“Saint Armel (56)” – 15th July 2011 - (4.3x13) – D3/4

Saint Armel is a quiet little town on the coast of the Gulf of Morbihan. The course was fast and flat. Mercifully the rain kept away for the race, and the wind was the merest zephyr.

Overview: This was my first evening race with a 20:01hrs start time to allow the D1/2 race to begin first. An 8 o’clock evening start time in July is not as late as it appears to those living in the UK. Remember, we are an hour ahead here so it doesn’t get dark until late these days, so at least I could be sure of finishing before night-time.

Along for the ride: The start was fast and furious but I managed to stick with the group without much distress. A few guys tried to break clear early on, but were reeled in by the pack fairly quickly. Surprisingly, my English mate Bob Jones tried to attack on lap three, much earlier than he usually kicks, but his move was covered. The other riders had marked his card and did not want Bob to have it all his own way.

My wife, Jan, had made the trip down to the coast with me and spent the race with Bob’s wife Vicky. She cheered me on from outside the bar in the village every time we passed the podium. Some people have it tough, eh?

I grew more confident that I’d be able to stay with the pace as the laps ticked by; I even covered an attack in the middle of the race. I struggled a little on the slight hill at the back end of the course, but always managed to close the gap before the little rise into the finish.

Jan still cheered me on at the start of every new lap. Maybe she would finally see me involved in a sprint finish after all my poor recent results. Optimism again Kerry?

Lap 7: I missed my gear on one of the small climbs, dropped back a few metres and had to work like stink to rejoin the pack – quads on fire again, a familiar feeling these days. Then, just as I closed the gap, some arsehole on the front kicked, the group sped up and I lost my recovery time. I hung on and managed to stay with them but the effort was beginning to tell.

I kept with them for another circuit but had to work really hard to do so and had no recovery time at all.

Lap 8: I was still with the group but working almost flat out to stay with them. Then, on the last left-hander my back wheel lost grip and slipped from underneath me. I didn’t fall, but lost impetus and by the time I regained full control of the bike (and my nerve), a gap had formed. It was only a ten-metre gap at first and I managed to hold it at that for half a lap but it was too much for me and I cracked with just three laps to go. Dammit!     

Laps 9-11: I only lost about 3 minutes on the pack by the time I’d finished. I did keep up the effort though, and managed to pass a few stragglers on my way home.

There’s no doubt in my mind, I’m nearly, nearly there. Another couple of percent improvement and I might be competitive. More targeted training is needed I think.

Result: Position: 29^th, Distance: 53 kms, Time: 1:28:40, Average speed: 35.8kph.

And finally: Jan, not the most supportive of my sporting efforts, (she has after all, seen me fail at cricket, football, triathlon, golf and now cycling, in our 36 years together), gave me a “Good effort Kerry!” when I finally finished. She had seen how hard I’d tried and at least could applaud a gallant effort!