Here’s an interview
We are trying for a week-full of Dave Wiswell here at VCN, so in keeping with our theme, we bring you an interview with our Belgian correspondent of Team Yawadoo Mobile from the depths of Flanders.
schmalz So what is it like to be a VCN diarist in Belgium? Are there lots of groupies? I would imagine you have to schedule training rides at unusual times so as to avoid the near constant rain of ladies undergarments that must accompany you every time you leave your house. It must be quite a burden.
wiswell Well, first it’s great to get a chance to stay in touch with people back in New York. Always like reading the comments and hearing what people have to say. The people here aren’t the most technologically savvy so when I’m sitting around writing emails or blogs at breakfast (and I guess lunch and dinner too) they don’t really get what I’m doing. I can’t understand what they’re saying but considering the gruff tone it just sounds like everything else I hear around Belgium. As for the ladies’ undergarments, it was a little distracting at first but they at least make for some extra rags to clean the bike with. It’s like the old saying, “When you have lemons, make lemonade.”
schmalz Now, I may be a little off here, but I imagine Belgium as a land full of fellows with handlebars mustaches who ride sturdy black bicycles wherever they go – including indoors. Â The question I have is – have you adjusted to being a non-mustache person in Belgium or are you currently working on a full crumb-catcher to assimilate more into Belgian culture?
wiswell Belgium is basically one enormous time warp. You step into any cafe and you feel like you just went back 50 years. As for moustaches, they go hand in hand with chainsmoking here. You obviously can’t have one without the other and the Belgians have both down to a science. I mean there really isn’t anything better than picking up prize money in a bar after a gut-wrenching race while trying to breath through smoke so thick you can barely see while the drunk Belgian guy, with the required moustache, shouts at you from the bar and lectures you on what you should have done during the race. For all I know, though, this guy could have won Flanders 30 years ago
schmalz I hear they’ve finally passed a law against smoking in operating rooms, so there’s hope. Have you ever been contacted by a disappointed guy who put money on you during a race?
wiswell Actually, yes. The first time I spent an extended period over here in Belgium was 2004. I came at the very beginning of the summer and was doing all the kermesses in the area. In July I had a contract to race three professional six days in Italy and by the time I came back, I was going really well. So I had a string of top fives and was finally getting my name up on the chalkboard. The chalkboard is basically a big piece of slate that dates back to around the 17th century where one of the local cronies writes down all the odds for the various riders in the race. At this point, I think I had about 4 to 1 odds (highlight of my career), so I had a handful of people betting on me. My director at the time, Staf Boone, had actually placed a bet on me. Anyway, it came down to a small group and in the final kick I just didn’t have the gas and ended up 6th. So first thing after the race I don’t get a Coke, sandwich, or anything but just an earful about how I lost him a bunch of money.
schmalz He didn’t dangle the sandwich in front of you, did he? That would be really mean. I’ve always wondered how much effect the betting has on some races, whether deals get made and such. Do people tell you before races that they are betting on you?wiswell Ya I mean sometimes people will approach and tell you that they’re betting on you, but the majority of the time you never really hear about it. I’m sure deals are struck here and there but, honestly, the race is pretty much always full tilt. You always have countrymen working together, Lithuanians, Belgians, Aussies, etc., but never any real pay-offs so to speak.Â
schmalz You mean to tell me that Cadel Evans just rides like that? Lord. So, how exactly did you come to be racing in Belgium?
wiswell Ha! As for racing in Begium, it started back in 2004. I was riding and living with Gibby Hatton down in T-town. Track had been my focus as a junior but I never really had the ability to pursue sprinting at the higher levels. So at 19 I switched back to the road. Crits, road races and everything else that was in the PA, New Jersey, and New York area. By the time I was 20 things started going alright. I won the Cat. 2 race at Somerville was doing a lot of track endurance stuff – madisons, scratch races, etc. So spring 2004 I went onto the UCI website and looked up the international track calendar. I found the three pro six days in Italy during July, circled them on my calendar, and decided that was my goal. Along the way I found a posting on Cyclingnews saying that a Belgian amateur team was looking for additional riders and all resumes would be looked at. Long story short, Hatton said get your —- together because you’re going to Belgium. Two days later I was on a plane to Belgium. So I spent several months over there racing kermesses, worked my way into all three Italian six days, learned the ropes of how things work, and just tried to soak up as much of the European racing culture as I possibly could. That first year was really eye-opening.
schmalz How were you able to charm your way onto the Belgium team? Was it mostly your racing resume? Usually when I try to charm my way onto a team it involves lots of back rubs, and when the restraining order expires – I’m on the team!
wiswell As for the “team” it was a pretty ragtag group where you really watched out for yourself. The team was called Kingsnorth international Wheelers and basically you were given a jersey and shorts. There was housing at the legendary “Farm,” the same place I stayed during the six days this past winter, for 200 euro a month and that was about it. You rode the every kermesse and rode back as well with your backpack filled with bottles, food, and whatever else you needed. It was definitely a no perks lifestyle but I had the opportunity to do some hard races and get a little exposure over here in Europe.
schmalz How long did it take before you figured out the basics of what you were doing in races?
