Well that was hard my lungs now hurt and my legs are like jelly!

I knew my first races weren't going to be easy, the racing here is much more full on even with the old guys, and only having raced three times this year, two of which were handicaps, I knew it was going to be uncomfortable. It was! I probably didn't do myself any favour's going on the attack after only half a lap had gone by, but it seemed like a good idea at the time. I was always going to struggle I think but that ensured the pain was going to come sooner rather than later. The course wasn't flat at all, more tilted, downhill one side, uphill the other side, probably nothing worse that 3% for about 1000 metres through the finish, tough enough coming out of a slow corner with attacks each lap. There was a fast downhill into a narrow almost dead turn which was pretty tricky, I managed to get it sideways on one lap which had the riders behind me squeaking, but I only did it the once.

By the end of the first lap we were down to only eight riders with only four really contributing, I was going through just to make sure the rest of the race didn't come back, I was really looking for a few steady laps to try and get my lungs back inside my chest!!! The racing here is just effort after effort, nothing steady about it all. The eight split into two fours, I was in the second four and to be honest happy enough with that if we were going to just keep it going, unfortunately the other (younger) race came up at that point going 5kph faster and the pain just got worse. They did take us up to the other four but after that I lost the plot completely, by halfway I was in survive if I could mode,I wasn't doing anything to contribute to the race just following wheels. However it wasn't all bad, I definitely had all the attributes needed and I'm fast, what I couldn't do is keep doing it for the whole race, hopefully that will come as I do more races, I think it will take a few though but I did enjoy it while I was mixing it, I wouldn't enjoy just sitting on the back. I'm battered now, lying on my bed watching Le Tour.