Kuurne Brussel kuuren

Following on from my camp in Calpe, I got home and settled in after being away for a long time. This included getting some good nights of rest and getting back into my schedule with school and training. But not for long, as soon I was off to Belgium to do the first race of the year Kerne-Brussel-Kerne. I was nervous, but quietly confident that I could get a decent result in my first ever spring classic.  

 

I flew out on the Wednesday to recon the course and get to grips with the finishing circuit and how I was going to put myself in a position to win. I also studied the course on Google maps which I believe really helps as it put a fresh picture into your mind of the course. I had a few days at the team house with my team-mates, settling in and getting prepared for what was to come on Sunday.  

 

Saturday night approached fast and getting into bed I was nervous after all those months in the winter spent thinking about how much I wanted to race, and it was finally here. At this point in time, there are many questions going through my head – am I fast enough? Am I going to get dropped? 

 

It was 8:00am and it was time to head to the start, so I jumped in the team car, put on my headphones and tried to relax and get some rest. Before I knew it, I was there and getting my kit on. At this point I focus my mind and calm myself down. I head to the start with my team-mates, say good luck to a few friends and off we go. 

 

Early on in the race, there was a very strong break that went off but I missed it as I was too far back and had nowhere to go because I went on a one way street. But lucky for me, later on I went solo to try bridge across to the second group on the road. I was getting closer and very nearly in reach. I looked back and two riders had also got off the bunch trying to chase down the break. So the three of us worked together and got across to the front of the race. The break stayed away for the remaining of the race. I was working well in the group pulling my fair share of turns. We then made it to the finishing circuit. I came across the line 13th. Looking back, for the type of rider that I am, I should have gone for a break in the closing kms but hindsight is easy after the event.  All in all, I was glad to finish in a decent position to start my season and build on.