Grand Prix d'Yquelon

Yet another beautiful day for racing here in Normandie yesterday, waking up we were greeted to the sound of birds chirping and a nice blue sky for the first day of spring. Although, naturally, the winds were still high and would likely be a big factor in the Grand Prix d'Yquelon. This race was a 1st category, so basically the highest you can go for amateur racing, and there are some pros thrown into the mix as well. Usually I race 2nd category, but since there were no other races going on in the region, I figured I'd have a go with the big guns and have some fun. Let me just start by saying there is certainly a notable increase in talent in the field, everyone seems to know what they're doing and are capable of making you wish there was a cat 2 race going on!

So by having a quick look at the race bible before the start, it looked like we would be doing a 40km loop, then 16 5km circuits to finish up on. Traditionally, the circuits are always extremely tough in Europe, partly because of the organizer's cruel sense of humor, and partly because there are 120-150 guys who want to kill you. Either way, it makes for lots of suffering, but really good racing when you finally get into the finishing town. With this knowledge, and judging by the really fast pace we set in the first 40km (pretty sure we averaged at least 50km/h), I was pretty convinced the big break that was a little ahead was going to come back on the circuits, so I waited patiently in the shelter of the pack. One thing I noticed right away is how much harder it is to hold a good position in these races, you can't get distracted for a second or 50 guys will go blowing past you and you'll find yourself looking about a kilometer up the road and seeing the front of the pack...not somewhere you want to be!

After what seemed like no time at all we were entering the circuits. This is always a deceptive time of the race, as you think you're almost done. You're getting ready to jettison your still full water bottles to kids in the crowd to lighten up, making sure you've got the jersey zipped up in case of a possible win, and everything else you might do as the race winds down to the end...but then you realize there is still 80km of horrible, painful suffering! Who came up with the idea for this?! Anyway, this circuit was no exception to the general trend of brutally tough laps, with a stiff headwind to start off, then some good road furniture to wreak havoc on the pack, a few chicanes, some good climbing, and then a tight 130 degree turn before a 400m kicker of a climb before the finish. This meant for a lot of accelerations, making it inevitable that the pack was going to split. I got towards the front as quick as possible, because it was clear that people were going to start letting gaps open and there would be groups forming left and right. Thankfully, shortly after I made my way into the first quarter of the pack, there was a big split, and I was on the good end of it. Now we were about 25 guys, and rolling along pretty good, bringing the 30 odd leaders back. When they were at about 30 seconds, with 30-35km to go, things looked really good for it all coming back together. There was a guy who jumped to try to get across the gap on his own, and he was joined by one or two more, but I didn't think it would be smart to waste energy bridging a gap with a small group, since it seemed pretty certain the whole group was going to make it. I sat tight where I was. This proved to be a mistake. Shortly after the trio of riders from our group got out of site, things started to go wrong in our group. It seemed everyone wanted to solo across to the break, instead of just keeping the rhythm we had and everyone making it. This resulted in a bunch of people attacking, then everyone chasing them down and coming to a grinding stop, before another person would jump and we would repeat the process again! Needless to say, this did nothing to bring the gap down to the break. We were so close, but then didn't finish it off.

So, with 15km to go I was contemplating what to do. I toyed with the idea of having one last kick at the can, trying to get up to the break, which was at about a minute. I'm not sure what motivated me to do this, maybe the thought of burning a few extra calories, a good 20 minute power profile, or just to see if I could make up that time over this field, but in the end I decided to stick my nose in the wind and have a go at it. Over the climb that leads to the finish, I attacked into the headwind with 15km to go. I got a good gap and then just set into time trial mode. It was at this point where I was kicking myself for not going across with the group of 3, when the gap was half the size, but it's easy to say that looking back on the situation. In any case, I could see what appeared to be the tail end of the break swooping around a corner not too far up the road, and I thought I could make it in time. The only problem is when I got close enough to see then before disappearing into the corner, what I thought was the tail end was actually the whole group. The break had split into 3, and this was the trailing edge of that original break. So, although I did get across the gap, the race was long gone, so I spun along with these guys for the remaining couple of kilometers and called it a day. I think I finished 34th or something, and being the only Junior in the race was recognized for the "top junior" category that they usually have at these races. So, all in all it was a good day at the office, learned a lot racing with this many talented riders, and had a good time doing it. Next week is back down with in the category I usually race, so we'll see how I do in that after yesterday. Then on April 4th I have a national level junior race which consists of a time trial in the morning and a road race in the afternoon. I can't wait to see how I stack up against some of the guys I'll be seeing later in the spring at the bigger races. Thanks for tuning in!