Cycling Criterium

well, a bit absent from posting...

I continue to alternate running with cycling, trying to rump up the running in distance and intensity, but keeping the fun of the cycling training.

So Sunday I lined up for a cycling criterium race.

Once I arrived at the site in the Yuen Long Industrial Area, my first reaction was to turn back and go home: the race was a 800m loop in a narrow road, with slippery surface because of the rain during the night.

I imagined it would have been a carnage, if 50 riders would try to sprint together in those corners...

My fear was also confirmed by early crashes in the opening junior race... so, I felt really doubtful whether to start, especially because I had not been training too much in the past weeks and it did not make sense to risk a crash...

Anyway I also spotted that in reality all the youth races were decided very early, with a early break up of the group and then few racers fighting for the top spots...

So I lined up at the start and kicked off very hard from the start... I was always in the top 3-4 positions and making several attacks.

As expected, after only few laps, we were only 6 left in front and there was a gap behind us. We cooperate quite decently and the break become larger and larger.

With us, there was obviously "monster" John T, the most amazing rider I have ever met: at 46, he scores countless victories in Elite races around Asia. A real monster, so I felt already with zero chance of winning the Master40 category...

Anyway the laps went by quite quickly and we really upped the pace for the last 2 laps. I tried to help a teammate to take a gap, but he was caught very soon.

At the sprint, I was quite cooked up already and I really missed the right moment to launch the sprint. So I was 6th overall and 3rdMaster which was really satisfactory...

I was able to "do the race" and place myself in the right breakaway.., despite the approximative training.

My good streak in cycling races continue... it is really going much better than my expectations

Here a nice photo in the height of the action of our breakaway (I am the last one....)