After some ups and downs in performance this season and following some commitment back on the bike it was time to try and get another race under my belt. I say ‘try’ as I wasn’t quite sure if I had the legs for 60k at race pace, but I believed it would be good end of week training at the very least. The race was in the small town of Chalus. This is where Richard the Lionheart died and is not to far from home so it seemed a good a course as any to do.
They announced that the race was 10 laps not 9 as programmed, but it was still the same distance. The circuit was clockwise with a couple of short hills. There were attacks from the start which made the going hard, but each attack was quickly closed down.
Apart from doing one long pull at the front I practised doing as little work at the front as possible. The laps quickly ticked by and despite being hard I felt confident that I would finish. On the last lap there was the inevitable increased pace. I held in there with the group, tired but pleased I was going to finish. I did not like the final bend and lacked confidence riding through it and sprinted the last few hundred meters from then on. I quickly gained places and realised crossing the line in 6 or 7th I probably could have done a bit better if I had played it different at the corner. Reflecting on the finish it reminded me of the first race of the season at Bantard where a found I finished strongly but started to far back to get a possible placing.
So my fitness is back I must focus on the tactics and positioning now!
I should add that Patrick a fellow team mate finished in 3 place, just to prove it….
