Had my last hard training session before this Sunday’s Tour of Japan Tokyo stage race.
I’ll be in the 2A category and I’m pleased with my form.
Tonight there were 10 of us and we started a bit late but we all knew it would still be an hour till the sprint.
On about the 2nd lap I picked up the pace in the back straight to put a bit of pressure on everybody. Doing this as often as possible and only doing it if my heart rate was low. Trying to drain everybody’s energy. When I wasn’t leading I was resting. I did more than my usual share of work at the front too so don’t feel any guilt at all for my result. A few break aways were caught and brought back. On the last lap there were about 7 or 8 and I was trapped on the left with the curb and to one side and riders covering every escape route.
Kept my cool, waited till the very last moment and managed to make my way across to the right hand side as everybody was making a go of it. Pipped them all on the line!

Training is one thing… I’ve never been able to do that kind of riding in a race. I’ll dream it’s possible till Sunday. Hopefully my dreams will come true.

Last week’s hard Monday and Wednesday night rides have put me in some level of fitness that is above normal for me. Hope it lasts till Sunday.