Waking up this morning bunged up was never going to be a good sign. The weather reports stating that there was due to be more than a months rain in a single day was also not a good omen either. British weather forecasts are often inaccurate- in this case I would consider that there was two months worth of rain in one day.
Normally I have no issues racing in the rain- in fact I rather like it but today at the Birmingham CC Circuit Races it was a different story
The race at Birmingham is around an industrial estate circuit of just over a mile. It's a flat course which while often windy as it's quite open- it's a fast course and usually ends up in a bunch sprint. Not today!!
A break went within the first 5 miles and stayed away for the whole race and the bunch was desecrated due to cold, obscenely wet weather and destructive winds. It seemed that every lap there was a rider going out the back of the bunch and sadly I was one of those riders!
I struggled today. I was absolutely fine early on but mid way through started to struggle and began to feel cold. The up and down nature of the bunch in misguidedly putting the pace down in the bunch then easing up. Why can't 3rd Cats ride a chaingang to chase a break?
After being shelled from the bunch which was at around 12 riders when I went pop I managed about 5 more laps of the circuit before deciding it was time to get changed and get warm.
Am I frustrated- yes, definitely. Do I need to do more work in training- definitely too
What have I learnt today?
I need to work on going hard for short intervals into headwinds. I felt slightly lacking in strength today
Colds and wet weather are never a good combo for a racing cyclist.
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