Back in Europe

Brrrr!!! Ready for first race of the season with Marco Polo-Donckers Koffie at Wanzele.

Hi Everybody,

Well back in europe already, man that time in NZ went fast and really enjoyed myself big thanks to the Caudwells.
Am now currently based with Marco Polo-Donckers Koffie continental cycling team and am staying in Geleen, Holland.
Which is about 15k's away from Valkenburg where the worldchamps are later this year.

As for the first 3 weeks here have been enjoying myself in the miserable weather by riding lots, even got some rides in the Ardennes done, where I was based as a Junior in 2006 so that makes getting use to the roads much easier when I go on longer rides.

As for the racing have my 2nd race tommorrow Omloop het Waasland Uci 1.2 race which should be interesting to see how that pans out and as for my first race in Wanzele on Wednesday finished 15th but was far from the most pleasant race conditions and having a slight mechanical due to the grit couldn't complain to much getting that one done and dusted was a good thing to get the season moving.

Hope you enjoy the pics below.


Barrage de la Gileppe Dam wall with lion monument on top on the way to Jalhay in the Ardennes.

Picture of down of a little statue just down the street here in Geleen.

Remouchamps looking up river to the bridges.









La Redoute just had to ride this little hill.




Last but not least the Saturday morning markets in the local square in Geleen.

God Bless

Take care till next time.

Wheels on the bus go round and round....

Taupiri Bay Bay of Islands

Hi Everybody,

Well this first week has been rather action packed been back in NZ
Went and spent a few days back in Auckland before heading on a road trip in a Bus up north with some of the family even got to the northern most part Cape Reinga and have got a picture up there then after getting back from that trip up north headed down to Invercargill for the Tour of Southland which starts tomorrow and in doing so managed to go to the southern most point on the South Island Stirling Point Bluff so hope you enjoy the photo's from around NZ, so this is the first time that I have been from the top of NZ to the very bottom in one week thats forsure.

Cheers
Chris

Me Driving the bus

Whangerei Heads Road






Cape Reinga top of the North Island

Stirling Point Bottom South Island

Jet Setting...

ZELE PRO RACE WIN

Hi Everybody,
Well the last month has been a nice way to finish off the season in Belgium and getting back to NZ.

So here's a quick update of how it went, leaving off from the last update finished the season off mainly riding pro kermises which the first one was in Zwevegem and was held on a hard circuit and the wind was a big factor out of the 90 or so starters there was only 16 finishers me been amongst them finishing in 10th place.
I don't really want to mention about the next race as a person sprinted really unfarely and did not get disqaulified so I took my 11th 2nd place of the year.
So then there was 4 pro races and all of them rode strong but didn't eventuate in the end usually all been mass bunch sprints.
Now here is where the story gets good, Basically started the 2nd to last pro kermis of the season, Which is the East Flanders Closing race, which was a race held on a feely large circuit with quite alot of corners and a few big open roads and of course my friend the wind. The race started off very fast and after 2laps, 2 riders went clear and the built up a lead of 1min but was inevitable that they were brought back with 5 lap to go as the wind was to wearing then with 4laps to go a big split in the group happened and 34 riders went ahead and I was in it, so I jumped off the front and did a huge effort to get across and made it across with 5 others with 3 laps to go
then going into the last laps there was a few attacks and 1 rider was clear and had a lead of 15sec then with 4k to go he had a lead of 9sec and I could see that the bunch was going to be setting up for a 2nd place sprint so I attacked as hard as I could so no one could come with me and went in Pursuit bridging the gap just after the last corner with 800m and just started a flat out sprint flying straight past him to take the biggest win of my career wining my first Pro Kermis which was over the moon about.
Now as I it was my last week in Belgium had to do the packing and sorting out what needed to come back to NZ as have been away a little while in amongst the 3 last race which also went well in the last Pro Kermis finished 15th in the lead group and then took another kermis win in Deerlijk taking me to 7 wins for the season and then racing in the last kermis of the season finishing a creditable 12th place and staying out of trouble which was my main goal as was to be flying the next day.
So now have been back in NZ enjoying the awesome countryside doing some nice little rides to prepare for tour of southland with Share the Road team, which I am really looking forward to catching up with the other NZ riders and enjoying myself.

Cheers for reading

God Bless

Chris

Keep on going

Me taken the dog for a walk at the beach.

