Breedhout

Another day and another race. Due to the lack of racing this weekend I decided to race yesterday in an elite race in Breedhout. I rode to the race as the weather was good and the extra training is always good. After 20km of spinning I arrived to the sign on cafe, payed my 8 euros (you get 5 back when you return your numbers) and then found my teammate Chris to drop off my bag and arrange for a feed. It was a windy day, but sunny and warm meaning that staying near the front and drinking alot would be key. 161 riders took the start including the Kazakstan national team who ended up walking away with a great deal of prize money. The race was 120 km long covering 13 laps of a rolling course with two climbs and countless rollers. Each lap there was a 25 euro prime to keep things interesting.
Immediately it became apparent that it was going to be a fast day as the first lap was over in about 10 minutes. On the top section of the course in a crosswind speeds sat at around 50 km/hr and on the climbs we were holding well over 30km/hr most of the time. Even with the high speed a Kazak managed to stay away for 6 laps solo, bagging the primes. I stayed near the front for most of the day as on many sections we were riding the gutter literally, not on the pavement but on the flagstones that comprise the gutter, single file, amazing. Chris is a very experienced rider and on several occasions he would come along side and give me a tow to the front and then jump a gap and get us in a move. I got in a couple with him and a few on my own, trying to find the one move that would be successful. As you know from last year this is often a bit of a game if you are like me and relying primarily on the strength of others to keep the break away from the charging bunch. Unfortunately none of the three or four moves I got in lasted more than a few kilometers at best and in the end a group of 16 jumped clear in the last lap and the bunch sprinted for 17th position. The race was won by Davy van Damme of the Yawadoo Mobile continental squad, last year he was on the riders in our training group. Of 140 finishers I rolled in 91st, I didn't really sprint instead thinking about perhaps saving a bit for the race tomorrow in Stok. After racing 120 km and averaging 42 km/hr I spun home making for a solid 160 km day. It is another elite affair that normally attracts some bigger teams, last year I made the second group and finished around 45th at this race so hopefully I can make the front group and bag the first top 20 of the season this time. It is a really nice course, mostly flat with a few brutal gradual climbs into the wind, but the roads are good and nice and wide. Stay tuned!