CAFE BARISTA

Probably the most pleasant terrace to have a coffee in the center of the city. A traffic free alley, cobble stones, view on the old part of Ghent. On sunny mornings it is great to sit at the front of this beautiful building and watch the town wake up. If you come later you will see tourists passing by, walking from the shopping mall towards the old part of town crossing the wooden bridge.

 

The house was build in the 14th century and was successively a brewery (from 1383 untill 1612), a place where the flour for bread was treated (till 1847), a flour mill (till 2008). And finally in 2009 it has been transformed to a coffee bar.
Inside is a work of art to admire from the Belgian/Spanish artist Emilio Lopez Menchero.
A minor point are the very uncomfortable chairs and tables. Together with the unevenness of the cobble stones it is not easy to keep your coffee under control.
From the terrace you have a great view on the famous cannon "Dulle Griet" and also the old wooden bridge that lead you to "het Patershol", the oldest part of Ghent.

Everybody can find a great coffee of his taste on the menu, they also serve quality cakes.
For early birds there is breakfast served and nice sandwiches and pies for lunch.
Today I ordered a vanilla macchiato, and I must say it was delicious.
A coffee card for the regular visitor is also available. Your thirteenth coffee is free!
Despite all these wonderfull hot drinks, delicous cakes and the cozy spot, the service could be better. It depence a bit on the young girls working behind the bar. But who am I to complain, I enjoy the coffee, they are working.

CAFE BARISTA - Meersenierstraat 16 - 9000 Gent
www.mybarista.be

my own Top 5 Ghent coffee shop (April 2019)

1) Take Five
2) Het Moment  
3) Cafe Barista
4) Puur M
5) Pedaleurs de Flandres 

Mixed feelings after Ronde van Vlaanderen U23

We had a great result in Gent-Wevelgem. Could we do the same in the Ronde? Will James do it again? Can Liam ride as good as the previous race? Hopefully Paul will be awarded for the great ride last week? Is Ben in better shape? And doesn't look Ethan a bit pale? Who is Burnie, what can he do?
All these questions came up to me during the days before the race.

The logistic side was fixed pretty smoothly, hotel in Melle (Lepelbed), where I got a good deal from Ann (bed, dinner, breakfast) for the boys. Lieve doing her jobs, food and drinks. The volunteers would be present and our mecanic Darryn was keen to help us out again.
Three of our riders booked a B&B in Kalken, few days before the race and that would have been the place to think about a new hairstyle. Special, a bike riders thing.
Two we picked up at the railway station and one rider got dropped off at the hotel. Everything worked out well.
This time only Darryn came around to the hotel to meet the boys and tru a wheel.
Next morning after breaky Lieve and Darryn picked up the guys in Melle.

If you bring 150 riders together, cobble stones, 15 hills, narrow roads, speed, crashes and punctures you create a hectic race. The Ronde was not different, it all happened in this 168km circuit.
A small briefing for the staff where to go with drinks, food and material. Everybody has his job.
Lieve, Paul, Joris, Tony drove to different spots on the circuit.
Darryn and I in the car.

My last words before the start to James: "Good luck mate, I don't want to see you for the rest of the day, only on the podium tonight!". Let me tell you that he did what I said. It sound really mean, but if I don't see him all day it means that he rides in the front of the peloton, good position, he doesn't crash and has no punctures. On top of that he was gonna be on the podium..... if not a French rider decided to crash in front of James with 450m to go! Gone dream of a second successive great result. He finished 37th. Lucky nothing broken.
Liam did the race we hoped he was gonna do, he is improving all the time, I think he rode in third position over the Muur!
Paul had problems with his bike. First with his pedals, that Darryn could replace just before the start, later on in the race derailleur probs (gone in to crash mode, after a cobblestone section) and on top of that he did not see the convoi stopping when I brought him back behind the car. His head down he hit the back of our team car, helmet broken, but Paul was ok (solid bloke!). All he screamed was: "Get me back on , James needs me". And he got back on and finished in the group behind James after doing his work. (57th)


Ben had an off day in Gent - Wevelgem and at breakfast he told me he was gone make it up for last week. And you could see in his eyes he looked keen. Fresh, the Ben we know, ready to do great things. And after 9km we could hear over the Tour radio: 3 riders with 200m advange, bit later the breakaway has 40 seconds. They went out for 80km and a maximum of 4'20. Awesome ride of a reborn Ben.
Ethan was quietly before the race, he didn't say
much. You could see that he was getting ill. Which he confirmed me yesterday too. He still did his part of the work but had to let the pelo go.
And the most unfortunate man in the team was Burnie. His first Nation Cup race. Got envolved twice in a nasty crash, the second one destroyed his bike (lever and derailleur broke off), we gave him a spare bike, but we did not have the right size for him, on top the gears gone into crash mode on the cobblestones, changed bike again, (of course not the right size eather) and when we just left him we heard a tyre exploding, Darryn looked behind and yes ..... Burnie back tyre was down. Race over after 40km, no more bikes!
We only have 2 spare bikes (10 speed) and we have spare wheels (11 speed)
Lots of frustration after the finish, but again, a solid performance of James, Paul, Ben and Liam. Bad, bad, bad luck for Burnie and a not feeling well Ethan.
Could have been  our second top 10 in two Nation Cup races. We are getting there boys.
Keep up the good work!
On the other hand we had our Matias Fitzwater riding in the Tour of Morocco. A superb result for him in this ten days race: his first UCI podium, 3th on the U23 GC!


