With any sport listening to your body is key. This is something I'm often not good at doing yet think I have improved a bit this year. So this is exactly what I did. Easy week it was.
Looking back at my training log I was scheduled one anyway and after 4 weeks full on it was a sign I needed it! Probably 3 weeks on and a week easy would have been better.
Still the weather was good and I went about taking it easy. Just recovery rides and a couple of days off.
Leaving me nice and fresh by the end of the week for the race at Spezet.
Spezet
Sunday came about, and after some great weather all week, I was looking forward to a nice warm and summery race. I wasnt disappointed.
Waking up, it was a bit overcast but warm. After a week of little ring action I needed to wake my legs up. Out for an hour with some sprints to open up. Feeling fresh and ready to roll I headed back for some lunch and waited to be picked up by my team mate, Laurent and family.
1;15pm and car packed we were away. An hours drive, long by French standards! Laurent using his local knowledge meant we arrived ridiculously early but still better early than late.
Arriving an hour and a half before. We went about watching the kids race. As roads are fully shut for all races its great to see kids able to race proper distances on roads.
So 20 mins before the start and I set about for my warm up. A 3.7km circuit. A long finishing straight, must have been at least a kilometre, which was also a bit of a hill, a twisting back section of the course and not much else to be honest. Narrow roads and a few tight corners thats about it.
So 3:45pm and lined up. It was hot, probably close to 30 degrees. 120 riders for this one. A big field. Lots of Lorient riders present and also Saur Sojasun, in the form of Steve Martin (winner at Bubry, 2nd last weekend at Les Forges) as well as lots of other riders to keep an eye on.
So away we went. 25 laps. Narrow roads meant it was important to stay near the front to stay out of trouble and not to miss the moves.
I was a little to far back and struggled to get to the front. By the time I did moves were going off the front. Moves went and came back constantly over the first few laps. I tried to follow the main guys, especially the Sojasun rider.
A few laps later and a move of 3 went. I wasnt on the wheel but made a big effort to jump across. To big an effort possibly. Getting across it didnt last long as we were soon caught. The counter attack went and just my luck that was the winning break! 15 or so riders away and pulling out a lead.
Still Sojasun was still in the bunch so all was not lost. Another couple of laps and Steve Martin and a Leceumie rider attacked I was quickly onto it and soon we were away. The next 3 or so laps of through and off can be summed up plainly as painful. I was feeling ok nothing brilliant, unfortunately Martin was going like a train. Soon we'd dropped the other rider. But we were in no mans land. The break was in sight, 30 seconds or so up the road but just two of us against 15 was a hard task. About 10km just myself and Martin came to an end when we were caught by a group of 10 or so.
The bunch were long gone by now yet my team mate Phil had made the group with me. 2nd group on the road, a good chance to bridge to the break.
Yet for some reason we seemed to slow down. Soon the gap was over a minute and the break was gone. A few laps more, lots of attacks and the group was thinned down with Phil being dropped.
5 or so laps to go and we caught half the break! Unfortunately 8 were still up the road. We were to fight it out for 9th it would seem. I continued to follow Martin as knew he was the strongest. I was feeling average to say the least.
1 lap to go and a move went. I was just not quite onto it. 2 riders dangling with a couple of kilometres to go. 1km to go and I launched an attack. Head down I had a small gap on the chase yet with 100-150 metres to go the sprint opened up and they surged past. I held off a few but was spent.
Rolling across the line in around 15th (will find out exact place later). Just on the wheel of Martin, typical.
So not a great race really, sluggish and missed the break just down to positioning more than anything.
Still back on it this week, big race at end of week at Lorient so looking forward to that. Hopefully some form and a massage can be found before then!
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