At the UWCT-Final in Stavelot Casper and Stok encountered an exceptional competitor. Almost two meters tall riding a 64 cm frame, we saw him washing his American Champion jersey full of rainbow stripes on his sleeves, bibs and socks. He told us he just became World Champion in the time trial competition 40+ but that a fall in the trial prevented him to become the overall winner for all categories. Feldman is a friendly chap, always eager to check out the competition but later we discovered we'd met a true champion with 5 rainbow jerseys and a wikipage full of other prices. 

Looking closer you can find that Feldman is the owner of an online- and full service cycling shop called Durance, that he rides for the Durance-Colnago team, and has a string of victories in the Durance Time Trial Series every year! 
Feldman seems like the American improved version of "Brown", and we just have to wait for Brown to start his own professional cycling team next year.

The Eelco Bruinsma Classic is every year organized in dedication of our friend Eelco Bruinsma (Brown). He is a true lover of the sport, a great companion, a wonderful friend, and by far the most competitive cyclist we encountered yet. Brown made a tradition of winning almost all of his own classics, so it a pleasure and temptation to break his beautiful string of victories.

This year the EBC was organised on the Mont Ventoux, and the Champ took up the challage after a dissapointing performance in the EBC last year on the Wannereval (Wanne, Belgium). Niks had carefully maintained his good legs after the Pyrenean tour in July. The Champ made an outstanding performance on the Mont Ventoux putting Brown second. With his 1 hour 35 minutes for the climb from Bedoin we congratulate the Champ with his first place.

To make his succes complete Champs girlfriend Marjolein, who chose the Ventoux as her first cycling col ever, made the double complete by winning the ladies competion. Chapeau!

One moment you are an average cyclist, the next moment you are performing in a true UCI World Championship for Amateur racers. The UWCT final was the cherry on the cake for Stok for making an excellent comeback in 2011. Because of their outstanding performances in the Gran Fondo Eddy Mercks Caspar and Stok qualified for the UCI-final for Amateur racers in Stavelot, Belgium. Ofcourse they didn't let this opportunity pass by.

On a rainy summer morning Caspar Hermans started the final for 45+ masters and for 90 kilometers he kept in the front of the race. Unfortunately the cold of the rain, and probably not eating enough during the race hit him hard on the Wanne. Caspar had to give up his good position loosing 20 minutes in 20 kilometer.

Stok didn't take the event too seriously, cause he felt he didn't have a change. This lousy mentality put him after the start in the back of the peloton of 40+ masters. That is ofcourse the worst place to be, and after 7km he fell. Not being able to get back to the pack he started a time trial for 100 km noticing he had much better legs as expected, but being far behind the squat he also missed a turn with some other guys after the Haut-Levée and lost 20 minutes more. Full of adrenalin, blood on his arms and legs he finished as 68th of the world of Amateurs.

For Caspar and Stok  the UWCT-Final was a superb experience. The race was profesional organised and the parcours was challenging and beautiful. Their participation in the Worlds-final striggered Bart Man's unsatisfiable ambition for next year.

Retro is the new fashion, but Bart is pushing it introducing a twenty year old steal Jan Janssen retro bike on our  annual Sunday morning training. Leaving his amazing Storck at home he might think his extra effort to follow the pack will bring him more supercompenstion for spring. Or is he finally admitting, given his  dubious track record of two crashes this year, that he first has to learn to cycle before he beat us on the cols better?

For those of you who cannot wait, here a preview of what we are up to next summer. The Queenstages is about the Colle della Finestre. This unpaved col was part of the last Giro 2011. Our route designer Stok sometimes goes to far in his mission to discover new offbeaten paths. He did us in the past over MTB tracks and some cowfields.  

We had enough heroic and disastrous storiesin the past  like the impossible  climb and decent of the Pic de Canigou (2009) or the decent of the Col d'Artigascou (east) (2011). Our profesional carbon bikes are not made to do MTB tracks. Hopefully Stok is  smarter this year, but he believes that if a complete peloton of professional riders can pass the unpaved Finestre, than we surely can as well.