After starting out in Essex at 5 in the morning, arriving in Belgium at 10 we finally had time to just chill and acclimatise after a good few hours of travel.. 6 hours pre race (Zwevezelle De Hille).
When it eventually came to signing on I had been dozing for the hour beforehand in the car, so got on the rollers half asleep, realising it was now time to wake up!
It was a good thing i did wake up- as with a quick start we were off before we knew it. With everywhere i looked the course was corner corner corner, after sitting on the front for a couple of miles i sat back for a bit, deciding that I'd try to go for a few of the preems.
After a few miles was feeling strong so looked around for my team mate Bryony, who was nowhere to be seen, at this point I didn't realise she had had a severe mechanical, so i decided to just go for it on my own. after holding off the group for about 2 miles, the Belgian winds took their toll, and I sat back with the group for the remainder of the race.
Going away with some preem money, tomato sauce, and rolling in at 14th, I was pleased with my first race in Belgium.
On the Sunday in Holland my legs were feeling fine and was ready to go. After a half hour drive from the hotel to the HQ in Holland , we had ample time to ride the course, get changed and warmed up.
Getting a shout out at the start of the race was a nice introduction to 50km's of spinning our legs, and we were good to go.
After a crash, a mechanical, and my cleat giving, it was a case of, could anything else go wrong?! I ended up in the chasing group for the rest of the race. Was a bit disappointing, but still managed a 2nd in the chasing group sprint which was nice!
Now I'm back in Stoke and looking forward to racing the Nigel Measom memorial this weekend in Lutterworth, and catching up with my bestest pal Keira Mcvitty!
Ciao Ciao
