Day 20, Another ****** hilly race and very wet too!

Today started as a brilliant sunny day with the temperature quickly reaching 24c, absolutely perfect, not too windy either. Having checked the weather prediction for the whole week, up to and through Sunday it is the same, sunny with temperatures ranging from 23c to 27c.

So I tinkered with my bike in the sunshine, an extra polish and checked out my new wheels and how they set up in the bike, it was also an opportunity to pull the cassette apart and clean that too. So the new wheels look a treat, the rear mech will only require the smallest adjustment for the new wheels and the result is a very very light bike, I hope its going to be fast too.

The race today was only 20 minutes drive from the hotel, there are a few Brits around and some of them were trying to persuade me to race elsewhere with them, I opted for the 20 minute drive rather than an hour or so, that could have been a mistake. I signed on no problem and started to get ready, in honour of the warm sunny day I opted for a nice white outfit and off I headed on a warm up lap. I was 300m into the first lap when there was an almighty clap of thunder!!! as I looked over my shoulder all I could see dark black clouds and the rain sweeping in, what happened to the sun?

That wasn't my only shock as I worked my way around the lap I realised that the course was as hilly as the last race that I 'bitched' about so much, the only thing it lacked was a really really steep bit, how disappointing! The lap was 7km around with three stretches of climbing the first and third stretches being the hardest, coming off the last and longest climb it was fast down and through to the finish which also kicked up to the finish line.

For some reason I actually had a second set racing clothes in the car and after one warm up lap I opted to change out of white into black, a good move I think. I also opted to adjust the tyre pressures as well, it was extremely wet, with various sorts of muck, standing water and all the concrete gaps one could want.

Another warm up lap, pushing a bit harder this time and feeling that my legs hadn't fully recovered from the hammering they got two days earlier, by the time I got back to the line I was wet, I'd slipped a couple of times and my legs felt rubbery, so I was ready. On the line one of the officials was demonstrating how slippery the concrete had become by finishing on his bum! Just what I needed but I did notice not too many of the boys actually laughed.

We were off with 8 laps to complete, for the first three laps I felt like I was hanging, certainly too far back but I didn't feel like this was a race I was going to finish, you know how it goes; mentally looking for a good excuse, well maybe any excuse. The good thing was the boys were taking corners very gingerly which was good and really without making a conscious effort I found I was moving up nearer the front on the climbs which was also good. Just after half distance a break of five moved off the front and quickly got a big margin, at that moment I still wasn't feeling that good, still looking for that elusive excuse to climb off .

I don't actually remember thinking I feel good now, possibly cos I didn't? I did notice that the bunch was whittling down nicely, every time we accelerated up a climb we lost half the bunch some would struggle back on each time the road tilted down.

Three laps to go up the longer third climb of the lap I was sitting fourth wheel as we came to the last 200m which was a tad steeper but nothing like earlier in the week, I attacked, well it seemed a good idea at the time. So I was clear, consolidated a gap down and through the finish, grovelled along the headwind straight to the first climb of the lap. Now at this point it became clear to me why it is that I never do solo breaks, they're too hard, I'd much rather be in a small break working well and take my chances in the sprint. However the bunch had not really made up any time on me so I buckled down a rode tempo up the hill, by the top I had a quick look and they did look closer but soon I was flying down the other side and along a tailwind flat stretch to start the shorter second climb, the bunch was out of sight again now. Turn right at the top of that climb along a 200m straight to turn left to start the long climb again now. I really thought they might get me on that it was all getting a bit hard. I didn't look back until I was turning at the top and I was still well clear, down the other side and right onto the fast run down to the finish.

Latste Ronde! Latste Ronde! Music to my ears but I had to do it all again now! The headwind straight after the finish was hard but I got to the first climb with my lead intact, riding the hill I was trying to not give it 100% and keep a little in hand, I was probably doing 98% in reality, they seemed to close up on the climb but I think that was a bit of an illusion, I was probably about a minute up at this point. I flew down the other side and around to the shorter second climb which I managed at a reasonably good pace which just left me with the last longer, harder climb to do. I managed to settle into a good rhythm, although I was making a good impression of a steam train with leaky valves by this point. I had to get out of the saddle for the last 100m or so. I tried to kick it over the top and get it into the 11 for the fast descent by this point I knew they couldn't catch me but managed to keep it at around 50kph all the way to the finish.

The break was well clear and there was never any danger of me catching them, although it seems that they had blown out one of their number on the last lap and I had passed him somewhere. Since I didn't really know who was up there anyway and the last laps were littered with lapped riders that I was using as 'carrots' to pull me out I wouldn't have noticed him.

Fifth again, almost a replay of the race two days earlier except I was chasing on my own! Typically while I was changing out of my wet, mucky gear it stopped raining and the roads dried quite quickly. I'd already made sure that the judges were aware that I was off the front of the bunch and not a lapped rider, so by the time I was clean(ish) again I didn't have too long to wait for the results to be declared 'official' and collect my envelope and deposit on my race number.

I had been thinking that I would go into Aalst to have a look at the first post tour pro criterium, however I decided that I didn't have enough warm clothes to stand around in after getting pretty wet in the race and according to the website the only tour 'star' they had signed up was Thor Hushovd, everybody else wanted way too much money. I guess that's another way of saying they don't want to do it. The website also says it's probably the last time they will organise it since although they have a local brewery as a major sponsor they can't afford the rider's fee demand anymore.

So I came back to the hotel washed the muck off my bike, I'll still have to clean and oil it tomorrow. Then I got to wash through my bike clothes, except a previously perfectly good pair of white socks that go straight into the bin, second pair in a week!

Reviewing my power profile in the race it was very encouraging to see my best ever 10 min and 20 min average power outputs, means that my Threshold power is still creeping up.