Champion Rhône Alpes - Track

The last time I updated my blog was ages ago but I have now, finally, found the time do so.

I have done four big races and some little ones.

The first big race was the international event called the “Trophee Gaby Coche”. I was selected to be part of the Rhône-Alpes team. It was my first selection for them so I did not want to disappoint. I was doing the endurance events (the points, scratch and Madison race).

The points race went badly wrong. I was in “against time” which means I was doing everything at the wrong time. I felt strong but I was so nervous that I didn’t do well. The next race was the scratch race and I finally was able to get my game back up and running. I came 2^nd behind a guy from the French national team. It was a great race to watch, apparently. The whole team was happy with me and more importantly I was happy. Then, the Madison. The guy who I was with had never done one before so it was scary. I don’t know what place we came but we were with the best guys. Every time it was my turn I had to catch up what my teammate had lost. But in the end we finished and managed to get a couple of points.

The week after, there was the second manche (round) of the French inter-regions. It was such a week end. The race was over 2 days. The weather was horrible and the course was so hard. If you saw the second last stage of the Giro d’Italia, my race was the exact replica. The first day was a hard 75km. There were 3 hills; the first one we were on little tiny roads and we were flying up it. The second one was 3km long and averaged around 15% with the last 300m at 18%. During that hill someone in front of me moved out suddenly and I bashed my wheel on his back derailleur. I did the last 20km with a loopsy wheel.  From there I was in the front group and there was one guy ahead. It was a long fast downhill to the last climb. The last climb was long and hard. There were only 10 of us left with 3km to go. It came down to a sort of uphill sprint. I came 3^rd out of the group and 4^th overall. The next day, it was chucking it down from start to finish and it was 6°C. At one point in the rain it might have even started snowing but I was too cold to care. I stayed in the front group until there were little attacks one by one. In the end 4 guys got away and I found myself in the second group with 10km to go and the hardest hill to come. The last hill felt like trying to cycle up a wall. Little tiny roads up to the finish with a hard percentage. It came down to another uphill finish with 6 of us. I came 2^nd in the group and 6^th in the etape. Overall place in the 2 days I came 3^rd.

I am champion of Rhône-Alpes on the track at the scratch and the Madison. The track which we raced on is an outside 250m track and it feels like a BMX track. Normally the championships should have taken place over 2 days but it was raining on the first day so they reported some of the races to the next day. The first race was the points race. I was unlucky because some guy who no one knows gets a lap and cleans up 10 points. Whilst I was attacking, attacking and attacking to stop him from getting the lap. I was also getting all the second place points. In the end I came second because he did get a lap and was awfully lucky. I was so disappointed. In the only two races remaining I did what I went there to do and that was win.