The Amstel Gold Race…. Finally….

Well, 2021 initially turned out to be….. 2020 all over again. The year started in the Netherlands with continued curfews and restrictions on receiving visitors alongside continued international travel restrictions. Pretty much he same for so many around the world. So it has proven to be a very quiet year. But, at long last…. finally…. something worth writing about. From a personal perspective at least. A year and a half years late but, at last, the Tour Version of the Amstel Gold Race was held on September 11th, 2021.

And I finished it.

A Surprise

My last post talked about targets for 2021. Well, that all fell apart pretty quickly. Spring gave a burst of optimism as it looked like the Pyrenees trip may go ahead. International travel restrictions put paid to that. Then came a further postponement of the Tour Version of the Amstel Gold Race from April to September. The professionals still had their day but on a closed course, with no spectators allowed.

Against a background of continued restrictions on travel and group activities to counter the spread of COVID, I did not think that the September reschedule looked promising.

One of the consequences of this was that my training for the event was….. lacklustre. Similar events such as the Amsterdam Marathon were being postponed. Why would my event be an exception?

Then an e-mail came in on the 20th August. The Tour Version of the Amstel Gold race would be going ahead on September 11th…..

What? How?

The lower risk of infection due to increased rate of vaccination in the Netherlands combined with the fact that this was an outdoor event meant approval.

Really?

I still could not really believe it. Outdoor event and vaccinations but….. 15,000 cyclists? This was something of surprise and one that I was not ready for.

Different Times

COVID, of course, had a sting in the tail. I was one of a group of four who had registered as a team. All British, two living in Europe and two in the UK. All fully vaccinated. But the two who lived in the UK could not come to the Netherlands without quarantining for a minimum of 5 days. Too much expense in time and money to ride a bike for a day. The were forced to cancel, meaning our team was reduced to two.

The day itself would also different to usual. No loitering at feeding areas and no festivities at the end of the course. No post ride booze up. Just get your completion medal and go. A shame but, in the circumstances, a small sacrifice. Bars would be open so we would not suffer long.

I had more immediate concerns than a post ride beer. By my standards, I was woefully unprepared. Would I be fit enough to complete the course, one that was made up of a lot of short, hard climbs? Normally I would have ridden many times to the one hill nearby in Amerongen and made repeated attempts to at least get the feeling. This time I only managed one ride a week before the big day but….. well, that did not go that well to be quite honest. I had made a trip to Belgium in July and done some hard, cobbled climbing with my riding mate for the Amstel Gold Race but that had been two months previously. The climbing legs had gone somewhere else.

Additionally, I had made a week’s trip to the UK to finally see family after nearly two years. No bike with me there and only a couple of weeks before the big day. But, when international travel gives an opportunity, you need to take it at the moment. Training isn’t always the most important thing in life, COVID and the isolation it imposed makes you realise that.

COVID also had another and less direct influence. I admit that I was nervous about being surrounded a lot of other people for the first time in a long while. It had only been a few months earlier that it had been nearly impossible to go out for a drink with a couple of friends. Suddenly 15,000 people around you is unnerving.

And, of course, MS is still with me. Waiting quietly to pull the rug out from under me when least expected.

Job Done!

Sometimes I think too much. For, in spite so many concerns, I made it! Not very quickly but, still, made it!

It was not easy. The legs were not perfect. I found the crowd difficult. Not because of fear of COVID. Once out on the course that did not really enter my mind, especially as the organizers did a great job of keeping such a huge mob moving. More the challenge of the course and the sheer numbers. Many of the roads on the course were narrow with overlapping courses, though. People overtaking, undertaking, holding you up, that car or motorbike suddenly appearing. Sensory overload in the making.

We had signed up for the 143km version with 2,000 metres of climbing and the first 100km went fine. Then my right leg began to do its thing. Or, more to the point, not do its thing. The foot felt numb, slipping sometimes off of the pedal. This meant rest and I am grateful for the patience of my riding mate. A couple of times, the dead leg combined with overcrowded roads and brought me to a halt. Especially frustrating on some of the hard climbs the Amstel Gold Race is famous for. On Eysersbosweg, I was near the top of the climb when people walking up and a car (!) coming down narrowed my path and I had to stop. On Keutenberg, it was someone stopping in the middle of the course on a steep ascent which forced me wide and brought me to a standstill.

The feet went down and I was forced to finish the climb on foot. Maybe two years ago I would have had the strength to stay in the saddle and move around the obstacle.? Perhaps I was too out of practice or was this the impact of MS? Whatever the reasons, I will not pretend. To walk out those climbs really felt like sh*t. The photographs are there to prove it. I look crestfallen, to say the least…..

Focus on the Good

Why linger on two short moments? I had climbed Keutenberg twice the day before on a warm-up ride and in lousy weather, even slipping on a wet manhole cover, so physically I know I can do it. Need to remember that. The other 142 kilometres of the ride that went fine. Not always comfortably, the weakness of my right leg playing its part. Still, no mean feat even if I say so myself!

I will be honest and admit to nearly giving up at one phase. Stepping off the bike and walking really brought home the weakening of my right side. Not in terms of muscular strength but once out of the pedal, foot drop became more noticeable. A good rest and I could carry on but it is sobering.

Good to leave such moments behind and remember a great day on the bike. So much completed and against a positive backdrop. Not mass crowds but people sat outside of their homes, applauding the cyclists who were passing through. Not that long before the area had been hit hard by flooding. Considering the impact of that event and COVID, it was nice to feel welcome. And the odd bit of encouragement does so much to help! To complete the course is such a feeling and those first beers afterwards tasted sublime

This was a nice way to close something out.

The Last Time

And I will be closing something out. A quotation from that great philosopher, Dirty Harry. ‘A man’s got to know his limitations’. I know I can complete long distance cycle rides involving climbs. But with 15,000 other cyclists perhaps the stimuli was too much. A lot to take in and my brain/nervous system does not have the capacity it did. Despite this, I completed this particular challenge.

So I will stop whilst I am ahead.

No more mass events on the bike.

Up to now I have completed four. The first climb of Mont Ventoux for ‘Climb Against MS‘ (Klimmen Tegen MS), Liege-Bastogne-Liege twice and this last one, the Amstel Gold Race. The first was not too bad in that it was a lot of people going in one direction slowly. Liege-Bastogne-Liege was different class, tough and a real learning experience, especially the first attempt in the rain. It’s a good list of completions to have under the belt.

A good time to wrap up. I will keep my personal challenges individual and there will be more than enough to choose from Starting, COVID allowing, with Col du Tourmalet. A little late but still in planning. I feel strong enough for these rides, especially as the pace will be mine to control. So why keep doing these challenges?

The value is for the most part personal, the two fingers up to MS. But also valuable in the fight against my MS. My neurologist has attributed my continued cycling (and fitness) with a significant role in keeping the progression of my MS mild. I know he is right though I don’t know why and cannot claim to have any scientific evidence. I just know.

So the Amstel Gold Race marks a closing of one door. A lot are still open and I intend to keep going through them happy with the memories of some great days on the bike.