A windy one

This past saturday I raced a kermis, it was really far away! After almost 1.5 hours in a car we got to the race. Crossing Belgium to race only 120 riders seems like a pointless task. It was also super expensive, it cost me 8 whole euros to partake in the race. The Belgians reading that nodded in agreeance and the Canadians reading knew I was being sarcastic. Forget the not perfect for cycling weather and Belgium is a paradise for the racing cyclist.

Long story short I was on a confidence high from my last race and I raced like a junior once more. Following everything and attacking and driving in the wind our pack that started as 120 riders was now down to 80. Then when one of my moves came back some guys started driving and I went flying backwards through the pack and ended up in the second group of 20 with 20 or so riders up the road. Everyone behind us was done for and after 13 of 18 laps we where given a finishing sprint. Result says 47/120 which isn't so bad, but it feels to me like a DNF.

On a related note my teammate, who is also a first year, spent the whole day out of the wind and made a last minute move to the front group. He never attacked he just saved his energy and rode around slower riders and covered moves and then just rolled through. He never drove anything and he was patient. He came to the line in a group of 5 and dominated the sprint for his 1st senior win while I watched in my street clothes. The difference between being smart and conserving your matches versus being reckless and aggressive could just about be the difference between winning... and finishing 47th.

Kevin wint in Kruiseke