Hi Everybody, been a little while since the last update, well since the last update have raced a fair amount and had a few rough patches with another little crash and doing a bit to much on the odd occasion now as I write this have 65 one day races in the legs that I have finished so definately my biggest year racing that I have ever done and love it despite the ups and downs.

To start off from last time back in the end of July had a we break off the bike 3days just to recovery from the latest block of racing highlight of that would of been going for a walk at the beach even despite not on such a good day.
So started off the following week back with a couple of nice easy rides and enjoyed riding on my birthday which happened to be one of the better days of the summer hence a nice photo of the windmill in Damme.
After that went and celebrated my 23rd birthday by going bowling with my friends in Gent which I enjoyed.



After my birthday that followed by another victory in Deerlijk this time as we rode out to the race didn't feel like I was going to have a good race, any way not a drop of rain in the 2hours riding out to the race then just as the race started the rain also and didn't stop the whole race and since there was alot of starters and corners it meant be at the front and stay out of trouble, but as I started near the back this was a little process and meanwhile a break of 3 riders had slipped away and had 20sec or so, so me seeming to find some legs attacked and rode a 2lap time trial accross to them by myself and extended the lead with them, but with 2laps to go it looked pretty grim that we would be able to stay away so once the bunch had nearly caught us put in a super effort which took us back out to 30sec so then it ended up been a 2 up sprint finish with me playing it cool and flying past to take the win in the last 100m.
Then the following day had a solid ride also finishing 5th in De Katte.
The following week add to the top ten's with another 3 finishes and the following week that lined up for the pro race in Huesden which managed a creditable 45th place finish.




On the 17th decided that I would go on a we expidition to SRM in Julich Germany and back which was a rather long and drawn out day on the trains but definately worth sorting out the problem with the srm and taken in some nice scenary as the train went back through the Ardennes. Unfortunately only had time to take one photo of this statue in Aachen.













So the following day had an awful race in Belzele probably due to all the travelling the day before pulled out after 1hour,
anyway managed to get a funny photo of this dog that just decided to make itself a new home in the back of the team car.

Now the following week was a bit to much started off on the Sunday with a 3rd place in Belzele then followed by another 3rd place in Balegem then 2nd place in Wippelgem winning me the classement for the 2 days then had one easy day followed by a pro kermis in Mere where had one of my strongest rides making every break and only getting caught in the last lap and still finished 49th in the bunch.
The following day was pretty to much and despite having reasonble legs with the 230+ks in the legs from the day before did a crit in Zirikzee in Holland and had a stupid crash cause of a bike malfunction going into a corner by chain came off and got jammed going into a corner so put a few more wounds on my left eblow and leg. So took the next few days feely easy but unfortunately the wound on the elbow was quite deep and gave me a little bit of a blood infection which wasn't so nice as raced another 2 pro kermises one in Geraardsbergen 63rd place and the other the following day in Kortemark 16th place despite my legs feeling like bricks that did not want to move really. So after that took it easy again for a few days then raced and finished 11th which wasn't such a good race as still not feeling better so had a few more easy days leading into another pro race in Izegem where I finished 26th and felt quite a bit better and the following day 8th in Assebroek.

So am looking forward to the closing part of the season racing mainly pro kermises and getting back home to NZ in October.

As for this pictures below are on the few good days riding I have had this summer training as the weather has been farely average this summer.

Statue in Terneuzen Holland looking out to sea.

One of the many canals of Brugge.







God Bless,
Take care,
Chris

RACE TO RACE

Aalst Natour Criterium

Race to race the up's and the down's for this last month...

