Todays race was with the VWF in Borchtlombeek, a bit cooler and fresher today but still warm with a bit of a breeze.
I've had a third place here in the past but todays course was subtly changed from previous years to include a nasty section of cobbles, maybe 500m which included nasty challenging climb.
The course ran along a flattish straight concrete road for about a kilometre before a 90 degree right onto the first climb of the circuit, about 500m of concrete road, swing right at the top and effectively drop down again to a roundabout where we turned left up a fast bit of new tarmac to turn 90 degree right onto the cobbled climb, over the top still on cobbles to a 90 degree left along another fast tarmac road to a 90 degree right, another fast level road into a 90 degree left along a narrow lane that started fast downill, then soon became a long uphill for about 1500m, turning 90 degree right at the top, a fast downhill into a 90 degree right, short fast straight down to a 90 dgree left, another fast level straight, into a 90 degree left back into the home straight which started fast downhill but finished kicking up through the finish line.
Good field today everybody was there, so it was going to be a fast race, I thought it would kick off on the first climb where riders wanted to be in place for the cobbled climb where it was certain to open up each lap. I was proved right as we started fairly sedately but the further up the first climb we went the faster it got. I surprised myself by being really comfortable and moving up the left to turn the top corner as second wheel, lost a few positions on the fast downhill hitting the cobbled climb in maybe 15th place, surprised myself by really powering up the cobbled climb with my bike bouncing and the carbon wheels sounding like they might explode any minute, but I was third wheel at the top and feeling comfortable. Held position in the top ten along and over the longest climb and down the other side, felt good enough to put in a strong acceleration out of the last corner to open up a few gaps down the home straight but we were pretty much together I think going through the finish the first time.
Lap two was pretty much a repeat except there were more efforts to force a gap and the hills were taken even faster with no let up in between, I was over the moon about my climbing, particularly on the cobbled climb and was feeling quite confident about having a real go on that climb before the end.
Third time (of 5) up the cobbled climb I was holding excellent position at the front, but going acoss the flat cobbled section at the top before the left hander along the fast tarmac my chain dropped and even though I have a chain catcher it took too long to get back on. A 100 metres off the back, I chased and was edging back until the longest climb where I had been strong, but somebody must have really opened up over the top and I knew that was race over for me!
So that was that, with my daughter coming for a two day visit it was back to the hotel to greet her as a consolation and another race on Wednesday. Shame about today although I always think I can't climb I know I'm not that bad so I had been thinking pretty confidently about being in the 'money'. I run Osymetric chain rings but the set up is pretty well perfect at the moment so I don't point any blame there, just the luck of the bounce, chain bounce that is!
No comments:
Post a Comment