It’s important not to look a gift horse in the mouth.
I was expecting between 6 and 8 laps today.
We only had to do 5.
Bonus.
So the game would basically be: how many laps can I hold on for, before I am inevitably dropped on the Clyde Kicker?
OK, so bit late on the bike. I’d have enjoyed a longer warm up, but things went a little wrong at the day job – not related to me, thankfully – and as such I was on with about 7 minutes to go before the race kicked off.
I picked a warm up using the pace bots on the Scotland map, thus reducing (or even eliminating) any lost time due to ‘world swap’.
In theory that should have meant maximising my warm up time, but in truth I managed about 4 minutes of very light pedalling before I joined the event with two minutes left to tick down.
There was a decent number on today. 71 racers. Usually it’s around the 40 to 50 mark, so we had a sizeable field for a change. Would that mean anything, come the inevitable drop point?
Once underway, it became apparent that my warm up had me woefully under prepared. The front 50 or so shot out of the pens, and I was caught short. Fortunately the size of the pack, and the fresh legs made short work of that. But it was a sign of things to come.
It was pretty wild, and telling, today that even by the first corner of the first lap (after the 300m lead in), I was already at the back of a 50 strong snake.
Things kind of settled down momentarily, in the lull before the first attack of the Clyde Kicker. That’s 3.6% for 300m, and is only about 10m in total elevation. But it’s a leg snapper, or a lung buster, as you have to not only stick with the pack, but hang on as the faster guys build up acceleration on the short descent, and then it’s into two smaller rollers.
I struggled on lap 1, having to put in an out of the saddle burst just to get on the last wheel in the pack.
You’re not fully done with the climbing, as a last little lift awaits about 500m from the start / finish line.
And then it’s time to rinse and repeat.
It was as though the front of the pack had been playing with us, though.
Already stretched, it felt like we had been given a taster of what was to come, not the full main course. I was just glad to still be with the bunch, though I’d seen several other green dots fall off the back even on lap 1.
Lap 2 was pretty much a repeat of lap 1 for me. I put in a solid effort for the Clyde Kicker, but it was never enough. The pack would then stream on, and I’d have to dig deep to find a wheel. It was very obvious the pace was beyond my ability, and it was only in the lulls before the kicker on each lap that I had managed to get back on.
The problem there is that it was in those moments the front of the pack were resting. I got no rest. And then bam, back onto the Kicker.
Lap 3 finished me off.
I ended up about where I thought I would. Somewhere between laps 2 and 4 would see me out of it. Can’t say I was surprised.
From there I tried to hang on with another isolated racer, but he proved beyond me even and I was dropped by him even with my use of the feather.
In fact, I got pretty lucky with power ups on this one. I got a feather every lap, and I held it for the kicker. It didn’t do much, but it was better than not having it.
Finally on Lap 5 I had something to do.
I could see a couple of guys behind me, slowly gaining on me each lap. I’d been a bit chatty and before I knew it, one of the pair were reeling me in. 10 seconds isn’t much of a gap, and before I knew, it was down to 7. I’d given the Clyde Kicker a somewhat lacking effort on lap 5, not through choice but through ability and remaining reserves.
As I came down towards the last kilometre, I was being caught. Fast.
It was only because of that, not wanting to concede that all elusive 52nd spot, that I put in perhaps my biggest stint of the race, holding on to 4.5w/kg for longer than was probably sensible in order to see him off.
Heart rate be damned.
Anyway, I finished strong. And wet.
Glad it was over. I think that must be the end of the Race The Worlds series now. Not absolutely sure, but at a guess.
I’m glad to be on rest day tomorrow though. It’s been a mentally taxing day and I’m ready for bath then bed.
