Make hay whilst the sun shines

Pressure is something we all have to deal with in our everyday lives.  A lot of people think the life of a cyclist is care free and more like a gap year than a tilt at being a professional.  But the truth is I feel pressure, from within, from the Rayner Fund who so generously support me and also from my team who put their faith in me and spend their energy working for me.  I try to feed off pressure… not in an ingenious weight loss way, but in a positive way where I dig that 1% deeper because of pressure.  My personal goal has been to crack the top 20 as early as possible this year and without trotting out the excuses I had so far failed with more top 40’s than a second string pop star, all without really threatening the single figures. 

Thursday was to be ‘ascension’ day in Belgium. It’s effectively a bank holiday so what better way to celebrate than by shutting the streets for a bike race!  This ensured a mid-week Kermisse of 119.5km was on the calendar.  I journeyed alone to the Village of Kumtich, not far from the Walloon border, knowing with my good form and a bit of luck that anything was possible.  My team entered 7 riders in the field of perhaps 120 but with many other teams all boasting a full team we were going to have to play the numbers game.  I got a real shock on lap 1 when the bunch turned up what seemed at first to be a small climb… and on and on it went until after over a kilometre of 10% gradient it flattened out over the top… not too bad but with a lap board that read ’16 to go’ this was going to become a race of attrition.  I had mediocre legs early on but with a break of 6 up the road and with 12 or so riders speeding off into the distance to join them I was forced to lay all my cards on the table with just 4 laps gone.  I took off over the summit of the climb, quickly finding top gear and being cheered on by the supportive crowd.  The gap was perhaps 12-15 seconds, enough to deter anyone from coming across with me.  I put my head down as the break snaked away on the descent through the village. I glided around the bends like Alberto Tomba using every inch of tarmac and honing in on the break.  The lactic acid was threatening to overcome my pursuit but in my head I recalled the frustration and disappointment of Mondays race where just that bit more effort would have changed everything.  I vented my frustration on the pedals, tagging onto the back of the break as the group hit the town cobbles halfway around the course.  The first few minutes were horrible, my face was screwed up in the sort of grimace you would associate with constipation. I was forcing my way through to the front, desperate to escape the clutches of the peloton.  After only 3km out in front we hit the climb once more.  I was in trouble as the speed and my recent exertions threatened to drop me from the group.  I decided to risk riding on the front, normally a sign of strength but this was no more than a bluff, I was at full throttle and all I was hoping for was that everyone would be satisfied at the pace and not push on any harder…. It worked.  Within a couple of laps we had mopped up the leaders and with another group having bridged across the break numbered nearly 30 riders.  I was nervous, I was obviously desperate for a good result and as long as the peloton was held at bay I was on for a top 30: so with that in mind I worked hard on the front of the break.  Each lap the break would split up on the climb before coming back together over the top with the exception of a couple of stragglers who were tailed off each ascent.  Back in the peloton many riders were having an even harder time with a dropout rate higher than the first week of a college sixth form.  With 5 laps to go I was beginning to struggle, my big turns on the front had ensured the race was over for the peloton and I was suddenly in with a shout of a top result.  I followed the crowds chants of ‘eaten jonge’ (eat boys) as I squeezed the gels in like a fatty at an all you can eat buffet, the last thing I wanted was to blow now.  To be completely honest I had scarcely been at the pointy end of a kermisse before.  I was tactically a bit naïve in the finale, a couple of groups of 4 skipped away on the flat.  I elected to ride the last climb at the head of the remaining break, more in the hope that I would still be in the group by the top than actually attempting to drop anyone.  As we approached the sprint for 13^th I lurked at the back of the group knowing the headwind coupled with a hard race meant I would be better sprinting late.  It worked out nearly perfectly as I burst round all but 1 rider in the closing metres to take a hard earned 14^th place. I was chuffed with the result, on a day where I was my team’s sole representative in the break and in front of my team manager.  I was rewarded with 15 euros, enough to cover the petrol but the real bonus was my breakthrough performance.  My manager had also been impressed, within 24 hours I had an email selecting me for 2 week long stage races in the month of July.   Seeing as this is my first ‘result’ of the season and my planned Oscars acceptance speech is long overdue, I owe a huge gratitude to the hard working volunteers who are helping to fund me out in Belgium, without the hard work and financial support of the Dave Rayner Fund I simply would not be able to ride over in Belgium.  My form is good at the moment; hence… make hay whilst the sun shines, se keep everything crossed for some more results to follow.  Below, the pressure is on, i'm 3rd from left.  Photo credit Laura Van Hasselt.