Lebbeke

On previous form, the race at Lebbeke on Wednesday should have been a disaster; the short 5 kilometre loop littered with narrow, very twisty lanes has never been a forte of mine, having never really excelled on criterium 'interval' style courses. Being an U23 race, quite predictably we started flat-out, and even just missing the pedal out the start left me toward the back end of the 50 strong peloton. Almost instantly through the narrow lanes a group of 9 split off the front, and a frantic chase emerged, as relentless attacking to jump into the break occurred. However, it was not until half way through the race, some 10 laps in, that the race split apart. In front of the peloton were 2 groups, both with a strong but not uncatchable margin. Feeling good after around an hour of the race I decided to attempt to bridge up to the break, about a gap of a minute. Quickly I found myself with around 15 other riders, having forced a split through the technical section of the course. We quickly settled into chasing those ahead, but after a few kilometres of 'though and off', it became very apparent that in a group that large, many were willing just to sit on the back, refusing to do any work and add to the chase. In what was a successful, albeit unpopular move, I decided to attack out of the group to move clear of those sitting on the wheels. Very quickly the group was down to 10 riders, and a proper chase was initiated, although still 2 or 3 of the group were still content to sit on for the free ride.

After a couple of laps, we caught the group ahead, forming a final chase group of 20, with still 9 riders leading by a solid 3 minutes at this point with a further 2 riders behind them. With such a large number of riders, and far too much of a time deficit to the leaders, everyone seemed content just to ride to the finish and contest the sprint for 12th. As the pace gradually slowed, I seized the opportunity to attack. Followed by one rider, we quickly gained a gap and took long turns to open the lead. However, my fellow escapee was of the weak variety, and after not long had dropped back off my wheel. Feeling somewhat inspired by the ride of Carlos Barredo in the previous stage of 'le tour' (but not his wheel throwing antics), I too set my sights on a solo 40km ride to the line. With somewhat less at stake and somewhat less talent, I held a 30 second lead for 20km before being reabsorbed into the group. With a counter-attack of 3 riders moving clear in the final laps, I prepared for the sprint for 15th, narrowly missing out by what could not have been more than centimetres. Another top 20 ride in the proverbial bag, and the first race back that I have felt comfortable and strong. Now to relaunch the second half of the season off this performance.