One of my major season goals was the Isle of man stage race. It's only on every two years and was missed last time with coronavirus. My form is excellent at the moment (I came 29th at Lancaster Grand Prix the previous week) and I really wanted to do well.
The race consists of four stages over 3 days. An evening cuircuit race, a 40km kermesse around an airfiled, a 10 mile time trial and rounded off by a 135km hilly queen stage which I was targetting due to its hilly nature. I was racing with three teammates: Kieran Riley, George Peden and Jacques Coates. They are all strong lads and enthusiastic to race at this level.
The race consists of four stages over 3 days. An evening cuircuit race, a 40km kermesse around an airfiled, a 10 mile time trial and rounded off by a 135km hilly queen stage which I was targetting due to its hilly nature. I was racing with three teammates: Kieran Riley, George Peden and Jacques Coates. They are all strong lads and enthusiastic to race at this level.
Stage 1 - Evening Circuit Race
This is absolutely not my forte, I'm strong but don't really like the argy-bargy or technicality required to perform well. The dream was that it would be more of a procession stage and finishing with a bunch kick rather than absolutely nails for an hours.
With its flowing corners the course wasn't super technical. We were in for a total of 40 laps and I just had to hang on for an hour. Easier said than done.
My race started pretty poorly. Whilst I got to the start first, I foolishly turned back to spin my legs to keep warm. When I got back to the grid everyone had overtaken me and I had to begin from last row. If we started easy this would be ok, I would be able to move up and hold position at the front.
Of course it didn't pan out like this it was raced at full gas from the start. I was moving up where I could but in hindsight I should have made more effort immediately rather than getting into it slowly. Riders kept getting dropped and I had to keep overtaking. The pace at the front was relentless and eventually so many gaps started to open up I wasn't able to get myself into the front group.
It was a nightmare from there onwards. I was stuck in a chase group with some of the weaker riders and we just kept bleeding time. After 20 laps we got lapped. Then we got lapped again 10 laps later. We got pulled out with three laps to go and I'd shipped a bucket load of time.
I continued for a cool down lap before pulling off the course to watch the finish. Kieran managed to score a highly respectable 15th place but Jacques and George were also lapped and had to pull out with 3 laps to go. It wasn't the best evening for us. It got slightly worse for me because they included my cooling down lap into my total time! The worst event for me was over and tomorrow I could start to race my way.
With its flowing corners the course wasn't super technical. We were in for a total of 40 laps and I just had to hang on for an hour. Easier said than done.
My race started pretty poorly. Whilst I got to the start first, I foolishly turned back to spin my legs to keep warm. When I got back to the grid everyone had overtaken me and I had to begin from last row. If we started easy this would be ok, I would be able to move up and hold position at the front.
Of course it didn't pan out like this it was raced at full gas from the start. I was moving up where I could but in hindsight I should have made more effort immediately rather than getting into it slowly. Riders kept getting dropped and I had to keep overtaking. The pace at the front was relentless and eventually so many gaps started to open up I wasn't able to get myself into the front group.
It was a nightmare from there onwards. I was stuck in a chase group with some of the weaker riders and we just kept bleeding time. After 20 laps we got lapped. Then we got lapped again 10 laps later. We got pulled out with three laps to go and I'd shipped a bucket load of time.
I continued for a cool down lap before pulling off the course to watch the finish. Kieran managed to score a highly respectable 15th place but Jacques and George were also lapped and had to pull out with 3 laps to go. It wasn't the best evening for us. It got slightly worse for me because they included my cooling down lap into my total time! The worst event for me was over and tomorrow I could start to race my way.
Stage 2 - Kermesse
Following the disaster on stage 1, I was back with a vengeance for the kermesse. I felt decent and had recovered well overnight. I was ready to race.
The course was short, only 40km, consisting of fifteen 2.65km laps of the flat and exposed Jurby circuit. My dream was a procession stage finishing with a bunch sprint and worst case scenario absolutely shredded from the gun in the crosswinds.
Having learned my lesson, I started front row this time. We eased steadily into the race we ticked off the first 3 laps without even blinking. I was getting used to the corners and wind conditions during this first period.
During the next lap the race finally kicked off. A few Wiv Sungod and Ribble riders (plus James Jenkins) attacked and got a small gap. Saint Piran got to the front and started to chase hard. This change in tempo started to split my group. We were lined out through the crosswinds and I found Kieran to help guide me.
