Sorry this is an overdue report but to tell you the truth theres not much to report about for the 3rd stage of Tour of Belgium. My director had asked me pre stage to follow any moves early on and take the intermediate sprints so nobody could take the jersey from team mate Fabio.
All was going well, i was following things, went through my hometown and saw the kiwi flag on the side of the road and that was amazing. Became a talking point of the peloton. Anyway I was getting over the hills nicely with the front of the race. Did some bottle runs back to the car for the team, burried myself to get Fabio back up to the peloton after one of the hills and we made contact then i got another puncture. I chased through the following cars, went crazy while my director followed with his heart in his mouth. For 20km i hung in the cars but due to a lot of corners and being a very tired boy i was not able to rejoin. Got to the feed zone and hopped in the van, with half my team.
Unfortunately Fabio lost the sprint jersey on the last day on a count-back.
So thats why this report has been hard to get out. It was a big dissapointment in my mind, but my director and the rest of the support team were very happy and supportive of me which i was very grateful of. Im not sure why to tell you the truth as i was only able to follow things and it was like starting racing in europe all over again. Not strong enough to ride up the front for long periods and things like that.
It was a big learning experience, just looking around at breakfast and you see guys you look up to and watch on tv, It was something else! And i look foward to mixing it up with them more in the future.
Now i am looking for different tyres. The brand i have been using never gave me any trouble for years, but 4 punctures its time to move on to something else.
I now look to my next races, 17th is Romsee-Stavelot-Romsee and then Fleche Ardennaise on the 22nd. The later of the 2 was won a few years ago by a kiwi and both races are only kilometers from my house so i know the course's well.
Until then i will be not doing too much. Still trying to get over belgium tour, my legs still ache.
Ryan
1 comment:
Well why don't you come back home and keep me company. I said I'd bring you bad luck when you left me alone and now you know I'm true to my word. I told my mates to nibble at your wheels. Look closely and you'll see the teeth marks!
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