Well what can I say, shit happened. After having a bit of trouble getting a flight up to Wanganui I finally made it on Friday Evening. Saturday morning I hit up the course with the Tasman boys and James Early. I was stoked with the course with some sharp little climbs as well as a good exposed area which I was hoping would be hard with a bit of cross wind.
Spent Saturday arvo soaking in a few racing vibes during the masters and under 19's races.
Rolled on up on Sunday morning feeling both mentally and physically pumped for the 7 lap 154 km race. I was pretty keen to win the Under 23 title for my grandad who passed away a couple of weeks ago. The race started off pretty good for me. A break rolled away early on with only one Under 23 in it (Matt Wheatcroft).
The break got out to about 2 minutes but Subway got forced to chase after Sam Horgan punctured in the break. Another rider who I thought might be a threat (Darcy Ellerm-Norton) Rode across solo which was perfect as both riders would have wasted big energy in the break. About lap 4 Paul Odlin attacked up one of the climbs with Dillon Bennet on his wheel. About 3/4 of the way up D-Buzz couldn't hold Odlin's wheel and I knew he was gonna be suffering on the climbs later on so I made sure I passed him looking strong to demoralise him. The form was there and the climbing legs were there so I knew I was definitely up for the podium.
However, on the 5th lap we had an echelon formed in the crosswind just passed the finish line when a guy on the front of the bunch decided he'd chop the whole echelon. The first few riders managed to get away with a few touched wheels but then someone about 3 wheels behind him stacked it and a few of us went straight over the top. Luckily I ended up in the grass and only twisted my bars and knocked the brakes around a bit. So I got up straight away and chased hard but the bunch was pumping along. I was solo and was never going to bring back the bunch without a motor pace so my race was over. I hard-manned the last 3 laps anyway in the hope some under 23's would blow up and I could pull of a Top 5 or something. In the end I lost 9 minutes to the bunch and finished 6th in Under 23.
So I'm pretty guttered really but that's all part of cycling I guess. At least I know the form was there so I should be flying in the States. And I'm pretty stoked the bike and myself are all good apart from a bit of a knock I took to the left shoulder. But that should be ok in a few days hopefully.
Just want to thank Cassie's Nana and Ash for putting me up for the night. Chris Nick's for sorting out my accommodation on the other nights and prepping me up for Nat's.
Cheers
T.A
