Haven’t posted in a while…I apologize!  Things have been pretty busy lately with lot’s of races and travel over the last couple weeks, but here is a quick update on this past weekend.

Saturday we were at the reborn Chateauroux-Limoges, an Elite National race that has not taken place since 1992 or something like that.  A point to point race which is fairly flat for the first 50kms, and then proceeds to get a bit more rolling before throwing riders onto a nasty finishing circuit to complete the last 10 out of 155kms.  The race went fairly well overall.  There was a slight crosswind early which created splits here and there.  I was almost certain to have found the right group when about 25-30 of us distanced ourselves from the rest, with all teams represented, but it never did get organized and we were brought back after a while.  The winning move came directly after our group was caught, but thankfully as one of the teams with the most riders, we had plenty of man power to cover it.  As it became clear that the winner would come from this group, those who hadn’t gone with it were now attacking left and right to try to make up the distance to the leaders.  I managed to get myself into a small group which started to make up some time.  Slowly we would catch riders who had been shot out the back of the lead group.  We didn’t have much chance to get back to the front of the race, but we were still coming in for respectable spots in the top 15 or 20, so the race was definitely on.  Unfortunately I must have run over a very sharp rock through a corner, which completely exploded my rear tire.  Thankfully another team gave me a wheel, since our car was ahead, but it meant I rode in on my own instead of having some fun with the nasty uphill finish in the group I was with.  Not a big deal though, as I would have another chance the very next day.

To finish off the weekend we had a race much closer to home, in Villefranche s/Saone.  The GP Serra Delorme is a very tough 15km circuit to complete 10 times.  It’s a hard race every year, but this year it was just a monster.  There was what felt like a hurricane that ripped across the largely exposed circuit, so much that echelons were forming even on the climbs.  There are a couple things that are always certain in races:  climbs are going to hurt, and cross winds are going to hurt.  Add them together, along with a ton of the best racers in France and it will make for a very, very uncomfortable few hours.  This picture shows basically what my face looked like the whole time.

Despite my tongue scraping off the ground for most of the race, I did manage to have a quick look around the see who was left standing after the first 100kms or so.  This was the positive point for me, as of the 150 or so starters, there were maybe 40 or so left, everyone else was comfortably watching from the feed zone.  Soon after this my legs did quite literally implode, going from feeling strong and powerful to something like an overcooked strand of spaghetti.  Not long after this I would find myself the victim of a small crash.  No damage to me, only the bike which took a slight beating, but once again my day ended with some bad luck.  Frustrating, for sure, but since these races aren’t big goals of mine for the season, I’m just taking the positives and forgetting about the negatives.  I feel way stronger than I ever have at this time of the year, and I know I’m nowhere near at my best yet either.  I think things are on track for the bigger races that are fast approaching.  Next weekend is Transversale de l’Ain, another tough race with some more climbing, but likely less wind.  Excited to see how I make on the longer climbs this year as compared to last.  Thanks for tuning in!

Well, a very quick update for a very quick race.  The season opener for our part of France was yesterday with the classic Tour du Vallee du Bedat.  I have nightmares of last year’s edition with it’s rain/snow/hail/wind/general misery, but this year the weather was in fact a mild 8 degrees with sun and only moderate winds.  The course is a 20km loop with one solid wall of a climb, rounded out by mainly long false flats with a few sections exposed to the wind.  There are a few tricky town crossings and generally poor road conditions which make for a fairly nervous race.  At this time of year, nervous translates into dangerous as riders are still unaccustomed to winding through small towns with elbows, hips, and handlebars brushing against the 150 other riders who are jockeying for position.  In any case, that’s the race in a nutshell and if you asked me last week I would have told you how incredibly motivated I was for it.  I think it’s a race that suits me and I feel I’m in pretty good form right now, but unfortunately a steak that I ate on Friday night had plans that didn’t involve a successful race.

Yes, Friday I was hit with a nasty case of food poisoning which had me up all night on Friday and Saturday going through the generally agonizing routine of food poisoning.  For the sake of decency I won’t go into details on the subject.  Waking up Sunday morning a good few kilos lighter than I should be, I managed to keep some oatmeal down long enough to at least take the start.  For the first 30kms I had to give everything I could just to stay in contact with the field…it felt like I was mistakenly in a motorcycle race yet I was still on my bike.  My body just had no idea what it was going through, and since I was not even strong enough to race at the front of the group, I had to deal with the inevitable crashes that happen behind.  In front of me I hear the frightening signs of brakes squealing, carbon shattering, riders yelling, etc.  On go my brakes and I manage to stop before going tumbling into the carnage, but behind me another rider comes and rams into my bike, breaking the derailleur.  As I call for the team car to bring a spare bike, I wonder if this day could get much worse.

I hop on the spare bike and chase for all I’m worth, but on this day that isn’t exactly a whole lot.  After what seems like an eternity chasing I get a sudden urgent need to find a toilet for the umpteenth time in the last 48hrs, and so that’s how my day gloriously comes to an end.  There are few things I dislike more than pulling out of races, it truly disgusts me to do even under circumstances like this, especially as you watch the finish and see the winner cross the line and you think you should be there fighting it out.  However, it is what it is.  This morning I think everything is finally gone from my system, the stomach cramps are gone, and I feel alive again.  I’ll turn the disappointment from this weekend into motivation for the next race, and certainly won’t be touching any steaks in the next little while!

Last week was our first training camp for the 2012 season in Argeles Sur Mer, which is on the French-Spanish border.  The camp started with a weekend of racing, which involved some extremely cold temperatures and incredible winds.  I have never worn as much clothes during a race as I did on Sunday, and I think it might be the most wind I’ve ever ridden in as well.

Following the first races we held team rides every day in order to put in some great training time, get to know one another, and also enjoy the constantly improving temps as Europe’s  ice age came to an end.  I truly enjoyed the camp and it also provided everyone the chance to test their legs.  As riders, we train for countless hours during the winter months, but for a long time we really don’t get to compare ourselves to our teammates and competitors.  With the rides often turning into races to town signs or mountain summits, there was ample opportunity to see if my hard work had paid off.

To finish up the camp, we had another weekend of racing that has just finished up.  Despite a big week of training I was pleased to find that I had recovered quite well, and we managed to take home the team classification in Saturdays GP d`Aix against other teams who were coming in nice and fresh.

So, a great week has now come to an end and leaves me with confidence and motivation for the season to come.  I put together a small video which shows just some of the beautiful scenery we were treated to, and also introduces the riders and staff for 2012.  I hope you enjoy!