 To be continued

Pre view FLANDERS U23

After our awesome performance in the Kattekoers aka Nations Cup U23 Gent-Wevelgem (6th place of James Fouche), we slowly getting closer to the next big one. The Ronde van Vlaanderen starts next Saturday 13th of April in the East Flanders cycling town Oudenaarde.This 168km race follows almost the same hilly zone as the pro race. With fiftheen hills it is one of the hardest races in Europe. When you see that seven climbs have to be conquered in the last thirty kilometers, this is not a race for "pancakes" (as we say in Flanders)

Right after the start (after 10km) there is immediately a cobble stone section followed by two more after 32km. Be sure that your drink bottles are sitting correct in the holders, usually a place for bottle memorabilia collectors.
The first hill follows after 53km (Leberg). From then on they follow up very quickly, Berendries (57), Tenbosse (62) and the famous Muur of Geraardsbergen (a beast after 73km).
Then some time for recup on an approx 40km long stretch from Brakel to Berchem (ENE wind?). Then time for the last 30km for the grand final with the Kanarieberg (101), Old Kwaremont (116), Patersberg (another beast at 119) and the Kortekeer (124). In between all another cobble stone section after 126km.
With 30km to go most of the groups will be formed, Taaienberg (131) and the Ladeuze (135) lead us to the Boigneberg, Wolvenberg, Achterberg, and again the first two.
After 168km we will welcome the well deserved winner!

Weather conditions? Approx 9°, dry, 3Bf, ENE.

Our line up?
James Fouche, (our national raod champ) and this week winner of the KOM in the hilly Triptyque des Monts et Chateaux, also 13th on GC and 5th in the individual time trial!
Paul Wright, rode also the Triptyque this week, went really well in this hard stage race. Finished 54th overall.
Ethan Batt, raced on Saturday in the Netherlands (on narrow Dutch roads he said, might be good experience for the Flanders roads too)
Liam Cappel, raced on Sunday
Ben Hamilton, this young fellow wants to forget his off day last week! Told him to have a rest this week.
Burnie Mc Grath, he replaces Matias Fitzwater who is racing in the Tour of Morocco.
(btw, Matias is riding very well in Morocco!)

Like I said we did a great job last week, with James finishing 6th, and Ethan working hard for James till the last minute, we need to continue the good work.

All we want is to get this young guys to start in big races, score points, that leads to races like Tour de l'Avenir. That is the race where you can work on your future.
And yes I dare saying that Cycling New Zealand should support this guys too. Which is not the case now!
I know these boys are "living" the dream now, but they also work hard to get their goal. and, be honest, that is not less then a pro contract. So if they work hard for it,they deserve all your support.

And that support must come from their parents, friends, volunteers, clubs...... and Federation!

Come and support them on the hills in Flanders!

NATION CUP - Gent-Wevelgem

Take six motivated young riders, some helpful volunteers, a course in West Flanders with cobble stones, some nasty hills and a wind that blows from the North.
You have all ingredients for a day at a cycle race that you never forget.
Those six riders came, of course, all from New Zealand. On the start list you could tag them with following numbers
85 James FOUCHE, National Road champion New Zealand 2018/2019, National TT champion 2019, former Oceania Junior champion 2016 and recently winner of the KOM at the Tour of Antalya
86 Ben HAMILTON, National Junior Road champion 2017, finished Junior Worlds in Bergen
87 Ethan BATT, 4th at Nationals TT U23
88 Matias FITZWATER, experienced and our road captain, finished recent Young Coaster Challenge
89 Liam CAPPEL, raced a lot in US and Belgium, finished recent Young Coaster Challenge
90 Paul WRIGHT, finished recent Young Coaster Challenge

The "Kattekoers",the official name for the Nation Cup Gent-Wevelgem U23 started in Ieper on the beautiful market square only few hundred meters away from the Menen Gate. A historical place, every single evening at 8pm the last post is played to remember all victims of WWI.

It was not raining, that is already a bonus when you race the Spring classics, but there was a nasty wind coming from NE. That made it a hectic race right from the start. As soon as we left the city of Ieper onto the N8, a strong wind was blowing and some riders got problems to keep up with peloton.
Luckely the boys listened well and started on the first line in Ieper.
Then the Moeren, open field, windy. Lot of crashes and riders all over the place.

Ben had a bad day (he told me even the night before that he didn't feel well), so what I expected happened soon. He was our first man to let the peloton go.  And the bad luck was not over then as we found after approx 40km our road captain Matias on the side of the road after a crash. We didn't take any risks and left him behind in the ambo, luckely later in the evening the verdict wasn't too bad. Nothing broken.
With two more crashes, everyone of the team had his problems. But Paul was getting on top of that a puncture, really at the wrong moment and wrong place. Wind was blowing hard, the field was split in to hundred pieces. So pretty hard to get back on for Paul and Liam, but they did. In the mean time the hills followed each other quickly, Baneberg (300m - 20%, Kemmelberg (1400m - 17%), Monteberg (1000m - 13%). They all had to be climbed twice.

Finally 19 riders got away, with two of our men, James and Ethan who worked hard to keep James up there for the final. Deep in the final the front group split again and James was strong enough to keep up with the six other riders that went to the final. Ethan then had his job done.
With two kilometers to go four riders got away, leaving James and two others behind, altough if the Belgian in the group would have done a bit of work, it would have been a sprint with seven. But James admitted that he was "cooked" by then too.
I was only dissapointed about the fact that the comisaires took the peloton out of the race, so close to the finish. Ethan, Paul, Liam really deserved to be on the results list with a place not a DNF.
And apparently (so I heard) because the pro race was coming to close. (seven races on the same circuit! On the same day, not easy to organise)

It was a great result and the work of the six riders!
The atmosphere the night before at the B&B in Zonnebeke,
the diner at the restaurant, all as a group that wanted to go
for these so needed points in the Nation Cup.
Next race is on April 13th, start in Oudenaarde for the U23 Ronde van Vlaanderen.

See you then!

signed by,
A proud DS