With the ups and downs come the centers?

Well I got 3rd in a crit last  night, which isnt bad but its not great either. On the bright side I lapped the 100 person field with 3 other guys, and the move that went was the one I started. The race came down to a sprint and I was behind 1st by only half a bike length. Still, I wish I could have pulled out the V.

One good thing I  have found in France is my rabid competitiveness. Racing back in SLC is sometimes hard for me because I like everyone so much. I find it hard to get that competitive rage going, the one where all you want to do is rip the other persons legs off and wave them victoriously as you cross the finish line. It is hard to get angry and that motivated to hurt people that you genuinely like. Here in France I am a totally different racer, full of confidence and a vendetta against anyone who lines up to race with me. Not knowing these riders makes it easy to want to make them suffer as much as I can. Also, I am finally learning how to really make myself suffer and be willing to risk coming in dead last in order to win a race.

Sorry this post is so short, I dont have a lot of time left at the internet bar, and I am stuck up in the grungy, unsavory upstairs half.

Chase

(also, I am sorry for any spelling errors, French spell check is really of no use in English posts…)

A downer post

Well as many have said to me, with the ups come the downs. As I sit here my hip is still throbbing from the road rash and bruise inflicted during Fridays nocturn.

I made the winning break (created it, not just got into it) and with two laps to go Dylan got off the front, countering one of my attacks. The pack simply sat up and he kept gaining distance. A Credit Agricole Rider (club not pro team) tried to attack up to him so I get out of the saddle to get on his wheel. Just then some idiot with his head down nails my left side, and I go down at about 30 mph. No broken bones and the road rash isnt too bad, but god it still hurts. Dylan ended up second when he got Zabel-ed at the line. Never put your arms up if you dont know who is coming!

Sundays race was quite simply a cluster f#ck. No one would let either Dylan or myself gain an inch of road. Marcel got into a break that was absorbed at about 10 K to go. Then the finish distance was not marked, and the advertised length was off by over 9 K. Our entire team was in the middle of the pack when we hit the finish. Roughly half the pack was in the same situation.

Emotion wise the last couple days have been a little rough as well. Having nagging pain to keep you up until the wee hours of the morning, coupled with having been broken up with just over a day before leaving for this trip, do not lead to happy thoughts or memories. I go from being super depressed to being incredibly angry, and it is whacking me out big time. I miss the good times spent together, but at the same time I feel angry and betrayed for how it ended.

Blah, enough about my feelings, on to the happy part of the post!

It looks like I will be back next year! Lionel, our VC Vernon contact, watched me race the crit on Wednesday and was impressed enough to offer me a spot on VC Roen (sp?). I would have a place to stay with Lionel, possibly be given money for living expenses, and races entry provided for me. The stint would also be longer, possibly as long as March to August.

Looks like I have to learn French for real now!
Chase

Oh, almost forgot; upcoming races:

Wednesday: Nocturn in or near Paris

Saturday: Paris-Challette (Sp?). A large prestigeous RR. Eddy Merckx is the guest of honor so I will be going all out!

Sweet retribution

The night crit went very very well. I dont have a ton of time to type but Ill give the best picture I can.

We started the crit around 8:00 PM with roughly a 40 person field. 35 laps of a 1.5 K circuit. I attacked the field on lap 3, which was a prime lap, and just kept going. It took me about 40 minutes before I lapped the field and got back in to help Dylan get as high a place as he could. I had to finish a lap earlier but he was still able to pull off a solid 4th place.

It was cool to actually have a podium, and I got my first flowers and kiss from a podium girl! Hopefully there will be many more of those to come.

This weekend is a 3 stage race. There is supposed to be a team from Japan coming, so it should be interesting. I am shooting for the overall. I will keep you all posted!

Chase

Finally, internet!!!!!!!!!

I feel like im in that South Park episode. Goin down california way tryin to find some internets. That has been the gist of my contact with the world for the last week. So while i still have time at this internet bar I will get to the good stuff (AKA racing reports!)

Saturday: First race and I managed to flat out in the first K. Only spare available was a 9 speed. Thats about it for me. Marcel finished around 25th, Dylan accidentally DNFed by finishing a lap early. There was an ex FDJ doper in our field.

Sunday: I was filled with rage from Saturdays fiasco. Attacked the field on the 2nd lap of 11 and ended up in a two up break. It was raining sideways. Long story short I was the strongest rider in the race (our French Director told us other riders definately took note) yet i flatted out of the break with less than a lap to go. Super pissed off.

One thing to take note of is French riders do not know how to corner or descend. As many of you know my technical skills are not the best, yet in every corner and every descent (im not joking either!) i could put 10 or more bike lengths into other riders.

Okay my time is up! I will continue the blog later today or tomorrow! Tomorrow is a night crit and I am shooting for the win.

Chase

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