giant cup report

Day One: i saw A-kai go with another guy after about two kms and decided i'd best go too, then it was me, A-kai, a giant guy and another guy. we went hard and had 35 secs in one lap, so we were really moving... i don't know if the bunch just let us go or if they couldn't follow, but we never really put in a massive attack, we just sort of - went.

with 20km to go A-kai came through quite fast 3 or 4 times but not a real attack, he was just testing everyone's legs i think. i saw the other 2 were tiring so i attacked after A-kai had swung off the front but, fair play to him, he got back on my wheel.

and then it was just me and A-kai. even though it's a race, it's always a pleasure to be rolling along at high speeds with a strong rider, no chatting, just hammering, great stuff...

with about 7km to go i attacked him really hard, into the wind - full attack for about 400m, i was sprinting all the way, i got about 8 metres on him but he held it, neither gaining or falling away. i was going full power, i didn't have that extra 2% to step it up and break him. or maybe i did and he was equal to it...

he's an impressive rider - good legs and strong mentally too - most riders crack in that sort of situation, when you can't gain on someone who has attacked you, but he just kept going. and when i slowed a little he came up to me and then he attacked me, so that was another 500m of lung-busting effort straight after the first!

i caught him without too much trouble but as we were both gasping for breath there was no chance of another attack just then. we decided to work together til the last 3km, then i sat behind him all the way - it was like track sprinting. i think we had a minute on the bunch with 3km to go but at the end it was down to about 10 seconds! i attacked him 300m out but he was straight on me, then he came past for the win.

chris said later:

"did i tell you he's a sprinter?""...

"er, no..."

"oh..."

i havnet really got a sprint so, i was there for the taking really. on the day i couldn't really have done more to drop him, we were very evenly matched apart from him having a superior sprint.

Day 2:

then the hill climb, that was weird, it was over in a second. well, 5mins 39secs to be truthful, but you now what i mean. 2km! what's the point? (says the guy who didn't win...)

i felt great on it, which was a real suprise because i haven't been doing any real hill repeats or anything for a while. but i just didn't get the chance to take it all in, my form, the gradient, to get a rythm or anything. when A-kai attacked i thought it was too soon, and then - "wow, is that the finishing banner?!" - the race is over!

but again, he's a good rider, as were the other 2 ahead of me on the climb, 2 of the best climbers in taiwan, so......................

well i'm looking for positives but 4TH SUCKS! as does 2ND for that matter. and i have to wait a whole year to get revenge...!

haha! i'm becoming a well-balanced athlete - a chip on each shoulder... but as ever, losing is the great motivator, so better go get back on the bike...

cheers for reading,

lee