As we’re getting ready to drive west towards the Volta Rioja I realize I never put in anything about last weekend’s French Cup races. An interesting weekend for me on all counts. Last week I spent much of the week working on the issues with my adductors. Deep, deep tissue work, ultrasound, stretching, ice/heat, and rest. I only did one ride over 1.5 hours and after the load of racing and volume that the body is used to my body was in for a shock on Saturday.
Finistere starts from the gun, like most French Cups and I surprisingly felt pretty good. I’d covered a few moves and started thinking that I might be able to form a little group up the early slopes of a few K climb. Well, formed that little group and then the legs puffed up, locked up and I promptly went from the group straight back through the pack, and straight back through the caravan. I couldn’t even hang on to the slipstream of a car, or 25 of them. The legs were blocked beyond anything I’ve ever experienced. A combo of the deep work and little time on the bike did me in. An interesting lesson for sure. Sunday at Tro-Bro Leon? Felt great.
Tro-Bro is Brittany’s version of Roubaix. 24 sections of dirt/cobbled/gravel road on the rolling and windy roads of extreme western France. I’d never realized what a stunning part of the world the coasline of brittany is and wow… We had a few sections that followed the coast road and the scenery was unreal. A rocky coastline, but softened by years of hammering seas, water the color of the carribean and white sands; incredible contrasts. The race once again started from the gun and other than one long ill fated breakaway it was a race mainly ridden from the front with riders slowly splitting off the back because of the terrain and wind. A tough day. By the end we were all caked in dirt and feelin’ pretty hard. The finish group was about 40 guys and we had 3 of us there but a near stack coming to the line with 150 to go knocked us out of a position to contend. ugh. How it goes I guess.
We’re now headed west, a roughly 5 hour drive, to the hills of Rioja and a 3 day stage race there. It’s been a while since we’ve raced in spain and the change of pace will be a good one. Not long however - on Tuesday we’re up to Germany and then back to Belgium Busy times.
