Guillaume has several good races behind him and raced for the win week after week, but for a cyclist nothing goes above crossing that finishline first. Question was how?
We discussed several times last weeks that going solo much earlier than the last 5K was an option he had to try. Throwing all your cards on the table early in the race can ruin your race or can make a very memorable race. That said, it was time for G to throw his cards. Very early in the race he took off and got 1 rider with him…but on the cobblestons 60K before the finishline the other rider let him down with mechanical issues. 2 choices at that point, waiting for other riders to join or make it a long day in front! A perfect chance to see how far he could go solo…

The answer is simple: Far! All the way to the finishline with a 60K Solo ride and winning his first race of the season on the most beautifull way with 1′ advantage on number 2!

Guillaume rides himself KO and grabs the win after 60K solo!

In De Haan, the first Belgian roadtriathlon was planned today! A good test to see how the body reacts on competition after a winter of training!

This morning our athletes had a 500m swim in the pool, with fast swims and several athletes breaking their PR it looked very good today!
Bart (master) was our fastest swimmer today with 6’12” and slightly behind some 70.3 Pro athletes like Swolfs, Heemeryck and Cool.
On the bike the message was clear, head out to the front as fast as possible for Bart and so he did. Behind him there was Pascal who got very soon company of Hans ‘La Machine’. Behind this our other athletes Johan, Dimi and PJ. All 3 of them put down a good swim and were keen on moving up in the race. So they did.
In the female race it was Inge who tried to get back the younger ladies!

Hans splitting the groups and chasing the frontgroup in an attempt that’s worth to appreciate. No words, just gazzz!

First off the bike was Bart who was, together with 2 other athletes, the engine of the front group. Unfortunately drafting races are drafting races and some triathletes are always good in playing pokergames….only seconds behind this group it was Hans who put down the fastest bike time and got into reach of the leaders.

Bart in the lead group on the bike and becoming 2nd master.

With the good weather ( sunny and no wind) it was very difficult to loose the bunch for him. With a 380NP during his bikecourse you would imagine that the best of his race was done… A bit further Johan took back Pascal, who tried to follow the wheels of Hans which made him have a short difficult moment before getting caught by Johan who was in the game for masters podium all race long.
Inge from her side moved up on the bike and put down the bike into T2 6th!

Fast bikeride for Inge, passing plenty of male competitors. Soon she may put away the road bike and swipe it for her TT.

On the run course Bart needed a few km to really get into the rhythm, with Hans passing Bart during a very well paced run. Averaging 3’32/km after a 381NP bikeride is fast! Most of the athletes today had a drafting race. Hans didn’t, he just went all out on the bike. This also prooves his 364AVG. No easy parts for the legs, no recovery. Hans finally became 13th in De Haan!

Bart finished 18th, only 1′ later and prooves the big step he made this winter. Finishing 3″ behind the winner in the masters category is a pity but it’s still silver! Further in this category it was Johan who had one of his best runs finisthing 4th.

Pascal and Johan fighting their battle, Johan did a great job today and misses the podium with 1spot but left De Haan with a good feeling!

Our other athletes finishing were Dimi, who strongly moved up on the bike, Pascal and PJ! All nicely in the first part of the field.

Dimi had a good winter in his legs and approaching the first races ‘sun comes out’ and Dimi awakens totally!

In the female race Inge showed what she is capable off running of the bike by moving up even 2 more places on the run, winning her masters category and becoming 4th overall!

A good day out there, and more than ready for what’s up next!

Jesse