Thats more like it!

A very encouraging day!

Apart from a small error on my part which meant that I had to race in a higher (younger) grade it was a good day. My plan for the day was do as little as I needed to do to stay in contention and sprint at the end, to test myself for Sunday without going too deep. So plan almost executed perfectly but more of that later.

The course was essentially fast and flowing with a few slopes on it but nothing too difficult. From the start line it was about 100m into a 90 degree right, then straight into a 90 degree left, a winding straight! for about a km, then a 90 degree right up hill for about 750m, pinching a little steeper at the top into a 90 degree right. About 1km straight, slightly downhill with a traffic calming plateau at the end followed by another through a 90 degree right hander, fast down a slight hill, swinging left, then right, followed by a 90 degree left, a 600m straight into a fast left hander, followed by a fast right hander, 500m into a 90 degree left into the home straight, 200m 90 degree right, straight into a 90 degree left, straight into a 90 degree right into a straight that swayed left and then right before straightening for the last 50m.

So the sequence of turns in the last 700m was 90 degree right, 90 degree right, 90 degree left, swing left, swing right then 50m straight, not really a finish for me. I can be really good at long straight finishes where the speed is high and stays high, this was very nervous and jumpy, however!

I could be wrong but I actually feel racing in the younger age group was easier, maybe because I didn't expect too much of myself and felt zero compunction to contribute to the racing, which was my plan, but it did seem that we spent more time freewheeling and swinging about the road than in my normal races. This actually made the racing more dangerous, cos apart from watching out for those dreaded concrete gulley's, getting the corners right, holding some sort of position, you have to watch out for everybody else in the race. My new pal the Belgium champion, also electing to go in this race (I think he was local since he turned up on his bike) went down after touching wheels, in this case he was the only one and actually rejoined so I guess he didn't hit hard, lucky sod.

Having said that we averaged 42.6kph, to be honest I haven't been looking at that statistic in other races so I'm not sure how that compares.

In every other respect the race followed the usual patterns, I spent as much time as possible sitting just behind the guys that were sprinting off the front, happy to give a couple of positions to slot in without having to 'arc' it up to top power, then just recovering the places when the pressure eased. I was really pleased with my speed out of corners and closing gaps when I needed to, a lot of the time I was doing it in the saddle which is usually a good sign for me, especially when everybody else is giving it 'big licks' out of the saddle, could be that I'm not too proud to drop a cog or two going into a corner helps as well!

A couple of times during the race I looked behind me to realise that I was almost last wheel, I wasn't aware that we were shedding riders but we were, so just kept my eye on moving forward but coming into the last couple of laps we were down to about 25, which is a manageable number to move about in and I had done nothing, absolutely nothing.

There were a couple of guys off the front as we hit two to go as the pace picked up, they were still just off the front as we hit the bell, but got sucked up as the pace inevitably picked up through the last lap as everybody tried to make position.

To be honest I didn't get involved until half a lap to go, I was never that far back and moving up early just meant that you had to continually fight for your position, expending energy, I opted to come late and try and make it count.

Coming to the right hander that started the home straight, I admit I was too far back, but that corner had to be taken so precisely, there was only one fast line, that I opted for caution (I want to race on Sunday) and stayed on the fast line, about 15 back, moved up a position or two coming up to the right hander, got baulked but stayed on the right to move up on the outside of the left hander, as the road swung right I got baulked again, but hopped up onto the pavement to make a lot of places, there was a guy in front of me on the pavement and I just managed to get around him and back on the road before ploughing into an ornemental planter! Back on the road approaching the one straight bit I had a run and really picked it up down the right hand barriers, I guy came off the left hand barrier to block me! gob smacked or what! so I was 5th, I would have been fourth apart from that manoeuvre and in the normal course of events he and I would have had a conversation in the car park! but I figured well I was too far back for the win, 4th or 5th who cares.

Sprinting in Belgium is definitely not for the feint hearted, but the vast majority of the guys are top bike handlers, but you have to be able to take and give a few bumps on the way.

So maybe if I'd come out of that key corner inside the first 10?

The finish for the worlds is I think very straight but as usual not very wide, so if I'm still in the race at the finish I'm going to have to fight, really fight.

The only bad news out of the day was that in the first two laps I ripped all the scabs off of my right palm, which was uncomfortable at the time but then in the race I forgot about it, now its a problem! Plus when I peeled my shorts off, the scabs on my hip had been weeping, stuck to my shorts and came away with my shorts! Not going to be a problem in the race but I'm not looking forward to spending 24 hours on a plane with that!

I know wuss!