 
wiswell As for learning the basics of racing, it was pretty much sink or swim right from the start. Everybody here is so strong and aggresive. The first thing I learned was how important positioning was throughout the race as well as the need to quickly adjust to the wind direction and prepare for any cobble sections. The biggest thing I learned, though, was how much you can suffer. There is never a race where you can just cruise along at the back and wait for a sprint. You really have to work for every result. By the time I get to the finish I´m always gutted.
schmalz Oh, so the Euro races are just like parks races in the city…
wiswell Let’s call them a good stepping stone. Here is a good picture of the racing…last Sunday I raced Omloop van het Waasland. It was a UCI 1.2, keep in mind there were plenty of cobbles and it was pouring rain, and for 191km we averaged 28mph. I was definitely tired by the end.
schmalz It seems many times that the composition of breaks in races comes down to luck and placement, as there are so many attacks, and it’s hard to predict which ones will work. Does this frustrate you?
wiswell I wouldn’t say it is frustrating but they are definitely hard to predict. It is important to learn how to read the race and realize which riders are strong that day. It is always important to see which teams are attacking. The bigger teams typically want a rider in the break and without them it is hard to stay away. So it is always important to look at the different aspects of the break – who is in the move, what teams, how far into the race are you, etc. Most important, though, is persistence. You need to follow not just one or two attacks early on, but repeatedly get in the little splits and surges. Fight to stay at the front. Something will eventually stick and the more moves you can cover the better your chances are of getting in the decisive break.
schmalz How would you respond to people who say that you might be better served by staying in school and getting a career – rather than racing your bike all over Belgium for less than what you might make if you had a “real job”?
wiswell I don’t think an athlete, regardless of the sport, should overlook the importance of education. Sports are very unforgiving and it is diffuclt to predict where they will take you. Furthermore, your “shelf life” is only so long. So I’ve placed a lot of efforts into my studies. I having been studying up at Columbia and have one semester left until I graduate. It hasn’t been easy juggling both cycling and academics but it is something that I fully believe in. It hasn’t allowed me to finish up school in the normal four year period but that was a decision I made a long time ago. I’ve happily traded the traditional college experience for those I’ve had with my cycling.
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As for a job or career, I have the rest of my adult life to worry about those things. I’ve been given a unique opportunity to do something really special and I know if I didn’t take full advantage of this chance I would regret it forever. Am I getting rich riding my bike? No way, but I know that I am happier doing this than if I was to work in a more traditional work environment. Also, it isn’t like I don’t realize the need for a future beyond cycling. A degree from Columbia University is one step in that direction but Gabe Lloyd and myself have also founded a company, Echappe Equipment, with the idea that this is something that we can do for a long time – after I reach the end of my shelf life.
schmalz We will have to work out some sort of signal for when you hit the podium in a race to acknowledge NYVC, do you think you could develop some sort of gang-style hand signal? Or maybe you could just “accidentally” drop your shorts?
wiswell I was thinking I could do an ’80s rapper type thing. You know get NYVC shaved into hair. It could wrap around from ear to ear and be is big script letters. And I would still “accidentally” drop my shorts obviously.
Chapeau!
French words are cool!
Thanks for doing these blogs and such…great reading.
I thought it went:
‘If life gives you lemons, paint that shit gold.’
excuse me…Johan Bruyneel Cycling Academy…do you run into those guys or other USA/anglophones slumming in Belgium at all? Have you seen “In Brugges”?
Good Lucky! Keep riding hard, tough and on the good side of the cross winds!
do you ever flat out not feel like doing a race when you’re tired, a little under the (crappy weather) etc?…these races sound brutal and I can’t imagine that anyone can be on every day, every week for such abuse.
Yes! There are days that are just miserable and I never want to see my bike again. Last week I rode to a kermesse for training. Was going to be 200km. Rode out to the race, got lost on the way there, it then started to hail (for almost two hours straight!) and then found out that my teammate who was going to take me home after the race didn’t come because of an emergency. So I turned around and rode another two hours home in the rain and hail. All with a big backpack on. After that I never wanted to see my bike again…but I was up and training the next morning. The key is a really short memory.
keep turning the pedals over and giving us the recaps. these are awesome, we love ’em. you’ve got a ton of guys following your exploits and rooting for you now
Good Luck Dave. What you are doing is cool. You are a really good bike racer.
DUDE… YOU GOT SKINNY
just ride your freakin bike in Europe, work will always be there.
DUDE… YOU GOT SKINNY
just ride your freakin bike in Europe, work will always be there.
Good Luck Dave. What you are doing is cool. You are a really good bike racer.
keep turning the pedals over and giving us the recaps. these are awesome, we love ’em. you’ve got a ton of guys following your exploits and rooting for you now
Yes! There are days that are just miserable and I never want to see my bike again. Last week I rode to a kermesse for training. Was going to be 200km. Rode out to the race, got lost on the way there, it then started to hail (for almost two hours straight!) and then found out that my teammate who was going to take me home after the race didn’t come because of an emergency. So I turned around and rode another two hours home in the rain and hail. All with a big backpack on. After that I never wanted to see my bike again…but I was up and training the next morning. The key is a really short memory.
do you ever flat out not feel like doing a race when you’re tired, a little under the (crappy weather) etc?…these races sound brutal and I can’t imagine that anyone can be on every day, every week for such abuse.
Thanks for doing these blogs and such…great reading.
I thought it went:
‘If life gives you lemons, paint that shit gold.’
excuse me…Johan Bruyneel Cycling Academy…do you run into those guys or other USA/anglophones slumming in Belgium at all? Have you seen “In Brugges”?
Good Lucky! Keep riding hard, tough and on the good side of the cross winds!
Chapeau!
French words are cool!