I was wet and cold and started my sprint about 300 to 400m too early. After escaping the bunch I ran out of gas about 50 to 100 m before the finish line and finished in the middle of this group 3.6 seconds away from 1st place. Stooopid me. All I had to do was GAMAN a little longer…. Disappointed I failed but very happy to have ridden my most aggressive confident race to date. Sure I can win here next year… In more detail read on….


A friend from Australia who was racing in the C class came and stayed the night and after a Saizeria spaghetti and garlic bread we sat down in front of the TV to watch the Tour of Japan highlights and talked tactics.
Hit the sack around 11pm and after a restless, nervous night’s sleep awoke at 4:10 a.m to the sound of heavy rain drowning out my alarm.
Great!
I had said when enrolling in this race that I’d not do it if it was raining…

After a wake up apple juice we got in the car at 5:00 a.m , hit the 7/11 for supplies and onto the Joban express-way to Hitachinaka with an ETA at the track for 6:30 which was check in time.

Cold, wet, rainy, dark, grey and gloomy sums up the day so far and to the day to come.

Warming up? Dave and I squeezed in a 5km lap of the course just in time before they closed it off for the 1st race. Soaked and cold we asked each other if it was too late to pull out. Nowhere else to go to get out of the rain and my roller trainer was too slippery to even contemplate warming up on, so I decided to get used to this rain. Arm warmers on, socks off, round and round I went near the finish line getting colder and wetter. By start time I was a shivering mess. 12.74kms of attempted warm up.
Lining up for the start I see Mr. mob and his Boonen like thigh machines. Wow! Think I will sit behind him for the whole race.

Bang!
We’re off. I’m up near the front, pace is nice and easy, a breeze blowing into our faces in the back straight just like last year. 60 odd riders all up and the leaders seem to be a long way out in front.

Lap 1:
Easy. But like last year my POLAR heart rate monitor decides to stop working at about the 200m mark.
Lap 2:
Easy, but I’m about 3rd last. After repeated attempts to reset the POLAR I give up on it.
Lap 3:
Hmm, can’t sit at the back much longer although it is very easy here…Make a move up the right hand side and find a nice pocket behind mob to sit in for about 4km.
Lap 4:
The serious part of the race begins and there is some nervous shuffling at the front. Lots of yelling, lots of swerving, this is getting scary.
Lap 5:
Ok, it’s do or die on this lap. Get too far back or in trouble and it’s all over. I move up the right, I move to the center, I move to the back I move to the left, to the back to the left again, up the inside, down the back again.
Lap 6:
The bell starts to ring….
I’m at the back again. Up the left.
Back down the left, up the center, back again. There’s mob’s friend the triathlete…making a move up the inside…I jump on his wheel and he takes me up the front line. If there is a Karma Sutra of Peloton positions I just tried every page in the book over the last 2 laps.
More nervous movement, yelling, braking & swerving. I yell at a guy on my right who almost took me out and for the next 100m he is apologizing to me.
This is real scary…. 3km to go and I make a break to the lead up the left side and find some safe ground. No intention of leading though and I let 6 guys pass me and jump on their behinds…. I then find everybody moving up past me on the right and I have nowhere to go but to the back again. 2km to go and mob’s triathlon mate goes up the left side again and I follow him doing my best Robbie McEwen impersonation. More dangerous moves everywhere. I want to be on the right side not the left so I shuffle across behind about a 10 wide wall in front of me. 2 guys in front of me are leaning on each other head butting and pushing and I was sure they were going to crash right in front of me. I move more to the right. When I find myself on the far right side both of my team mates are there & I think, great we can work together, these guys are faster than me…. If I go they will follow me and I should be able to hang on when they pass me for a place somehow. I go for it….. I’m guessing we are in the last 500 to 800m but visibility is poor and I have no idea really where the finish line is. Too busy thinking of not crashing at that moment.. I can’t read my speedo due to water drops all over it, I can barely see out my left eye, as it is full of water…. I sense that nobody is coming with me and I look back & I’m a good 30 to 40m out in front, maybe more…. shit. What do I do now?….still 300 or 400m or 500m to go…. Head down and I plant down the accelerator (Cancellara/Bettini impression)…feeling strong but too far to go…. I’m maybe within the last 100m and I glance under my armpit and see what looks like a Braveheart scene…. angry mob (not you mob) coming for me…

I’m running out of gas fast… I’m shot. 30 to 40 m to go and I’m swamped by too many to count. I blew it…. Angry at myself but happy just the same. My thighs felt like a pair of Hindenburgs at the end. No idea what position I finished. I’m happy. I rode strong. I took a chance. I lost. Next year! (again).

Time for a beer a bath and a bed.

Similar mistakes to last year. Totally misjudging the last sprint distance. The whole course looks the same and there are only a few markers on the course to tell you were you are. Visibility was poor with the rain. I really need to learn to WAIT. Too impatient.

I came, (too early) I saw, ( a little)… I conked….

Edit… I actually came 3rd the next year! Not bad.