On-it at Palace

I am quite thankful to have taken today off, because I feel totally wrecked; last night at Palace was very hard indeed.

It has been a while since I have raced at Palace. Despite the successes I've had since my last outing at the circuit, I was still a bit anxious before the race; Crystal Palace is a special circuit that demands respect. Add that to a restless sleep the night before and too much coffee to try to compensate, I wasn't feeling my best.

My goal for the race was simple enough: stay in the pack until the finish, the "stretch target" being to contest the sprint. I wanted to race aggressively and test myself. Having ridden 98km solo in a sportive on Sunday in 3:18 and having recovered well, I was feeling confident to try shaping the race a bit rather than just hanging on.

The race was quick right from the start with a lot of jostling for track space. It was probably the second lap when a Dynamo rider made an attack on the hill - seeing he was getting clear, I decided to join him. It was clear he was a strong rider and working together we stayed away for three laps. That said, we both soon realised we were killing ourselves with little chance of staying away, so we rolled back into the group.

I stayed pretty much at the front of the group from then on. When the E/1/2 groups came by, the front of our group splintered with a few attacks, but none came to much and despite a few breakaways (some that I got into), the group remained together for the final sprint.

I was sitting pretty at the front for the women's bell lap, two before ours, but at the start of our penultimate lap the pace increased and I found myself uncomfortably in the middle running into the sprint. Boxed-in I had nowhere to go; the riders ahead started sitting down well before the line. In all honesty through, my legs were pretty cooked by this stage so not sure how much difference this would have made.

All in all a great evening. I am thoroughly knackered through, but it was well worth it to tick the "goal achieved" box. The last race of the year is next week, I just hope the weather is as glorious as it was last night.

"Beautiful Panorama"

I don't like racing in the rain. Something about my physiology doesn't agree with the chilling effect of a soaking shower. Perhaps it is my African blood? All I know is I don't dig it. Which is why I decided that, with the possibility of a shower, arm and legwarmers would be a good idea.

At the start of the race, it was just spitting down and, if anything it stopped after the first lap or two. Initially I felt wooden, probably a result of being stuck in the car all week, but after a few minutes I was loosening up nicely. There were two Primes, the first very early on. I placed myself nicely and going up the hill it was a three horse race between (club-mate) Nick and a dude on a Cannondale. Towards the line Nick fell back and Cannon and I fought it out to the line. Near the crest he kicked; I was able to match it but not get ahead. There wasn't much in it, but for a Prime there is no prize for 2nd.

After that I still felt racy and, like last week, immediately got stuck back in at the front. Then it started to rain; initially fairly light but it built up to a fair battering. My legs started to tense up; I was thankful for the warmers. I fought off the cramps but once I'd got over it I was out of touch with the group.

I contemplated just packing it in, but knew I'd hate myself for it so decided to chase, come what may. Fortunately the rain was slowing the group a bit, so after about three hard laps I was back in it. Back in the shelter of the group I was able to get my breath back and after a lap or two got myself back to the front.

Just about at that point an attack was pulling a gap and a quickly a few riders started giving chase - I put on a spurt and got onto the back. I was happily following Nick's wheel into the first right-hander of the lower complex when my front wheel felt loose. I adjusted my line to correct it, but now I was on a trajectory that would involve foliage. From where I was sitting, it also seemed that tightening my line would have inevitably meant a face plant. I chose the former, aiming for the softest looking greenery.

I'd been carrying a lot of momentum, so found myself lodged deep in the very prickly scrub. Carefully I tried to extricate myself and the bike while avoiding further stinging from the bushes. Another rider had come off in sympathy, and so we rode back together to the start to rejoin after our lap out.

Back in the group and with four laps to go I was keen to make amends, but my rear wheel was feeling very slippy in the corners - I thought I'd picked up a puncture through my misadventure. Reluctantly, I stopped to check it out. It wasn't soft, but the edges were covered in a slick layer of mud. Too late now, I'd lost touch.

So a bit of a bummer, but the good bits felt good. My next race will probably Palace on Tuesday, I'm looking forward. Sun please!