|
World
Championship Report
 
Leaving the US and going to race in Europe is a
huge challenge not just for an amateur; even the Pros experience the
same thing and no matter how fit you are, you are entering a whole
different world of bike racing!
As soon as you get on that plane you are out of
the comfort zone and everything is foreign to you. Time zones , travel , sleep, food ( I was lucky with
the language) in addition to trying to peak and staying healthy
leading up to the event is something that is hard to pull off.
I must say I felt really good riding the whole
week and excellent on race day as well!
It was pouring rain and about 180 guys signed up,
so the real deal! As soon as the gun went off the race was on, quite
different from how the races often are in the US. I
was never in any kind of trouble and was able to get to the front
somewhat easy, even off the front a few times -:).
I just was at the wrong place when the 6 man break went (I also raced
with guys I never seen before who were all pro caliber riders) and I
could not do anything about it! I was in a few small breaks
thereafter and we were pretty close to bridge , but since the course
was not that selective ( all big ring) and the average speed was over
40 kph( a lot of places 40 mph + speeds) it
did not happen. The last 12-15 miles were really fast on flat roads,
so finishing in the pack and staying upright was the only option.
Finishing 7th or 70th did not really matter at this point.
I am happy that I got to do this race and like I
said all the training( camps) and races I did this year prepared me
well for this type of event. The experience gained I hope to pass
onto our clients at FinKraft, it was not a
vacation after all-:) I learned a lot from
this trip for sure!
Thanks again for your support and I will see you
guys soon,
Roger
|
