Jordan Habets

After I took a small break following the US trip, it was time to show up to a race again. Eislek gravel in Vianden, Luxemburg would be a nice race to get the engine running again. The course was three laps of 36km containing 3 climbs per lap. Temperature would be a toasty 32 degrees.

As I did not know what the legs were ging to be like today, I did not have a specific goal for results in mind. I just wanted to do the best I could and keep pushing until the end. At 10:00 the mens elite race started. I managed to get over the first steep climb quite okay, but I had to dig deep. Looking back, this is probably where I messed up my race. I overcooked a bit and never recovered before the start of the second climb. As we hit the bottom of the second climb, my legs immediately struggled to keep up with the main group. Soon I found myself being overtaken left and right. I quickly let go of the idea/hope of doing any sort of good result and tried finding a pace I felt was doable. At the end of lap one, I was overtaken by the first age grouper.

Luckily things got a bit better from here. Slowly, my legs started to come back to me and I could sort of push again in the second lap. My pace on the climbs was okay and thanks to the support crew on the side of the road I was always cooled and hydrated. As the descents were mostly tarmac and non-technical I did not need to bother staying in the front of the group at all times.

The womens race had started 30 minutes in front of us, so in the second lap we started to overtake some of their groups. It was really nice to see Elli and Anna riding and it motivated me to stop being a little b.... and just get on with it. When we went into the last lap I just wanted to see what I had left in the legs. To my surprise, I actually felt really good and I could keep up a nice pace on the first climb. When we got to the second climb, there were only two of us left in our group and we pushed to the finish together. I felt I could push way harder than what I did in the first lap.

In the final descent we overtook another friend who was doing the womens race. Together the three of us went for a friendly sprint to the line. This was a really nice way to end the race as it was fun having some nice people around at the end of the race.

In the end I came in in 45th position. This is of course not what I came for, but it is what it is right now. At least I am really glad I felt so much better in the second half of the race so thats what I'm taking home right now. Nevertheless I had a really nice time being out with the team so I am definitely not regretting driving down to the race. For now it's just back to work and keep looking onwards and upwards toward new goals.

Slight underestimation of the heat today. Factor 50 sunscreen should have been factor 100, and my 750ml bottles should have been 1L. Nevertheless had a nice day out together with Mathijs towards the Ardennes.

Temperature today fluctuated around 33 degrees and it did not improve the further south we went. Normally in winter, heading into the ardennes means an extra 5 degrees of cold is coming. However this rule does not apply anymore when its above 15 degrees. When heading up the first steep section from Winamplanche to Stoumont, the heat really gripped us both. After descending we decided it was the right time for a hydration stop. 6 aquarius, 1 cola, 1 apple juice, and 30€ (!) later, we were good to go again!

It was a very easy decision to cut the route and head home as we were both starting to boil in our own sweat. Back across the border I made a not so quick stop at the best bike shop around to fill up the bottles and have a nice chat. Back home I noticed I was only 5 min off from my 5h goal today. Not too bad!

Improvements for further rides in the heat:
-Bring sunscreen on the ride
-Bring bigger bottles
-Do not wear a baselayer
-Do not mix 2 maurten drink mixes in one 750ml bottle

(take 5g paracetamol)

After 5 days of no riding and lots of sleeping. Today was the day to slowly start riding again.

The last days were mostly spent in bed as I underestimated my skills to deal with the US - Europe time difference. Yesterday was the first day I felt a bit less 'hit by a bus' so today was the perfect day to get going again.

Having slept a nice 9 hours I still did not feel that fresh this morning so an easy spin it would be. It was very nice to ride on common roads again and I am so glad I can call these home roads. If I was born in the US, I would have probably stopped cycling a long time ago. Today was a classic loop from Val Dieu (<3), to Membach and back again.

As you can see below, my heartrate was quite high and I really hope my engine will be back to normal revs really soon. At least the legs did not feel so heavy so that gave me some confidence at least.

The final day of Tulsa Tough was gonna be a small hill crit alongside the river. It was a 1,2km loop including a 30s climb at the start of the lap.

The infamous Cry Baby Hill was already packed with drunk people when our race started. The first lap of the race was immediately quite hard as there was an attack straight from the gun. Again our strategy of the day would be to mark every move and make sure we would be at the front in the final. Either with Sven for a bunch sprint (and GC), or any of the other 5 in a breakaway. Luckily Luis was feeling a bit better, which meant he could also join us in racing for the last day of the weekend.

