There are many places you can finish in a race but for a lowly 4th cat in a Regional C+ race but I’ve come to the conclusion that 12= is about the worst of them. guess where I finished on Sunday in the Surrey League Beginners’ Race?
It’s not quite “dans les et cetera” or “in the bunch”, it’s much less dignified than that. It says you were outside the points but not quite so far back as to be a straggler. It says “You really shouldn’t bother contesting this result because it doesn’t matter”. It is the ultimate in failing to make it count.
I can tell you exactly where my race fell apart: lap six, on the back straight when i got a twinge of cramp in my left calf. I haven’t had cramp for bloody ages so goodness knows why it appeared on Sunday. Up to then I was feeling pretty good and riding fairly well, perhaps a few places further back than I would have liked but well enough positioned to move through in the final two laps.
Coming off the final bend I got a bit boxed but was in the lead group at least and ready to kick up a gear. When I did, there was nothing there. I tried to dig a bit deeper but got nothing back, so decided there was no point sprinting when it would gain me nothing and rolled over the line.
It wasn’t a bad start to the season but it left me feeling a bit frustrated. Not as frustrated as watching Warrick Spence effortlessly ghosting through the bunch. He’s so classy it hurts to watch when you are as lumpy a rider as I am. If you get a chance this year to see him racing make sure you stand facing the exit from a corner with a view through it. What you’ll see when he comes through is someone who makes cornering look beautiful.
Anyway my lungs are still recovering from the freezing cold conditions which never suit me so I might do a little riding tomorrow before work if I feel up to it. I really might have to consider getting a trainer, probably the Tacx Flow, as I’m really not getting out on the bike enough.