Forget bituminous joint filler compound! Renate Schott is camping at the UAE Tour and passes his motorcycle seat at Omloop Het Nieuwsblad to Bert de Backer. The former jockey is also blasting with traditional spring fever for his new role.
Bert de Backer got off his bike at the end of 2021, and on Saturday he hops on the bike as TV reporter for Omloop Het Nieuwsblad newspaper.
“I feel like a runner again,” smiles the Sporza magnifying glass man in the peloton. “What does that mean? Watch the weather forecast!”
“How cold is it at the start? What undershirt am I wearing? What layer is that over it? I notice the same stress as choosing the clothes for my first spring race as a racer.”
Therefore, this choice of clothing weighs De Backer with a few question marks. “As a driver you warm up on the inside as the race heats up.”
“Obviously it’s different on a motorcycle. I suppose my body temperature would still be more constant.”
“I have to be less afraid of being too hot, as a racer that shouldn’t happen if the race blows up.”
I bought a packaging machine.
Renate Schott was unfazed by the Flemish cold at the UAE Tour and received a call this week from his temporary replacement for the opening race on Belgian soil.
“He asked me to bring only the list of participants, laminated! So I bought a laminator.”
“We talked for half an hour about all the possible ideas. Yes, also about getting the pit stop in time.”
And a packed lunch? Was that mentioned too? “Oops, I’ll have to call the organization, I guess. I’ll pick up a bag of them.”
“Rinat told me not to eat and drink too much to avoid healthy pauses. A piece of chocolate? No, if you start fainting, it won’t stop.”
“I can’t appreciate how easy it is to grab something with gloves on a motorcycle.”
Don’t plan too much, here and now.
Bert de Backer can spy on the peloton with his eyes, and his motorcyclist must of course keep his binoculars on the road surface.
“I jumped on the bike with Kevin Debuschyre, brother of my former teammate Jens. We also know him as Kevin Debuschere.”
“He’s enthusiastic with the police and he’s a great driver. He’s working in Sporza for the first time, but he’s been involved as an organizer in recent years. So he knows how to operate. I trust him completely.”
“I sold my motorcycle myself last week. I feel low about it and put this story aside. During my spare time, I prefer to ride a bike.”
A good lesson I remembered from Rinat: here and now. Work matters. I don’t have to plan a lot in advance.
De Backer is a former racer and analyst. This mixture should spark during the race.
“I might pick things up from the racing story faster than anyone else, though I don’t know if I would get to know the riders that quickly. I’m going to keep putting the time and work at it.”
“A good lesson I remembered from Rinat: here and now. Action is important. You don’t have to plan too much in advance.”
“At the beginning it will be good to estimate who wants to walk away, who controls and who will therefore want to decide the final.”
“During the middle segment, you look at the clothing choices, the looks of the contestants and in the final you see the best of the sport from the front row.”
“When will my day be successful? When we have fun.”
Here and Now: This topic was also discussed recently in Bert de Backer’s corridor in Winterthur
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