It was a bit of a change to race on the Saturday this weekend, what was i going to do with my free Sunday!
Checked out the track on the Friday, was very straight forward and nothing to worry about. Few little hills on the course and a flowing little decent. The weather seemed fairly stable so put the bike to bed and got ready for race day.
Feeling as nervous as ever I was on the start line and ready to go, the bike was great so was focused. The start wasn't as fast as normal but I wasn't concerned as i didn't want to burn out too quickly. Lee Cragie and Jessie shot off and I didn't seem to have the speed to stay with them this time, so i kept pushing and found myself comfortably in 5th. Not feeling threatened I was happy to keep speed and carry it through to the finish... but it wasn't to be... I came down with severe cramp and was forced to get off the bike. I tried everything I could think of to alleviate it but couldn't, I had no choice but to get back on the bike and ride with one leg, I'd only got maybe 800meters left to go but the 1min 30sec gap I held soon disappeared and I got passed by Ruth, as I went for the sprint finish to the line I slipped a gear to top it off! Missed out on the 5th I'd held for the whole race! I was totally gutted.
Now time to have a little rest before the national hill climb championships in October, then hit the winter training on and off road to establish a good base and help to eliminate the cramp issues I've experienced this summer. Looking forward to seeing what i can achieve for next year.
