Yes, there was an angry mob of juniors at the Debaets-Devos, but the most upset junior wasn't upset with the race officials- this junior was angry at himself. Let's just face it- I had a horrible day of racing. I was quickly shucked off thr back of the Cat 4 peleton, only to watch Alexey win a prime and finish with the pack.
I was so upset that I went OTF in the junior race, exploding out of the starting line. Rudy bridged up to me and then gapped me on the corner. By the time we got to the hill, Alexey, Joe, Vince, Joey, Rem, and Eddie had returned to the lead group. Maybe two minutes later, Alexey and Rudy went on the attack. I started to pull the peleton back, thought better of it, and gestured for Joe to come through, saying "Be my guest". Joe, remembering Allen Park, led the chase. I made the dumb mistake of going to the back of the pack, so when Joe dropped majority of the pelton, I was in big trouble. Joe bridged up to Alexey and Rudy, while I just couldn't close the gap. Eddie and Rem bridged up to me, and I pulledthem around for the next fifteen minutes until Eddie attacked me savagely. What the pizza?!?!? Why is my own teammate attacking me??? Rem was unbelievable. Even when I cranked it up to 300 watts, Rem stayed glued to my wheel.
It was just Rem and me, and we were going for fifth place. There was some major confusion on the last lap. We were really on the second to last lap, but the officials didn't know that. Thus Rem and I both weren't sprinting on what was "actually" the last lap. Rem was ahead of me when we crossed the line, so he got fifth and I got sixth. You can only imagine how livid I was. I seriously considered throwing my bike in grass, but thought better of it. I was SO ticked off. All I had wanted was something positive, something to make my racing season something to be proud of, something to remember fondly when I'm looking back on the 2008 racing season. I wanted to end the season on a good note, but guess what, I failed miserably. I cannot express how upset I am right now.
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2 comments:
Bike Boy,
Don't sweat it. Seriously. As a junior racer (mostly MTB) I experienced a lot of the same frustration as you. What I've found is that, even though you race with other juniors, you can't compare yourself to them too closely because everyone develops differently. The guys who beat you when you're 14 will be nowhere to be seen when you're 21. An 18-year-old can have the development of a 26-year-old, but compete against other 18-year-olds who have the development of a 16-year-old. As a junior, you're going to have absolutely horrible races sometimes. It's unavoidable.
Additionally, you've started soccer practices, which means less time to ride. It makes more of a difference than you think. I also learned that when I tried to run cross-country in high school and still race bikes.
Keep at it, dude. You had an awesome season this year. Keep the blog updates coming.
Brendan
James,
Glad you held back and didn't toss the bike. That speaks for your sportsmanship and integrity. From reading your blog, I know you've had your series of finishes which were always one place behind what you wanted. Know that even though you haven't done as well as you liked, you've inspired me like crazy to ride more. Let me know when you're doing another TT practice.
Kyle
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