Team Duties

I raced an interclub on Sunday in Affligem and my plan of doing as little as possible until the final 20k went bottoms up when the manager told me to get in the early break. I'd spent the preceding few days psyching myself up to just sit in, rest up, save it for the finale, etc. etc. Same old story really!

I got in every move going to try and sneak off and do what the boss said but nothing stuck. I felt good over the Mur and the Bosberg and was in a big split at the front, which I was convinced was the break of the day, but then guys started attacking each other (why?) and we got bought back. A small group went on the finishing circuits and I clipped off the front with our road captain and a few others in a bid to get across to what turned out to be the winning break. I put in some big efforts but we were chased down by the Lotto team in the bunch (it feels cool to say that at least) and it came to nothing. So that was more or less the end of my legs and I spent the rest of the race slipping and sliding around the bunch. I blew completely with 5k to go and lost about ten minutes on what was left of the bunch (don't tell anyone though because I was given the same time). Classic Dewey! Oh and I nearly forgot to mention we rode through four different storms which included wind, rain and a cheeky bit of hail; good old Belgium. 

'Maybe this break will stick...' Nah.

I'm getting very conscious (because my girlfriend told me yesterday) of how all my recent posts are just about how I do too much in the race, it doesn't work and then I blow up, and I am trying to change my ways. I feel like this is my own personal AA meeting: 'admitting you have a problem is the hardest step', but I've done that now. I just need to sit in in the races now!

Lotto chasing the break, me chasing the wheel in front.

Rack o’ ribs

I’ve been feeling a bit knackered over the last few days and it could be a number of different things. We moved into our actual proper house on Tuesday which was great! We’d been crashing at the manager’s house for the past three weeks so to actually be able to unpack our suitcases was pretty good. I had my 23^rd birthday on Wednesday which was hilariously tame in the end; we got some beers in and then planned to head to the local town for some dancing. It turns out that Belgium doesn’t have any taxis (not sure how people get anywhere on nights out?) and once we got to Zottegem it was deadddd anyway. We did stumble across a very promising little local which was rammed, but swiftly got shot down when we realised it was a private party.

Trying in vain to get in the break of the day at Deinze Ieper

The last week or so has been quite a full on period of racing and training and it’s worn me down a bit. I went really deep in the race on Sunday for no real result, which is always irritating, and then went straight into a tough few days of training. It’s strangely nice feeling like this though because it means that all I have to do is rest a bit and I’ll come through it. I’ve got faith in the training I’ve done so there’s no need to panic. I am getting a bit bored of struggling with the stairs every morning though. I feel like I’ve aged fifty years every time I have to traverse the two flights down to my bike.

The second time up the Kemmelberg, just after I'd nearly hit a parked car and ended up out the back.

I’ve got an interclub this weekend called Mol, so I’ll see if I can freshen up before then. The plan is to sit in and try something constructive at the end, rather than breaking myself early on to no avail, but don’t tell anyone!

People getting swept up off the road after a crash just short of the line.