Fay de Bretagne (Loire Atlantique - 44) is about an hour and a half away. The circuit had been promoted as a flat, fast course and after last week’s monster hill at Taupont, I needed a flat one. I hooked up with English mate Bob Jones on the way to the early morning start.
Start: Well over sixty of us lined up for the start of the dedicated D3/4 race.
I was really surprised at the rather sedate start. In 56 they usually go off like there’s no tomorrow and I always have to work like stink to avoid (not always successfully), being dropped on the first lap. Not so in 44. The fairly gentle pace was just as well really as it took me ages to clip my left foot into the pedal. I eventually sorted my feet out and managed to catch up with the pack; 1 lap down, 21 to go!
As promised, the course was flat with fast corners and nothing too technical for a novice (read - coward) like me. The speed ramped up as the laps counted down, but, to my great surprise, I had little trouble keeping up with the leaders.
From the middle section onwards the race became tactical with local teams closing down anyone who attacked, keeping us all together as a large group. To my shame I did no work at the front. I was happy to allow the others to pull me along. Well, in my defence, I am still learning the sport and I'm not all that strong yet - that’s my excuse and I’m sticking to it.
I was nearly dropped with 14 laps to go when I was edged into some curb-side gravel. I managed to stay upright but had to really dig deep to reattach to the main group – scary that.
Attack: There was only one obvious place on the course for a serious attack; a gentle 800m uphill section just after the finish line. Bob had been edging himself into a clear place towards the front of the main group for a few laps, so I was waiting for him to make his move.
He attacked with five laps to go. I was right behind him at the time, toward the front of the main pack (yes - that's right - I was still in the main pack after 17 laps). When Bob went, I thought (for about a millisecond) of trying to go with him, but I bottled it and stayed with the pack. His break was decisive - he rapidly bridged a 50 metre gap to two leaders and they rapidly edged away from us.
Finish: I finished in the main bunch, very satisfied that I was still in the mix although not exactly strong enough to figure prominently in the sprint (where’s Eric Coue when you need him?).
I did manage to pass a couple of riders on the sprint into the finish but my legs were cooked by that stage and I couldn’t do much damage to the bunch. Bob finished way ahead of us in a very strong second place and received a nice cup for his troubles.
Statistics: Result - 38th (out of 58 finishers); Average speed - 37.5 kph; Race duration: 1:49:55.
Not a bad day’s work – am I becoming an actual cyclist at long last?
Post Script: Charlie and Max Cushway were in the mix again in a race near Redon. A very proud dad, Ian, emailed me this morning saying – “Max came in a close fourth and Charlie romped to another win.” Well done lads!
No comments:
Post a Comment