Riding hard through the wind, he started to lose the wheel, I yelled "NO, HOLD IT, HOLD IT". He couldn't, so I had to overtake him and avoided getting spat.
We were approaching the main chicane and I overtook George on the approach so I could follow Connor McGoldrick through. This might have been my best/luckiest move in the race. As we went through the chicane, Conner braked too aggressively and slid out. As I was right behind him I managed to dodge it and hopped back up to the group. I was the only person to avoid this incident. Annoyingly George was taken out and damaged his bike which virtually ended his stage race. Jacques was also caught out and shipped three minutes.
This chase group was still going balls out. I was hanging around trying to get to the front. Every time we passed the pits, Paul (team manager) yelled "move up!" This was easier said than done. He was right though because people started to tire and this group splintered again. This time I was behind the split. I saw it fracture and got myself to the front to chase across.
An Embark rider was pulling at the front, trying to close the gap but he wasn't strong enouh abd I could see it just getting bigger. It was now or never.
I let him start to die, then attacked hard to spank it across. It was very hard actually, I had to do over 500W into the crosswind for 80 seconds. Fortunately I got a bit of help from Joe Shillabeer and with his assistance we bridged just before the chicane. I was dead pleased to make this split and we shelled a lot of riders with this. It didn't end the effort unfortunately.
Saint Piran kept railing it through the crosswinds and I nearly got dropped after my big bridge! I held on, managed to move forwards and settle down for a bit. I just stayed safe from there, saved my legs and rolled in to the finish with that group. It had been a tougher than expected. When it was kicking off, I had to average 380W for 8.5 minutes to stick with my group and I averaged 320W (345NP) for the last 50 minutes.
I treated it as a success. I raced smart and hard. Every time it was splitting I made the front group. I came 36th and lost 31 seconds to the small group up the road but gained two and a half minutes on everyone behind.
The course was short, only 40km, consisting of fifteen 2.65km laps of the flat and exposed Jurby circuit. My dream was a procession stage finishing with a bunch sprint and worst case scenario absolutely shredded from the gun in the crosswinds.
Having learned my lesson, I started front row this time. We eased steadily into the race we ticked off the first 3 laps without even blinking. I was getting used to the corners and wind conditions during this first period.
During the next lap the race finally kicked off. A few Wiv Sungod and Ribble riders (plus James Jenkins) attacked and got a small gap. Saint Piran got to the front and started to chase hard. This change in tempo started to split my group. We were lined out through the crosswinds and I found Kieran to help guide me.
Riding hard through the wind, he started to lose the wheel, I yelled "NO, HOLD IT, HOLD IT". He couldn't, so I had to overtake him and avoided getting spat.
We were approaching the main chicane and I overtook George on the approach so I could follow Connor McGoldrick through. This might have been my best/luckiest move in the race. As we went through the chicane, Conner braked too aggressively and slid out. As I was right behind him I managed to dodge it and hopped back up to the group. I was the only person to avoid this incident. Annoyingly George was taken out and damaged his bike which virtually ended his stage race. Jacques was also caught out and shipped three minutes.
This chase group was still going balls out. I was hanging around trying to get to the front. Every time we passed the pits, Paul (team manager) yelled "move up!" This was easier said than done. He was right though because people started to tire and this group splintered again. This time I was behind the split. I saw it fracture and got myself to the front to chase across.
An Embark rider was pulling at the front, trying to close the gap but he wasn't strong enouh abd I could see it just getting bigger. It was now or never.
I let him start to die, then attacked hard to spank it across. It was very hard actually, I had to do over 500W into the crosswind for 80 seconds. Fortunately I got a bit of help from Joe Shillabeer and with his assistance we bridged just before the chicane. I was dead pleased to make this split and we shelled a lot of riders with this. It didn't end the effort unfortunately.
Saint Piran kept railing it through the crosswinds and I nearly got dropped after my big bridge! I held on, managed to move forwards and settle down for a bit. I just stayed safe from there, saved my legs and rolled in to the finish with that group. It had been a tougher than expected. When it was kicking off, I had to average 380W for 8.5 minutes to stick with my group and I averaged 320W (345NP) for the last 50 minutes.
I treated it as a success. I raced smart and hard. Every time it was splitting I made the front group. I came 36th and lost 31 seconds to the small group up the road but gained two and a half minutes on everyone behind.