Well we can start off the story with some good news atleast that was the race in Drongen which was another podium finish with a 2nd place unfortunately was rather marked person after have strong rides with the pro's.
More good news on the 26th of June got my 3rd win of the season out of a bunch sprint where played the waiting game and came flying from the last wheel to take the race.
Then some bad news hence why there isn't any photo's of early July as raced in Kruishoutem on the 28th where I finished a respectable 4th place but after that my bag got stolen unfortunately it had my camera in it however very lucky my wallet was not in it.
Then anyway moved on and race the following day in Zerkegem which was not such a good day as all I could think about was my camera was gone anyway still finished 12th and had a enjoyable ride home with some mates.
Now into July here we go started off with a slightly bigger kermis on the 2nd in Melle where I finished 2nd also then had 2 pro kermises back to back the first one was in Sint Nicolaas and was on the 6th of july and due to not have enough to drink ended up with cramp in the sprint but still managed to hold on and finish 13th, so it was all about recovery which happened straight away as soon as I got off my bike so I could be in a resonable shape for the race the next day in Melle with the pro's again where I managed to have a strong race and end up riding away with 5 others with 2laps remaining and unfortunately didn't have enough left in the tank to sprint at the end as cramps were been my friend again so finished 5th.
So took it easy the next few days and race on the sunday in Kortemark once again I was heavily marked but that didn't stop me from getting up the road and I finished 2nd again an my team mate Mario Won.
Now here was the race of the season so far on the 12th of July in Vilvoorde-Houtem with the pro's.
I had alot of luck today my legs were feeling great and started off well made the break was last one across to it after 2laps of the circuit were completed anyway heading along the back the distinctive "CLUNK" noise happened straight into the 11 as my rear gear cable snapped with 130k remaining of the race, so since I was in the break a few things were on my mind on what I should do, weather to just pull out as it was a pro race after all and would not have so much hope in against them, then I thought no harm in asking if any of them had a spare bike I could borrow which they all replied no, so that when my determination came into play and just pust on with just one gear, so kept on riding for the first hour an half a 70-80 cadance until I worked out I had a little chain ring which was quite spinny, so with changing inbetween the 2 gears managed to stay in the break with 3laps remaining the bunch started attacking each other so made it very hard for me, so I just put it in the big ring and rode as hard as I could and with 2laps to go was in a smaller group of just 6 riders unfortunately it was a block headwind sprint which no gear was any good so ended up finishing a very creditable 5th do to the circumstances.
However the next few days could feel it and in the following little crit I raced could bearly push hard as my back and muscle were really sore so after alot of stretching and massage that problem was put to an end and started in another Pro race in Dentergem on the 18th which raced very strong again but only managed to finish just ahead of the bunch in 9th place, then race the following day and finished 15th and the next day had my first DNF of the season due to my wheel rubbing on my frame pulled out with 3laps remaining.
Enjoyed the next few days went out and watched the other NZ guy's Hayden, Marc and Sam race the pro kermis in Ninove which was nice to see them in amongst it and then went out and saw the fireworks display as part of the Gent Festival which was pretty good that the rain stayed away.
The following day went out for a long ride and met up with Marc, Hayden and Sam and rode for a 3hours before heading back home.
The following day raced in Sint Maria Lierde which was a hilly kermis with plently of little climbs so started the day off with a train ride to Aalst to sort out the problem with my wheel so got that fixed and rode from there to the race and then raced finished 3rd, and rode back home that was on Saturday so went for a nice easy long ride on Sunday.
On Monday th 25th it was another highlight of the season as started the Natour Criterium in Aalst which is the first one the tour riders ride so got to ride in amongst the likes of
Phillip Gilbert, Ivan Basso, and others which was a new experience and very fun due to the share amount of spectators, the atmosphere was unreal and finished 13th there the only thing was the time it finished was quite late like 9.45pm.
So after having a good nights sleep and waking up far later than usual got ready to race a Dienze again this time had more luck only just as broke my seat rails again on lap 3 and still ended up getting away with 1 other with 8laps remaining and managed to kick away to take my 4th victory of the season in the race last year I finished 2nd so was extra special to win this year.
The next day finished 13th in Dienze and raced feely average as brought a new seat and was to high and could really feel the different muscle operating after a few laps so thats all for now.

God Bless
Take Care
Chris

Photos below of win in Dienze

Steping up!

Win in Oordegem 29/5

Okay better start from where I left off from which was loving to ride my bicycle and continue to do so.

