Wash out!

Well France meteo may have been on strike, but the weather certainly wasn’t! Todays rain started late morning and the temperature plummeted to around 7 degrees. That didn’t stop La Rochechourtaise form taking place.

After a couple of minor hiccups I got to the course and did a quick warm up. Just before the start young David Meynard told me the course was now 9 shorter laps rather than the scheduled 6 x 9.5km, due to the weather. Oh well, one nasty acute corner and a long upward haul saved 6 times.

The rain made for very cold work and by the fourth lap I was on the rivets. A number of guys went off the back and I soon joined them. three of us relayed and were eventually got caught by the 4th category “well this will be my last race” I’m thinking. I managed to hang on with this group and finished along with them a lap earlier than planned. I was in a pretty bad state by then, soaked and severe chivering. I made my way to the van back full of negative thoughts and got changed.

It did mean I had just enough time to see the 3rd cat finish. It was a Rochechouart cyclist pushing hard on the pedals with a 30m gap on the second place, blimey it’s David!

Quel une transformation pour lui- last year he was a course marshal, this year winner of his category, just shows what can be done! On a recent training ride he turned on the pace and left everybody except me and a first catagory in his wake, I thought then he was en forme- Felicitations David!

Well back home now – ‘now wheres the race next week’ I’m thinking? See those negative thoughts are going already.  

Quel temps fait-il?

Big race day tomorrow, the annual club race -La Rochechouartaise, the bike has been serviced and cleaned, I feel fit, rested and psyched up, OK whats next? Oh yeah better check the weather…….. apparently the weather people are on strike…….only in France!

Rochechouart

This is the Rochechouart Chateau and where the local cycling club meets up for its Saturday club run, a lovely venue to set off from compared to the lay-by on the A40 when back in Blighty! Situated on the top of a hill you can choose the severity of gradient to get there from about 4 – 16%. Two or three times I have taken the tough route, but usually take the middle of the road 6% option on the basis of being a wimp (Well I may have to follow this with a 100k run with the club, plus another 15 home, in addition to the 15 getting there).

I did not race this weekend and missed the Saturday club run. So instead for this weekends training ride, I took the back roads to Rochechouart, via Chassenon and Saillat, to ride a couple of tours of the club race route. The club will be holding its annual race next Sunday ( la Rochechuartaise) so there’s not a lot more opportunity to ride the route beforehand, not that I don’t know the route pretty well by now.

Whilst I was riding round I was reminiscing about the first outings with the club.  Like when I first met the club outside the chateau, there were a upwards of 20 riders there all in the same club gear. As you may know in France is customary to shake hands with everybody, but after exchanges with half a dozen I couldn’t tel’em apart. “Bonjour” I would be saying “deja vu” (already seen) would be the reply. I soon learnt the answer to this problem, get there early, then the onus is on those who arrive to great those already assembled, viola! Apart from the problem of recognising them being new to France and being pretty poor with the language, in-fact I still am, it was tough trying to make conversation. To make matters worse, I wasn’t in very good physical shape so I used to be struggling for breath as well as grasping what was being said to me, when I got home I was physically and emotionally drained.  It seems a while ago now – 3 years.

Meanwhile back to riding the route it’s a 9.5 k circuit about 90 meters climb each lap, nothing steep, one long pull and 500m slight incline to the finish. The long pull takes around 4 minutes and going by last year will be where the attacks are made. I work hard on this section each lap and make a couple of short cuts to repeat this section more frequently. Once saturated with this I run a couple of sprints up the finish stretch. After this I take make my way home and ponder the week ahead. Well I guess I can only guard my form now a couple of sessions in the week and some recovery on the home trainer and hopefully je suis pret! 

Choices and disappointment.

The weekend cycling choices were a 85km cyclo tourist route organised by the Flavignac club averaging 23 km/h or a 60 km race at Nieul probably averaging 34km/h. For me there is not much choice the race it is! Now I’m not a great lover of cycling in the rain, which is forecast, but yesterday and this morning it has been relatively sunny and dry, there is a warm wind and a little dark cloud on the horizon, so I’m optimistic. Oh well here we go, if it rains the race will be over before the randonee so that confirms things, I put the bike in the van and head toward Nieul.

Compared to last weeks race at Bantard there is a lot bigger turn out which reflects the size of venue and locality to key cycling clubs. I’m warned by one guy that its a hilly course, but another states that there’s nothing of gros accent. I see a few other ROC cyclists arrive as I set out on my warm up lap, a few hills, one with sweeping bends on the decent. I return to the van a little warm so adjust my clothing and meander toward the start line.