Stage 3 - 10 mile time trial
Finally it was my time to shine. I'd survived the first two stages and my legs still felt pretty good. I've been doing a lot of time trialling this year, for both fun and prep for this stage. Out of the 6 I've done, I've won 4, had a 3rd place and a 5th place so I have some pedigree. The only downside was that this course was a very flat, out and back 10 miler. I'm much more suited to the hilly ones and struggle on the flat ones compared to the bigger guys.
They have the strength to churn a bigger gear than me, I can't quite get on top of the ratios they can. Still; I'm good at pacing, have an aerodynamic position and do actually have some watts.
As with the kermesse, the wind was still ravaging with a pure crosswind of over 20mph for the entire course. On the other hand the route went through a place called St Judes, it was custom built for me. I borrowed a 50mm deep wheel from Nicole Coates, Jacques sister. I joked with her that it was the fastest it had ever been. This might have been ture but she then came 3rd on the women's queen stage.
They have the strength to churn a bigger gear than me, I can't quite get on top of the ratios they can. Still; I'm good at pacing, have an aerodynamic position and do actually have some watts.
As with the kermesse, the wind was still ravaging with a pure crosswind of over 20mph for the entire course. On the other hand the route went through a place called St Judes, it was custom built for me. I borrowed a 50mm deep wheel from Nicole Coates, Jacques sister. I joked with her that it was the fastest it had ever been. This might have been ture but she then came 3rd on the women's queen stage.
Start times were based on GC ranking and I had Josh Housley as my minute man. I found him before the start to get into his head by asking him "when am I gonna catch you?". He laughed but knew I was going to catch him.
I set off well, a controlled start to get myself going but quickly got my head down and pressed on. In no time I was at St Judes, blessed by my namesake I cracked on. Approaching the dead turn at the halfway mark I could see Josh. He wasn't far ahead now. Game on.
He beat me to the turn by about 200m, so I sprinted out of it to catch him soon after. I flew past yelling "jump on!"
Once I passed Josh, I really got into the groove. I felt great and could really churn a good gear. With the strava live segment on I could see how far remained and when it came down to the last 2km I went all in.
I completed the course in a time of 21:25 with an average of 360W. My effort placed me in 20th place. Irritatingly if I'd have gone just one second faster I would have been 17th but my aim was top 20 so I made that! If I do say so myself I paced it really well. For the first half I did 355W and then raised it to 365W for the return leg. It's not often I can do a negative split like that but I paced it so well. This lifted me up to 39th on GC, just 10 seconds ahead of Jacques.
I set off well, a controlled start to get myself going but quickly got my head down and pressed on. In no time I was at St Judes, blessed by my namesake I cracked on. Approaching the dead turn at the halfway mark I could see Josh. He wasn't far ahead now. Game on.
He beat me to the turn by about 200m, so I sprinted out of it to catch him soon after. I flew past yelling "jump on!"
Once I passed Josh, I really got into the groove. I felt great and could really churn a good gear. With the strava live segment on I could see how far remained and when it came down to the last 2km I went all in.
I completed the course in a time of 21:25 with an average of 360W. My effort placed me in 20th place. Irritatingly if I'd have gone just one second faster I would have been 17th but my aim was top 20 so I made that! If I do say so myself I paced it really well. For the first half I did 355W and then raised it to 365W for the return leg. It's not often I can do a negative split like that but I paced it so well. This lifted me up to 39th on GC, just 10 seconds ahead of Jacques.
Stage 4 - 85 mile queen stage
The final stage featured a full lap of the famous Isle of Man TT course including the climb Snaefell Mountain 40km intothe race. This was followed by a 28km lap featuring the formidable Injebreck climb. Once we descended back into Douglas, the race would complete six, seven kilometre laps.
The race could develop in multiple ways and I was hoping I'd planned for them all. To me, the most likely seemed to be that Wiv Sungod would press on up Snaefell, reduce the bunch to the best climbers then ignite it up Injebreck.
Total climbing: 2100m
1) Glen Helen 70m, 1.44km at 4.2%
2) Snaefell Mountain 340m, 5.06km at 6.7%
3) Injebreck 224m, 1.81km at 12.4%
The race could develop in multiple ways and I was hoping I'd planned for them all. To me, the most likely seemed to be that Wiv Sungod would press on up Snaefell, reduce the bunch to the best climbers then ignite it up Injebreck.
Total climbing: 2100m
1) Glen Helen 70m, 1.44km at 4.2%
2) Snaefell Mountain 340m, 5.06km at 6.7%
3) Injebreck 224m, 1.81km at 12.4%
I was very pleased when a soft break went early on so we could cruise up Glen Helen. I got myself positioned at the front for it, but it was taken steady and we let the breakaway establish a gap for us (Wiv Sungod) to chase. It was actually so cruisey to Ramsey. We had a stiff tailwind but with Wiv maintaining the pace, I could chill. For the first 50 minutes I averaged only 192W but with a speed of 46kph!
