Wow, I guess it’s been a while since my last post, so I think it’s time for a quick update.  Since the Tour of Ireland, I’ve been staying at the National Team house in Tielt, Belgium preparing for the World Championships which start of Friday.  This has mostly involved a few kermesse races, but really only using them as hard training rides – not so much for results, and time trial efforts to prepare the TT.

After a few weeks on my own, I was joined by the rest of the Junior team for Worlds, who had just finished the Tour de l’Abitibi back in Canada.  Unfortunately, they were met with some bad luck, and no fewer than 3 out of the 5 showed up with broken bikes from the chaos that only Abitibi can have!  Needless to say it was a bit of a crazy time trying to find replacement bikes and equipment, but thankfully nobody was hurt themselves – it’s a lot tougher to buy a body part than a frame!

Aside from the training and prep, we’ve also been having a good time here in Belgium.  We went to see a post-Tour crit in Harentals the other night, where Cancellara, Basso, Van den Brouke, and a host of other top pros were parading around for thousands of spectators.  These are not so much races as shows, but it was pretty cool to see none the less.

So, it seems everything is coming together nicely for the weekend.  The vans leave on Monday for the long 15 hour drive through the mountains, and the athletes fly out on Tuesday.  30kms of hilly, technical time trial action awaits Kris and I on Friday, and then the rest of the guys will get their legs going on Sunday for the road race.  Things are also coming together for the Youth Olympics, which start not too much after Worlds.  Flights are being booked, arrangements made, and lots of forms signed, so I think everything is going to go smoothly.  Stay tuned for all the action from Italy!

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