Long Overdue Yarn

So a few weeks have gone by now without an update so here it goes!

Last weekend I had my first taste of the top level of French Junior racing with a Federal Junior race called “Trophee Louison bobet.” We left the Friday before the race at 1 pm an were on our way to Bretagne which is 9 hours away!  After a long nap I woke up to find we are stopping for dinner at a place I think is called FLUNCH which is like a buffet which is great as the team pays and I can eat as much as I want, WIN! A few hours later we arrived at our motel.

Accommodation ( I got the Double) 

On the Saturday we went for an easy spin in the morning which was great as there was no snow around which was is a nice changed from where I live where it has been snowing for the last few weeks (yes the novelty of snow has more than wore off). After that it was a quick lunch then off to have a look the the course and watch some of the elite riders race. It an awesome experience watching top level French racing especially with a fellow Kiwi and former Morteau rider Sean Hambrook getting a top 10 result!

Sunday was race day which started off with a small breakfast by the Hotel which basically consists of crap coffee, breed and some muesli.  The Race was 135 km of rolling hills with 200 starters. The race started with a crazy natural section! Just imagine 200 teenage boys full of energy wanting to get to the front of the race behind a lead car on a one lane road, it is CRAZY! Anyway on with the race and after about 40 km there were only 2 people left from our team in the front bunch which still consisted of about 150 riders a small group rolled off the front. I thought this looked dangerous so I bridged across solo (about 30 second gaps) and once I made it we quickly stretched out to a 1 minute lead which eventually hit 2 minutes 30. The break had about 12 people and once we hit a 2 minute 30 lead they all seemed to slow down so naturally I hit it and ended up solo with 30 km to go. No one came across so I just went for it but was caught 8 km to go and didn't have any energy for the sprint and rolled in 11^th. In hindsight I shouldn't have gone so early and have learnt that racing here is WAY more tactical than back home! None the less was an awesome race and learnt heaps!

Riding solo was a stupid move

In some serious hurt at the finish

After the race it was straight into the car for a long 9 hour journey home. What made the trip even longer was that it was a storm so we had to drive slowly and I had to piss the whole trip which seemed to make time go 10000 times slower. Eventually we got home at 3 am where it pretty much hit the sack straight away.

The next weekend I had a double weekend of racing with a small one in Switzerland on Saturday and a Category 1 race which I was invited to do with the senior club team on Sunday. The week leading up to these racing was uneventful just training and praying that the snow will stop and spring will come! Saturday’s race was very boring as I was told by the team director “do not attack early” which sucked as the early break of course stayed away and won the race with none of our team in the move, GREAT. I just cruised in the bunch doing what I was told and finished mid bunch in the sprint.

   

The next day was a big day and a race I knew I had to do well in to show the club what I can do. The race was a few hours away near Germany called “Tour Du Canton Wittenheim”  It had a field of 160 odd riders with a cool course with 19 laps of a 6.8 km circuit, well it was cool until the third lap then it was just seeing the same roads and streets another 16 times. The weather was really bad with freezing rain pouring down and a high of about 4 degrees! Any way after following all the early moves trying to get into the breakaway nothing worked until a small group of riders got away about 70 km into the race.  By this point I couldn't feel my hands or feet and had to check where my fingers were on my bars to check they were in the right position and they were numb and I couldn't feel a thing! Riders were pulling out with mild hypothermia all race but I was determined to finish. With 8 laps to go I was just counting down the laps hoping I don’t get sick and that I will still be able to brake going into corners by the time the last lap starts. Anyway 3 riders ended up sprinting for the top places up the road and I rolled in 18^th and first Junior (U19) after attempting to lead my team mate Daniel Ellison out. This was by far the coldest race I have done in my life! But thanks to CRAFT clothing for the awsome gloves my hands didn't turn out like Daniels  Daniels hands were blue afterwards which was pretty weird. 

Freeezing Race 

 Was hard to brake with no feeling in my hands!

Back at home now getting heaps of sleep and x box in while it’s snowing outside and defiantly over using the indoor training which at the moment I hate more than anything. The other night we came up with a good idea with the steep as stairs the house has, RACE up them. 

what we do when we are snowed in and bored STAIR RUNNING CHAMPS

It’s very boring here throughout the week so if you want to chat or ask a few questions feel free over Facebook or email me scottambrose021@gmail.com and ill be sure to message you back a.s.a.p.

Next race is a junior one in Switzerland I think that I will post about a lot earlier than these!

Cheers

Scotty