As we were nearing Ramsey and the base of Snaefell, I convened with Jacques and said "how far have we been?" and he replied with "it's in about 1-2km."
Duly informed, I chopped my way along the side of the road and as we hit the base of Snaefell I made the 400W effort for 90 seconds to get right to the front. I started the climb in 6th wheel. Absolutely ideal because I had the opportunity to follow attacks if the pace was savage from the start.
Even though it was pleasant in the sun riding along the coast, almost as soon as we hit Ramsey, the heavens truly opened. It was absolutely torrential rain and coupled with the obscene headwind it was very grim indeed.
Whilst the climb is long, it's only particularly hard for the first 5km where it averages 7%. Past that, the gradient eases to 1% but it drags like this for another 7km. To save my legs I kept it in a very light gear and just span my way up at 100rpm. It didn't feel particularly difficult, if you sheltered in the wheels, the pace was comfortable. The wind deterred attacks until the last couple of kilometers but as we had reeled in the break nothing was getting away before Injebreck.
A couple of days before the race we did a reconnoitre of the short loop and it was apparent just how difficult the Injebreck climb was. Not only that but the lanes approaching the climb were very narrow and rough. There is very little room to move up and positioning would be vital.
On the recce I had mentally noted a point where I needed to move up before the base. I knew that every rider I overtook before it started was one less person to overtake on the climb. I spent a bit of energy getting to the front but as we did the dead, hairpin turn at the base I was in the top 10 wheels. Ideal. Dan Gardner immediately attacked and he was followed by with Peter Kimber and Stuart Balfour from Ribble.
As we were nearing Ramsey and the base of Snaefell, I convened with Jacques and said "how far have we been?" and he replied with "it's in about 1-2km."
Duly informed, I chopped my way along the side of the road and as we hit the base of Snaefell I made the 400W effort for 90 seconds to get right to the front. I started the climb in 6th wheel. Absolutely ideal because I had the opportunity to follow attacks if the pace was savage from the start.
Even though it was pleasant in the sun riding along the coast, almost as soon as we hit Ramsey, the heavens truly opened. It was absolutely torrential rain and coupled with the obscene headwind it was very grim indeed.
Whilst the climb is long, it's only particularly hard for the first 5km where it averages 7%. Past that, the gradient eases to 1% but it drags like this for another 7km. To save my legs I kept it in a very light gear and just span my way up at 100rpm. It didn't feel particularly difficult, if you sheltered in the wheels, the pace was comfortable. The wind deterred attacks until the last couple of kilometers but as we had reeled in the break nothing was getting away before Injebreck.
A couple of days before the race we did a reconnoitre of the short loop and it was apparent just how difficult the Injebreck climb was. Not only that but the lanes approaching the climb were very narrow and rough. There is very little room to move up and positioning would be vital.
On the recce I had mentally noted a point where I needed to move up before the base. I knew that every rider I overtook before it started was one less person to overtake on the climb. I spent a bit of energy getting to the front but as we did the dead, hairpin turn at the base I was in the top 10 wheels. Ideal. Dan Gardner immediately attacked and he was followed by with Peter Kimber and Stuart Balfour from Ribble.
This prompted Wiv Sungod to set an infernal pace. We overheard them after the race and they discussed how they were on the limit up there, they are human after all... I was just focussing on myself and managed to keep my balance crawling over the cattle grid. The pace from Wiv didn't relent at all and I was on the limit. I just had to focus on holding the wheel to the rider in front.
With the live segment on I could see we were nearing the end of the first red section. I was still with the leaders and riders were dropping away from us.
and as we started to hit the next red section I was in trouble. I started to overtake Jake Scott but then I too started to get gapped. I plugged away and managed to close the gap when the pace eased. I was pacing myself to not go too deep when they were surging.
The pace remained unsustainably hard. I was in a dark place. The mist had come in now and visibility was down to 20 meters. It was really grim. I had negative thoughts telling me to quit and I started to lose the wheel but as it eased in the last 150m I dug deep and held on. We crested; I knew I'd done it. I was literally the last rider to make this elite selection.
