Loenhout

We woke up early yesterday for our race in Loenhout, which is called the "biggest cross race" in the world (this is mostly because of how long the race has been going on rather than the actual size). Anyway, we arrived and had to deal with a massive line at registration. By the time I got out, I only had time to ride 1 quick lap but luckily the course wasn't too tricky except for 1 really long tractor pull section that was pretty much unrideable. The rest of the course was fast and tacky and the sun was out so I was pumped to have a good race. We all got called up near the back which was a real downer since there were 90 guys in our race. The gun went off and I had a good start and pretty much passed a whole row as we were all clipping in. It was a real long road section to a hard left. I avoided a few crashes but about half a lap later, a kid went over the bars in front of me and his rear wheel caught me in the face which caused me to fall. I got up and in a daze went to pick up my bike...which was stuck in his rear wheel. We both pulled on it but it wouldn't give. A bunch of kids were passing us and I was getting frustrated so I just stepped back and yanked it as hard as I could, freeing our bikes. I jumped back on and started weaving through the crowd of racers. I rode for another lap but I soon realized that my right hand was slipping off the hood. I looked down and my right hand and bars were covered with blood. This quickly shifted my interest from the race to getting my hand fixed so I started riding to the pit to get help. Riding there was a trip because I was getting all kinds of gasps and weird looks from the spectators lining the course. I met up with a medical assistant in the pit that didn't speak much English but gestured for me to follow him so I did. He took me to a building that had some EMT's working there and they bandaged it up and took good care of me. I was really disappointed because I felt great and the course suited me very well but things like this happen sometimes especially over here where the competition is fierce and the field sizes are huge. Eric was resting and Steve got 43rd. Tomorrow is another day at the races and another chance for success. Stay tuned.