I was selected for the British team to race at this years World Championships in Denmark, a country I’ve never visited unless you count a quick drive through on route to Sweden. One week later and I still haven’t seen any more of Denmark other than some suburb near Copenhagen!
My teammates arrived from various points in Europe on the Tuesday and we had chance of a good catch up over dinner cooked by the Sky Team chef. Only the elite riders were allowed to sample the chef’s food and use his deluxe coffee machine which felt a bit odd as everyone else came down to eat buffet food and we were presented with homemade breads and salad with cucumber shavings and a red sauce spread neatly around the outside like something off Masterchef! It was all really nice and healthy though we all added bits from the buffet when he wasn’t looking! He always made dessert too, which was usually a healthier version of the buffet dessert just to stop us straying which I’m afraid I did on more than one occasion to avoid the nuts he seemed to add to everything.
Training leading up to the race was mainly out to the circuit and round splitting up to fit our own intervals in. I always hate tapering for a big race as you spend the entire week analyzing your legs, how did they feel? Tired from a massage? Sore so in need of a deeper massage or a lighter one to avoid making them sore? Too much training last week? Too little? Plus all the sitting around the hotel makes you feel so lethargic its hard firstly to get going on the bike then once going to keep it steady and not use all that nervous pent up energy!
Despite the nervous moments the team was in great spirits with medals flying in every day, a bronze and silver by Emma P and Bradley in the TT and a gold and bronze for the junior girls and U23 guys. The days were also filled with massages and physio sessions digging deep into my problem shoulder and taping it up with Union Jack tape. We also painted our nails, Sharon and Lizzie managing the full Union Jack on each finger while I still made a mess of making mine dark blue.
Finally Saturday came. Holding off breakfast till 10 I filled up on cereal and bread and felt stuffed right up to the 1.30pm start time. Arriving at the race we were taken into the Sky bus… what a bus. It was huge yet only had about 10 reclining chairs each with ipod docking stations, an area for all your stuff and a choice of clear or frosted windows. The toilet had a Dyson hand dryer in with a shower opposite and a room at the back for leg rubs and cupboards full of snacks and energy drinks. At the front was a TV with a huge screen behind and surround sound music system. I could have hidden in there all day but instead went for an early warm up as I guessed once we’d signed they’d be little time.
The race started in front of a large crowd including some friends from Whitby, Rene from Rapha and a few other friendly faces. It was a nervous peleton with attacks from the first lap though they never lasted long enough or hard enough to split up the field. I guess all the top nations had one thing on their minds: a big bunch sprint. No doubt many girls were given the same jobs as myself, Sharon and Emma which was to make sure nothing went away without one of us in and not to drive any breaks away. While exciting for us to do those jobs, it maybe wasn’t the most exciting race to watch and with the fast rolling roads only one Canadian managed to get away for a lap. I was feeling great and concentrated on staying round the front, which felt far safer than in the middle. Working hard I was on my last legs when a girl rode into my back wheel breaking two spokes so I had to stop to change wheels. With no help allowed from the car I had a long chase back. I got right up to 3rd car before realizing they’d all just slowed down for a bend and once round they all sped back off. The second corner though I got even further up and hugged the back of any car I could find before catching my breath and darting round to the next one. Nearly a lap later I was back on and got back to the front in time for the last lap. My last effort was made chasing an Italian back 3km to go. Once back I drifted back with her while everyone sprinted past at which point a crash went right across the road stopping me and Sharon in our tracks. We didn’t fall but I do remember having to pull my foot from someone’s wheel no doubt breaking a few of their spokes which I found quite ironic!!
All we could do at that point was roll to the finish listening out as to whether to celebrate or not. Unfortunately there was no GB mention in the medals with Nicole 4th again and Lizzie hugely disappointed with 7th having been caught up behind another crash. I had mixed feeling; pleased with my legs, massively disappointed for the team, relived that we were all at least in one piece, shattered from my efforts and drained from concentrating so much so I had instant bags under my eyes!
I didn’t make the night out (in fact me and Katie nearly didn’t make dinner getting ourselves stuck in a lift). The caffeine wore off enough to make me feel lousy but not enough to let me sleep till 2am, plus while it was the end of the season for most, mine was just getting underway!
 |
| Deep in concentration! |
No comments:
Post a Comment