeping the memory of the great Swiss rider Fabian Cancellara alive. We first noticed them because of the Fabian signed Spartacus jacket his main fan was wearing ... You could not miss it. But since Fabian retired, they have been looking for a new person to root for ... Peter Sagan was one choice and then it was everyone not on Quik Step Floors. This group will also be at Paris Roubaix this weekend, and
Have a good race Taylor!
We are a good luck charm :-) we are supposed to look for them ....
Schoten was a rocking fun finishing town - music, food, beer of course, and lots of fans. Cycling fans are something - it was pouring rain at the finish and the fans stayed out there cheering. When the rain started, no one in the beer line even moved, a few people put up umbrellas, some pulled out hats, and the rest just kept on standing there. Dave and I were lucky enough to be standing under an overhang and we stayed pretty dry. By the end of the race, the sun was out, it was warm, and people were everywhere. We would have gone and congratulated Taylor Phinney after the race - but Dave had to participate in a webinar for the Quad City Bike Club. I am Dave's traveling tech support, and we eventually got the webinar up, found our car, and were able to participate ... A lot of things came together at the end to make this miracle happen.
Today it is rainy, windy and cool until about 2 PM when the weather will change to just windy and cool. We are headed back to Oudenaarde to
Race Infrastructure
It takes a lot of people to make a race work. Here are the camera, security, and timing bikes. There are also many vans, cars, busses, ambulances, and even a tow truck that join the travelling race control. visit the awesome cycling museum and then maybe a bike ride this afternoon. Tomorrow is supposed to be warm, sunny day windy - so a bike ride in Brugge is our plan.
Hope you like the pictures.
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