I was there literally competing and proving myself with the best in the UK race scene. This wasn't just down to my fitness but positioning and race craft too. I was on the limit most of the way up there, if I had had to overtake cyclists who got dropped I wouldn't have been able to keep surging my way up, I would have been spat. For the 7:30 effort I averaged 390W which is there or there about 6W/kg. On it's own, I can do that effort in training but I was three days into a stage race and two hours into the stage. A side note here is that the next group crested more than 40 seconds after us. We had gone quick!
As we started the descent to the turn, visibility was at a low and the left hand corner was tough to take. Jake Scott had to unclip to balance his way around it. We hit the cattle grid at the bottom, took a right turn back over another cattle grid and carried on climbing.
Normally I'd have been ok with this, it was only 3%, but we were right at the top of the mountain and this exposure caused insane crosswinds. I was still in last wheel and didn't have the strength to move up any further. Jacques was also climbing well and was several places ahead.
The winds were some of the harshest conditions I've ever ridden in. It was approximately 30mph winds and Wiv were absolutely caning it. Were were lined out in the gutter riding at 400W and Ben Perry got spat. He finished Paris Roubaix last year so has some pedigree. I surged past him and followed George Wood from Giant Sheffield. He then got blown into the grass so I overtook him.
Then it was my turn, the wind was so strong and the pace so high I couldn't do it anymore. I'd just done a humongous climbing effort, had literally 62 seconds of recovery on the descent before it was shredded in the crosswinds. I just couldn't keep up any more and let the wheel go.
All my effort to be in the top 15 gone.
It was a different world at the top, I could see honestly 15m ahead and the wind was battering me so hard it was difficult to stay on the road. I put the map onto my wahoo so I could actually see how the road went. I was in a lonely place. I had no idea if anyone was behind me so I carried on solo.
Sure enough, a couple of kilometers later a group of 5 caught me. Leon Mazzone, Jamieson Blaine, Tyler Hannay, Ben Perry and a Richardson Trek Rider. Without fail each one of demanded to know "how far away are they?!" None of them liked my answer of "absolutely miles". Regardless, I immediately joined the paceline and we set off nailing it through the crosswinds and then down the descent.
We still couldn't see anything but when we got farther down the mountain the mist started to clear and a group was in sight. This inspired us and we spanked it across to catch them. We were going so hard to make it and we caught them right at the base. Hilariously Jacques who was 10 seconds behind me on GC at the start of the day was one of these and when I caught him I yelled "I'm not giving you that 10 seconds".
Normally I'd have been ok with this, it was only 3%, but we were right at the top of the mountain and this exposure caused insane crosswinds. I was still in last wheel and didn't have the strength to move up any further. Jacques was also climbing well and was several places ahead.
The winds were some of the harshest conditions I've ever ridden in. It was approximately 30mph winds and Wiv were absolutely caning it. Were were lined out in the gutter riding at 400W and Ben Perry got spat. He finished Paris Roubaix last year so has some pedigree. I surged past him and followed George Wood from Giant Sheffield. He then got blown into the grass so I overtook him.
Then it was my turn, the wind was so strong and the pace so high I couldn't do it anymore. I'd just done a humongous climbing effort, had literally 62 seconds of recovery on the descent before it was shredded in the crosswinds. I just couldn't keep up any more and let the wheel go.
All my effort to be in the top 15 gone.
It was a different world at the top, I could see honestly 15m ahead and the wind was battering me so hard it was difficult to stay on the road. I put the map onto my wahoo so I could actually see how the road went. I was in a lonely place. I had no idea if anyone was behind me so I carried on solo.
Sure enough, a couple of kilometers later a group of 5 caught me. Leon Mazzone, Jamieson Blaine, Tyler Hannay, Ben Perry and a Richardson Trek Rider. Without fail each one of demanded to know "how far away are they?!" None of them liked my answer of "absolutely miles". Regardless, I immediately joined the paceline and we set off nailing it through the crosswinds and then down the descent.
We still couldn't see anything but when we got farther down the mountain the mist started to clear and a group was in sight. This inspired us and we spanked it across to catch them. We were going so hard to make it and we caught them right at the base. Hilariously Jacques who was 10 seconds behind me on GC at the start of the day was one of these and when I caught him I yelled "I'm not giving you that 10 seconds".
We combined forces and started to chase. The group that I had been spat from had split further along. This wasn't actually that bad a situation for me. I had a teammate in Jacques so we use this to our advantage. Our downfall was that Zeb Kiffin was there. He was just riding really annoyingly, he was basically the reason we didn't all just work together rolling turns. He would keep attacking, chasing and slowing us down. We needed him to sit on the back and leave us to it rather than distrupting.