In the second ascent of the hill, my chain dropped and I lost contact with the bunch. After waiting in the pits for a free lap, which they did not grant me, I rejoined the race. Since I was technically not in the race anymore I focussed on trying to move up some of our guys and motivating them for what was to come.

The scenes on Cry Baby Hill were something I had never witnessed before. Entering the bottom of the hill at close to 50kph and then blasting your way to the top trough a wall of screaming, beer, and weed smoke was an experience I won't quickly forget. When the race timer hit 30 minutes I decided to step out to not hinder the guys actually racing. On my last passing over the hill I treated myself to one of many beer cans held out by the partying people turnt soingeurs for a day. I chugged the can and threw it away. The beer was gross but the people loved it. 10/10 would do it again.
On the top of the hill I stopped to watch the rest of the race. I found out crit racing is a lot more fun to watch compared to races on a bigger loop, as you can see the whole race every 2-3 minutes or so. With a bottle of water in hand I cheered for the guys as I emptied my bottle over the thirstiest guys. Unfortunately I was not allowed to hand out bottles during the race. This often led to disappointed faces whenever I had to ignore the hands of riders reaching for drinks (Sorry Domi). It was nice to see the guys giving it their all at the front of the race.

In the end, two guys went of the front and held it until the end. Sven managed to get a nice top 10 and this concluded our weekend. Now it was time for an easy spin home, get a shower,
eat mcdonalds, and to quote Pösti; GET SOME DRINKS IN FOR THE LADS!

Tulsa Tough Day 2
Another lap on the Tulsa grid in the Arts district of town. A small elevation gain during the lap made it slightly more interesting than yesterdays flat lap.
After the crash yesterday, I was not sure how the body was going to react to racing. Luckily the race was not so long and I felt pretty okay right from the start. There was a slight change of. tactic today was we notices we were short on riders in the final the prior day. Therefor we decided that only 2 of the 5 riders, Nepo and me, would be focussing on controlling a breakaway. This lap was perfect for that. As the roads were slightly narrower than what we were used to, I was a bit harder to move up from the back of the bunch. in turn, this made it a lot easier to stay at the front of the race once you were there.

The most attacks during the race happened on the slight uphill in the middle of the lap. These were often quite easy to parry as the attacking rider had to stop peddaling during the attack to make the next corners already. This meant that Nepo and I were able to mark every serious move and it even put us in a position to grab a nice $750 bonus!

In the final, the control of the sprinter teams was quite tight and I focussed on helping our sprinter Sven move up and keeping the pace high. Domi and Lukas took over and kept good pressure on the front of the race. In the end, Sven managed a nice 4th place!

After some days of recovery it was time to move to Tulsa, Oklahoma for the crit weekend. Tulsa Tough is a 3 day crit race and probably the biggest in the US.

I felt quite fresh after some easy days and when we set of I quickly got into my rythm. Unfortunately after 15 minutes there was a crash in front of me which I could not ride around. I went down and had to detangle the bike for a bit. I got to the pits and they granted me a free lap. After this I got back in the bunch and tried to get it back together.

It was nice to be able to race on the road with the team. Something I haven't done in a while. We were well represented on the front for most of the race and we were looking strong. Sven got a nice 6th in the end and we gained a lot of experience in the race.

The race started at 20:20 and loading up with caffeine did not set me up for an early bedtime. Luckily managed to get some hours in and look forward to tomorrow.

Unfortunately the activity was paused after my crash

3:45 Alarm
Wake up, try to eat something, fail miserably, drink water.
My plan of only eating the Maurten bicarb for breakfast did not go to plan. My stomach was super sensitive and after one bike I felt sick immediately. It was okay. I had been stuffing myself for the last few days so my storages should be full.

At 5:10 we rolled out to the start. Everyone still needed to pick up a gps tracker from the organisation. My fellow teammates Luis and Lukas did the race before and I just tried to follow in their steps. I spun the legs for a little bit and then lined up at the start.

5:50 Start
The sun was just above the horizon when we rolled out of Emporia. Even though the distance yet to cover was immense, neutralisation was still quite hectic. It was fun to see some familiar faces and wish everyone good luck on their day.

