Wakken Kermesse

Today Scott Jackson and I rode 20 k to a kermesse in Wakken. The circuits were 7.3 kilometers long and we were to do 15 laps of them. There were a lot of turns as are common in kermises, and there wasn’t much wind today. Although, it was very hot out, around 95 degrees Fahrenheit. We both only had two bottles for the 110 k race. We got a good starting position on the front line. We spent the first five or so laps never leaving the top 15 and following all moves that appeared dangerous. However, we ended up missing the winning split of about ten riders because two people isn’t really enough to cover a lot of attacks. If we had one or two riders we probably would have had one person make that move. For the rest of the race I ended up conserving energy and following any moves that appeared like they would stick. I really focused on saving energy. I sat down out of corners, spinning, like Brian showed me. I also focussed on being relaxed in the pack riding on the hoods. John Devine told me I need to do that because I am too tense in the group. Scott did pretty much the same thing. 11 laps in they gave our group one lap to go. I just stayed in the top 3-5 the entire last lap biding my time. Scott got in a move of 3 with about three k to go. He ended up attacking that group with about 1k to go. I thought it was going to stick, and I was sitting in good position for the sprint. It appeared like we could get top 2 in our group for top 15 placings, but Scott got caught with about 300 meters to go. I started my sprint with about 250 meters to go and about ten guys passed me. It was weird for me because I am usually a good sprinter, but I guess it is different here because the racing is tougher. I am very satisfied with today. My form is progressing, and I got 90 k of race kilometers in today. Then we ended up riding the twenty kilometers home in the rain, which was much welcome. It was great. I should be rolling well on Saturday for the 19-20 year old Renningelst race.