For the first lap we did a good job of pulling turns together. I had recovered now and started to attack. I had half a lap off the front with Leon, got caught, then half a lap with Tyler but each time I only half commited and we got brought back. Nothing was sticking until the penultimate lap.
When just like that, I got away with 4 other riders. We went all out, I was totally committed to this move and genuinely thought this was going to be successfull. Then Jamieson Blaine said "stop doing chain gang and do longer turns". This signalled game over, we needed to do short, hard turns to get the gap but they were all goosed and this through and off surging was killing them.
We got caught and we were going to have to sprint it out for 14th place. I still had better intentions and tried to emulate Lukas Pöstlberger in stage 1 of 2017 Giro. With 1.7km to go I hit out on the descent. I got a gap and railed it. I averaged 60kph for 50 seconds before hitting the chicance before the line. They caught me at this point but I then did an all out attack and sprinted for the line.
I gave absolutely everything I could until I blew catastrophically with 2-300m to go. We were lined out and I was still at the front. I swung off but no body came around. I had gone so hard that I had killed the sprint. We had less than 200m to go and still no one was sprinting. Eventually somebody kicked it off and I rolled in with the group in 24th place on the stage.
In my attack I had averaged 600W for 30 seconds, the peak of the race! Maybe I should have waited for 200m but I was never going to win that sprint. It was fun to roll the dice and the time gained on those behind elevated me to 29th place.
It turned out to be one of the most enjoyable races I've ever done. I felt great, raced great and it nearly came together for me. Shout out to Ben Granger, Adam Mitchell and Finn Crocket who got dropped in the crosswinds, then spent 50 minutes chasing to get back into the front group. Jacques also pumped me in the sprint to comd 21st but finished in the same time. He didn't gain those ten seconds.
For the first lap we did a good job of pulling turns together. I had recovered now and started to attack. I had half a lap off the front with Leon, got caught, then half a lap with Tyler but each time I only half commited and we got brought back. Nothing was sticking until the penultimate lap.
When just like that, I got away with 4 other riders. We went all out, I was totally committed to this move and genuinely thought this was going to be successfull. Then Jamieson Blaine said "stop doing chain gang and do longer turns". This signalled game over, we needed to do short, hard turns to get the gap but they were all goosed and this through and off surging was killing them.
We got caught and we were going to have to sprint it out for 14th place. I still had better intentions and tried to emulate Lukas Pöstlberger in stage 1 of 2017 Giro. With 1.7km to go I hit out on the descent. I got a gap and railed it. I averaged 60kph for 50 seconds before hitting the chicance before the line. They caught me at this point but I then did an all out attack and sprinted for the line.
I gave absolutely everything I could until I blew catastrophically with 2-300m to go. We were lined out and I was still at the front. I swung off but no body came around. I had gone so hard that I had killed the sprint. We had less than 200m to go and still no one was sprinting. Eventually somebody kicked it off and I rolled in with the group in 24th place on the stage.
In my attack I had averaged 600W for 30 seconds, the peak of the race! Maybe I should have waited for 200m but I was never going to win that sprint. It was fun to roll the dice and the time gained on those behind elevated me to 29th place.
It turned out to be one of the most enjoyable races I've ever done. I felt great, raced great and it nearly came together for me. Shout out to Ben Granger, Adam Mitchell and Finn Crocket who got dropped in the crosswinds, then spent 50 minutes chasing to get back into the front group. Jacques also pumped me in the sprint to comd 21st but finished in the same time. He didn't gain those ten seconds.
My opinions on the event
It was great fun, I had a brilliant time with the team and it was well worth the trip over. I really appreciated all their support and encouragement. Even when it didn't go our way, we rallied together and made the best of it.
Personally, I had fantastic legs. I'm in good condition and that showed with my performances in the Kermesse, time trial and road race. I let myself down on stage 1. Without such a catastrophe there I would have been close to a top 20. I have Ryedale in a month where I can feel a top 20 brewing.
It was great fun, I had a brilliant time with the team and it was well worth the trip over. I really appreciated all their support and encouragement. Even when it didn't go our way, we rallied together and made the best of it.
Personally, I had fantastic legs. I'm in good condition and that showed with my performances in the Kermesse, time trial and road race. I let myself down on stage 1. Without such a catastrophe there I would have been close to a top 20. I have Ryedale in a month where I can feel a top 20 brewing.