So the following week after the races at Merelbeke there was a week where there was no mid week races so just got some nice site seeing in and had a good recovery week.
So then after not racing atleast once during that week felt really weird not racing in the middle of the week so any the recovery week must of done me a world of good as had a very solid race at Oordegem riding off from the start line and pretty much ended up felt so strong so with 5 laps to go went full gas up the little hill in the circuit and road off solo to the finish.
So had my usual rest day on Monday and went for a couple of nice easy rides before doing the another race in Oordegem unfortunately I was a very marked man now so did not make for an easy race, but still 2laps to go went
across to the break of 8 by myself but didn't have any legs for the sprint as caught them 1k from the finish. So finished 7th.
More easy rides before racing in Poesele where I ended up 4th as wasted alot of energy trying to get away the whole race.
Had a nice swim on my rest day at the local pools in Gent.
Some more quality time spent on the bike the following week with not so much great results 12th in Kluisbergen 7th in Oosterzele crit then 16th in a race on the Sunday in Sint Kornelis Horbeke.
As for the following week just took it feely easy leading into the Pro Races only racing on the Wednesday in Oosterzele which I finished 2nd. The following few days just took it easy as raced a Pro Kermis in Lede which was 168k 16 x 10.5k laps. As for how it unfolded was that started off with a break going early and getting caught half way meanwhile the rain came and made it extra technical on the cobbles and in the corners I stayed near the front out of trouble and made a few moves that looked promising but didn't stick so basically last lap came and I was a bit to far back and 6 guys rolled off including Marc Ryan fellow kiwi who had a good race. Any way another 4 pro's took off and were in between the peleton and the front group, so since I still had legs left I attacked soloed across to the group of 4 then on the slight rise dropped all of them as well and went on pursuit after the front 6 by myself any one of the riders slid out on a corner so I passed him and was about 100m off the back of the group when they started sprinting so finished a creditable 6th.
So just took it easy on Monday as had another pro race Ruddervoorde Koers 174k on Tuesday usually this is a bigger one with more pro's starting in that one anyway again had a solid race keeping in the front and even made a few splits happen where there was only 5 of us a one stage but didn't stick so the situation with 3laps to go, the group had regrouped and there was about 30 left out of the field of 134 so with 2 laps to go 4 riders went ahead but didn't think the odds of them staying away was very likely so didn't bother going with that move as look to be setting up for a bunch sprint to the line. Any way last lap came they still had 30sec and was going to be a sprint for 5th so 1.5k to go attacked and led into the last corners which would of been kaose otherwise so had 2nd wheel coming out of the last corner with 600m to go which was to soon to start sprint so waited ended up getting a bit boxed in and found away out passed 2 riders and then finished 9th so 5th in the bunch sprint so that was good for the morel known I can mix it up with the pro's with 2 top 10's in both races. So had a nice rest day today after 1000+ks on the bike last week... LOVE IT!!!!!

Lede Koers nice and wet

God Bless

Take care

Cheers

Chris Macic

I love to ride my bicycle........

Me just about to do my first race with the new wheels in Handzame

Hi Everyone,

Quick update on what ive been up to the last few weeks, well pretty much say spent most of it racing and riding and have been really enjoying it.

Well we may as well start off from where we left off in the string of breaking things this time it was the bottom bracket and crank that decided to pack up.
So had to race the home race for Kingsnorth at Wondelgem on my noble training bike and after picking up a few primes managed to finish in a respectable 5th place. The next few days was spent doing some nice easy milelage before the following race in Sint Maria Aalter where had my race bike back working again with the SRM crank, so had a solid race there but unfortunately missed the break and ended up finishing 2nd in the bunch sprint putting me in 11th place which was a pretty good end to the week.

The following week was quite full on as well with plenty of races to choose from, so started the week off with a rest day followed by a light ride with a couple of the others from the team, to Breskens which is by the sea in Holland. The following day raced in De Haan which is also by the sea but in Belgium, anyway it turned out to be a fast race on fairly nice roads so stuck together until the last few laps where it split up and yes I was in the front group but unfortunately didn't managed to pull off the win and had to settle for a 2nd place as for the following race 2 days later in Vlamertinge I also finished 2nd.

As for this last week just been was pretty decent also with 3 races so started the week feely easy and treated myself to a new set of wheels, so went out the following day and tested them out with a nice light spin and yes they were good but wasn't the case for my legs. However the next day was race day and my legs were feeling good. After a few laps the race split up in the crosswind and I had made the front split once again altough didn't work out my way as in the last corner someone crashed into my front wheel lucky enough no harm was done and I managed to stay on my bike but unfortunately ruined my chances of sprinting so finish at the back of the group in 15th. Took the next few day easy and even found a bakery with my name on it so had to devour a rice-tart from it. So this last weekend had two races both at Merelbeke which I unfortunately missed the break both days and had to timetrial across solo both times which left me with not so good legs for the sprint finishing 8th the on the Saturday and 6th on the Sunday.
So Have spent the last two days enjoying the sunshine and having a rest to let the body recharge




God Bless, take care
Cheers
Chris