The first decisive section would be at km 18. There was some mud and it was likely that the rain from last night turned it into absolute wasteland. As we approached this point in the course, we were in good position. All three of us in the top 25 and doing great. Untill there was a crash. Two riders in front of me went down in a mud gutter, and unfortunately I followed their example. I crashed on my right side and needed a few seconds to get it together again. My jersey pocket was ripped and my stuff was scattered across the path. My phone, pump and my tracked layed halfway burried in the mud. After using my multitool to straighten my handlebars, I set of again. At this point I was dead last.

After 10 minutes of riding, I saw a group in the distance. In my enthousiasm to get back to the group I tried riding through the mud as long as possible. Bad choice. My tires picked up the mud and with a claylike texture, it completely stopped the rotation of the wheels. I needed another 5 minutes pulling mud from my bike before I could continue again.

In the meanwhile, the storm clouds in the distance were getting closer. The lighting we saw from the start was now scarily close to us. At this moment in the race I did not yet know how gratefull I would be for some rain.
Having cleared the first mudsection, I was hoping this would be it for the rest of the day. Unfortunately only 10km after the first one, I arrived at another section which would take a lot more time from me. My drivetrain completely clogged up and the chain no longer wanted to stay on the chainring. After a long time trying to fix it, I gave up and started walking. At this point, I was ready to quit. First the womens race passed me, and soon after the age groupers as well. FYI, they started 40 min behind me and I only did 25km up to this point.

I met Klara Sophie at the end of the section and tried to help her with the bike (since her position in the womens race was way better than mine in the mens). Soon we got both bikes in working condition again and we set of.

The first feedzone was at km 70 and the closer I got, the better I felt. My mentality switched to a mode that just wanted to finish this race. Whatever time it would take me. I got a bottle and after I settled into a nice pace.
When I passed some groups of riders, I found a good companion who had a similar pace to mine. Together we made great progression and we both wanted to stay together for the rest of the race.

The next few hours I completely zoned out. I just wanted to keep pedalling, eating, and drinking and not think too much about the distance. Maybe my prolonged endurance sessions on zwift helped me with this, but I managed to do this quite well. When I arrived at the second feedzone at km 135, I stopped to replace the hydration bladder and some bottles. It was nice to see the crew even though they were looking miserable from the rain. I got what I needed and set of again.

I found my companion again and together we fought through wind, rain and m
ud for the next few hours. Because we were riding together for so long, we had alternating good and bad moments in the race. However, this never affected our cooperation. Time on the front naturally adapted to how we felt and when either of us needed a small break, we just waited on eachother. It is so interesting to see how easy it is to have a productive relationship with someone when placed in a dire situation. We always had the same goal and this was just to get to the finish in a decent time.

When I stopped at the last feed at 240km, I got some bottles and gels. The sun
was finally out and would stay out until the finish line. The last hours were hot and I was glad I did not choose to ride the TT helmet. The biggest challenge of the last 100k was definitely the headwind. Turning left onto a section where you know it will be 20km of headwind is both physically and mentally demanding.

Because I ripped my pocket in the crash, I also lost some of my gels. I did not account for this when I went through the last feed. So I needed to stop at an organisation water point to get some energy gums and a stroopwafel (always nice to see). After stuffing my mouth I felt the energy coming back to the legs. We then powered our way back to Emporia.

I finished with a time of 10 hours and 54 minutes in 66th position.

Of course this is not what I was hoping to achieve. However, given the circumstances and the places I found myself in during the race. I am very proud I pushed through. For me racing longer than 6 hours was a complete mystery so I am beyond happy I pulled through the way I did.

I am so grateful to have people around me who supported me throughout the race and to catch me at the finish. Now its time to recover, eat, and prepare myself for the next challenge!

Went to check out the first part of the course to see how bad the mud was. Luckily not too bad!
Did a short effort to wake up the legs and rode back en groupe.
The rest of the day will be quite hectic. Washing bikes, changing tires, and making the bottles ready for the race. Of course the day will also consist of eating as much as I can. Tomorrows race will be 334 km in length and carbs are welcome!

Its quite hard to find tarmac roads around the city that aren't highways or 60mph roads. Luckily found this out and back loop which was perfect in length!