I’m a third category rider and today will start behind the first and second cats, the fourth behind me. Today there are two other roulers from my club, Jean Francois who run the local bike shop and Stephen who has is riding his first race for 20 years. The first cat sets off and two minutes later the second are off. We role up to the start line and I feel the first spots of rain, merde! We make are way out of town on to the windy road to St Gence, from here we on the second half of the circuit and before long were heading back toward the start/finish line. On the second lap the pace quickens, a few attacks, after this one I feel realise I don’t feel that great. On the third the pace eases, I’m pleased, I need the recovery. As we approach the uphill to the start line the pace quickens once again, I exchange a few words with Jean Francois, now this guy can ride well. I dont really understand why he is in the same category as me apart form taking a break from racing for a few years through injury. Last year he was making a comeback and was heading his category in the ufolep series of cyclosportives when a rider slipped on a wet decent taking a number of cyclists out, including him. Fortunately no broken bones but serious gravel rash enough to end of the series for him and almost the end of the season. 

On lap four I’ hurting. There is already a few riders off the back. Jean Francois makes his way past me and up field, I know whats coming next ‘pas maintenant’ , not now, I think! He attacks, the pack follow, I just there. We catch him, but he is still putting the pressure on. A courir cuts in on me we colide and nearly brings me down, I just hang on. he turns round and checks I’m OK  “Ca va” I reply and on we go. I’ve lost a few places, but thats racing. The pace is still high, there’s no let up on the decent out of Gence and as we start the climb I’m falling off the back with two others, I’m at maximum, were gone. to make matters worse the its raining. We’re all trying but I’m not recovering, despite trying there leaving me.  The rain falls faster and I see riders pulling in, I ride another lap and decide to do the same.

I climb in the back of the van shivering, I get changed and make my way to catch the finishing laps. The race is cut short by a lap as the rain continues and security of the route takes precedent. I watch some of them come in, I don’t see Jean Francois, but Stephen finishes just off the back of group, chapeau!

I’m disappointed in my form, this weeks training did feel harder than normal. The daily work has been physically hard too, so maybe I’ve been over-training? I hope so cause two weeks time its the clubs circuit, I need my form then -no excuses!!

La premiere course en 2008

First race in 2008

I don’t know if the hard bit was going to be the race or the drive there! The host village ‘Bantard’ was about as far north as you can get in the Haute Vienne, some 100 km away and a one and half hour drive. It meant, for a 2 pm race, I left home at 11 am giving me enough time for, registration, a post lap recce and warm up and a bit of contingent time.  

There were a couple of ROCC riders there when I arrived. Once we had our bikes set up we rode a couple of tours of this 6k circuit. A longish undulating stretch of about 2.5 km, then a sharp right hand bend and on to a narrow single track road which had plenty of gravel along it plus a couple of sharp bends and a bit of a rise toward the end, followed by a final right hand bend which took us back to the start/finish line 300 metres away. This last 300 metres consisted of a short run down hill, then short flat then a final 150 metre rise to the line.  

I was the only ROCC cyclist in this particular race, the others were in different categories which would start after mine.  With a field of about 25 riders the race got underway without much fuss and we started the first of 9 laps and 8 for the hand-full of juniors who started with us. The laps ticked slowly by not much happening, a deer crosses infront of us on one lap. As in races there was the odd attack and counter attack but it all felt a little half hearted. Its early season and I think everybody’s holding their cards close to their chests, including me, not wanting to give much away, c’est la vie. On the eighth lap the seniors all relaxed and let the juniors get to front to fight out there race. After they finished the pace quickened and on the single track road we jostled for position. I was in the first 10 or 12 but there was little opportunity for overtaking. I gained a couple of places on the last short climb only to lose them again on the final bend. As we turned the acceleration began, the leaders had about 25 metres on me. Up on the pedals, up a gear, I passed one, up another gear, I passed another the road began its final ride and for a moment it felt like riders were coming toward me. I was in about 7 or 8th place, I pushed on and passed at least two more, but the first riders were now crossing the line and I was not making any more ground, I held my position whist trying to count those in front. OK five in front I’m in 6th place. I’m content with that.

Well this was a trial and I had a mixture of thoughts driving home, on the positive side; I still had fuel in the tank and I’m sure by applying a few more tactics I could have got in the top 3. On the down side how many talented riders weren’t there, either because of the small venue, long drive or the departmental mountain bike championship being held the following day. Of those there how many did show all their cards! We will see over the coming weeks.