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US Nationals Under 23 Team
by Mike Wolf
Hey Everyone,
February 20, 2004
I'll be sending back these reports of my experience in Europe with U-23 National Team. If anybody wants to get on the email list to receive these reports, then just send your email. If you know someone who would want to get them, just send me their email. Things are going well over here in Europe. Right now I am in Calpe, Spain. We spent 4 days in Belgium at the National team house in Izegem. Belgium was a lot like I had heard it would be. It was fairly cold, and I didn't see the sun for the whole time I was there.
One of the days we awoke to Noel, the team director, coming door to door telling us it is sunny and to get up and ride. As I went outside
I saw that the sky was completely overcast and there was no sun to be seen. I remarked to another rider that Noel had said it was sunny,
and he said that when Noel says it's sunny he means it's not raining. Belgium was cool though. I spent the four days rooming with the two other riders my age, Steven Cozza and Matt Crane. We did all our
training together cause Cozza has been to Izegem several times as a junior and he knows his way around. The rides in Belgium generally
feel a lot longer than they really are. You have to constantly be paying attention because you're always going through a town, or about
to make a turn. Everything looks similar, so if I went out by myself I'm pretty sure I'd get lost. On our last day in Belgium before
leaving for Spain, Cozza took Matt and me on the Eddy Merckx loop. It's about an hour from the house and it follows a lot of the stuff
in the Tour of Flanders (a world cup bike race). We also climbed the Koppenberg. It is a super steep cobbled climb that they use in the
Tour of Flanders. I felt like I was going to fall over a couple times it was so steep. On the second day in Belgium we got our team clothing. We got lots of it, and it's all the 2003 stuff, so when the 2004 stuff
arrives we'll get that also. Els, Noel's wife, makes dinner every night at the house and she's a good cook. I had horse for the
first time. It was good, but it felt strange eating a horse.
After our short stay in Belgium we went to Calpe, Spain for our team training camp. The area surrounding Calpe is probably the most
beautiful area I have ever been in my life. The training is unbelievable. There are tons of mountains, incredible views, and 60 degree
weather. There are tons of climbs to choose from and just great roads. By far the best training I have ever had. The only problem is
that until today it hadn't rained since October, so the roads are very slick, especially the busy roads. We've already had three
crashes; I was the second one to eat it. Matt, Cozza, and I were descending this pretty steep climb and going around a big switchback my
front wheel lost it and I wiped out. It just felt like I had a really bad dead arm and by the next day I was fine. Hopefully the rain
will wash away the oil. Noel told us that we were not allowed to touch our bikes today cause it will be so slippery. Chris, the
soigneur, has been cooking for us in Spain, and it's really good. We also get Massages every other day. We will be training in Calpe until March
5th, then we will do a three day stage race based in the Calpe area. The stages are like 120k each and should have a good bit of climbing,
but more on that later.
February 29th:
We didn't make it too the internet café like we had planned, so I haven't been able to send the report. Today is a rest day, so I
should make it into Calpe today. The house we are staying in is about 200 meters from the Mediterranean, and about three kilometers down
the coast from Calpe. This whole area around here, known as Costa Blanca, is a big tourist destination. It is also where nearly every
single person over 50 from England lives. Most importantly, it is a great place for early season racing and training. It is where Noel
trained when he was a pro and now it is a big destination for Pros. The Tour of Valencia was here for the last 5 days. It is an early
season stage race for Division 1 and 2 teams. We had been seeing tons of pros out training and apparently they were here getting in good
training before the race started. I've talked to Joseba Beloki's brother, Roger Hammond, and Victor Hugo Pena. We watched a couple
stages of the race which was cool. I saw David Miller out training. After a long segment of great weather we had rain for four days straight. I was caught in it every day. Yesterday it didn't rain,
and we went and pre-rode the hard part of the first stage of the stage race, but we did it backwards so instead of being an hour and a half
of uphill, it was a 45 minute descent. I'm pretty sure it is going to be the hardest race I've ever done. For some reason the fact
that I'm a climber is of little comfort to me. But I'm looking forward to it. A couple days ago while I was out training, I ran into a familiar face. Chris Sheppard is out here staying with Mike Toolhous
(spelling?) in a town close to Calpe. I rode with him for a couple hours. It was cool seeing someone I kinda knew all the way over here
in Spain. Besides riding there isn't much to do here. I've taken up reading now. I read a 600 pg book in like three days, and am halfway
through my next book. We are constantly thinking of things to do to take up time. Usually twice a day we walk down to the supermercado
and look around. I've become pretty good at this pinball game on my computer and am regretting the fact I didn't bring a decent
computer game. Let me know how the racing's going in the Southeast.
Adios,
Mike Wolf
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