2013 Wrap Up

Yesterday, the selection for the CX Junior World Championships team was made... I received an email letting me know I am not on the team. That was a huge blow. I am a last year Junior and one of my biggest goals last year (after narrowly missing the team selection for Worlds) was to make it this year. I didn't think it would be an issue, after all, I was going to be way stronger and a bunch of people would graduate out of the Junior ranks. The competition this year however was, while not as fast with Logan and Curtis gone, much tighter. There was 8 Juniors who could all beat each other on any given day! When it's so tight, any mistake made is compounded a thousand-fold. I can tell you exactly what my "deadly mistake" was...one moment in time where I did something almost insignificantly wrong.

It was at 7:30 or so in the morning, dark, wet, and in Belgium (Namur specifically). The last World Cup I attended and the only one where I raced with a full team of Americans. Also, arguably the best race course for me. It was a very high pressure scenario, I was nervous and excited to prove myself. While getting dressed for pre-riding the still dark race course, I placed my race gloves (since the ones I used to pre-ride would be wet and unusable) on my chair, and then set my back pack on top of them, distracted by getting my bike, and dialing the pressure. When I returned to warm up, I could NOT find my gloves for the life of me! It was frustrating, but I thought little of it. The temp was relatively warm, besides, my priority was to get on my bike and warm up.

 "Okay" you might say, "You forgot your gloves and your hands got a little cold for 40 minutes. What's the big deal?" Well...in the race on the first lap, I had someone take out my front wheel in a slow corner and I caught myself on my hands. No big deal, just a small bobble, it was a slow section so I wasn't losing places...but wait, now my hands are muddy and I keep slipping off the bars! I try to fling the mud of my hands or wipe it off but a slimy film remains. If I had gloves on my grip would be just fine but without my hands were ready to slip out. A few minutes later am going down the steepest, gnarliest drop off on the course when my hands slip out, I flip over the bars, land on my shoulder and...well you know the rest.

Not only did that ruin the best opportunity I had to get a qualifying result (top fifteen would be an automatic, I had been closing in on that result at Koksijde 21st and this course was far better for me). It was such a nasty injury that my back was out of place for the next few days, even with the help of a really good Physical Therapist, so my immune system was really weak. After two good races at Beernem and Loenhout (I had good days there but Beernem was a small race with only a handful of the Americans present and Loenhout was a pure power course with almost nothing technical) I started to feel a little sick. I woke up the morning of Diegem full on sick. I opted not to race, hoping to get better for Baal. Still sick. I came home doing everything possible to get better for Nationals. Still sick.

So yeah, there is my three paragraph long rant on how a tiny little mistake during the important part of the season can blow out of proportion and cause real damage. Now that I have gotten my frustrations out of the way, I've been doing a lot of reflecting. It's amazing how easy it is to get caught up in that final objective. Win the race, make the team, get the time gap...You can't be an elite level cyclist without a very high objective-based drive. The ability to put it all on the line when it counts. The self destructive paradox of that requirement that plays one of the biggest factors in weeding out potential professionals is that you become so emotionally attached to that outcome. However you don't always achieve it! In fact, most of the time you fail. So somehow, you have to care so much that you sacrifice blood, sweat, and tears to work for that high goal and improve yourself, but if you don't make it you have to keep going like it didn't even phase you. As if you had some type of short term memory loss. Charge like a Berserker, get knocked down, get right back up again. And again. And again. And again. And again. So a very common syndrome is to not see what you've done, only what you couldn't do. Now past that, I can see I've gotten do so much!

I've trained in Arizona

 Raced in New York

Photo Cred; Antoine Bécotte

Raced in New Mexico

Raced in Iowa, Minnesota, and Colorado

 Finally won State TT champions

Snake Alley Photo credit Kevin O'Neill

 

Raced in New Mexico

Photo Cred; Matthew Pastick

Wisconsin, and Illinois.

 Spent a lot of time with my great friend and team mate Gavin in a couple different Countries.

we got to ride the KoppenBurg and a bunch of the Tour of Flanders route...

  

Maybe a little to much time...

And even got to win a race together!

 

 Trained in Montana at the USA Devo Camp

 Podium-ed at the Short and Fat and a MN Highschool MTB race...

Raced in Rhode Island...

I did two trips to Europe and raced three world Cups, (Valkenburg, Koksijde, and Namur)

Three SuperPrestiges, Four Bposts, Two Soudal Classics, and a Race in Germany!

I got to Race on the Koppenburg!

I endured Jaarmarketcross, the muddiest, wettest, slogfest of a race I have ever done.

Rode the sand dunes of Zonhoven

 

I had the best host family, the Segers!

EuroCxCamp Xl

 I had a great time going to EuroCross Camp again and got to meet Sven Nys!

Making new friends in other countries...

 

 ... and exploring a different world with Dad. 

 Ultimately, I did more than I could express here. Many of my experiences will live on in my memory, not through photos. One thing is for sure, I have a lot of stories to tell my grandchildren some day!

... and the best is yet to come.

 It really had been a spectacular year full of amazing experiences. I can't believe I received  enough support from everyone to do these incredible things... From the bottom of my heart, thank you to EVERYONE who bought a T-shirt, donated, and donated on my GoFundMe.  

Thank you so much to my parents for being my biggest supporters!

Thank you John Haley for putting everything together and making it an amazing 'Cross season!

Met dank aan Tom voor het houden van ons van te verdwalen en het helpen in de pitlane en Inne, Britt en Tim Segers omdat hij een geweldige gastgezin!

Dank u Britt en Sharon Debeyne voor het zijn mijn soigneur!

Dank u Sylvie Eckhout en Sharon Debeyne voor juichen me op de race!

 

  Thank you HED Cycling, Apex Physical Therapy, Challenge tires, Enzo's Cycling Products, Lazer Helmets, Cuore of Switzerland, Honey Stinger the Thirsty Pagan, the Skihut, Twin ports bike shop, Focus Bikes, The Bonebell, BeRealSports. Vo2 Multisport, and Dakota Valley Oral. 

I'm looking forward to next year already, but for now it's time to rest up for a few days and then start training! 

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Diary for CyclingNews

Read it at CyclingNews or here on my blog!

Josey Weik on his second year at the EuroCrossCamp

For me, this year's EuroCrossCamp was about doing Belgian races, where I knew what to expect. Until now, every course I had done on my past two trips was a brand new experience. I didn't know what to expect around the next corner. This time, I knew Namur would be crazy technical, Loenhout would be a tractor pull and Beernem has a dangerously tight start. Now I could apply what I had learned last year to both the races and the lifestyle in general.
When I arrived, I was greeted by a warm and sunny Belgium. I had come from temperatures of around -20 degrees F, so it was practically tropical and riding outside felt great. The first few days in Belgium were relaxing.
Three days into the trip was the Namur World Cup. This was my favorite race last year. With its insane drops and brutal uphills, it really is a primal course that favors a rider who can handle their bike and the pain that comes along with such an intense race. I made sure everything was in line for me to have a perfect race. Pre-race meal, check. Pre-ride, check. Warm up, check.
The thing with 'cross, though, is that any control you think you have over the outcome of a race is usually an illusion. Immediately off the start there was a large crash that I got caught behind and, just as I was starting to recover from it, I went over the bars and crashed really hard on my shoulder. I had to ride the rest of the race with one arm until I was pulled.
A few days later, all the EuroCrossCamp kids and I had the honor of a Q & A session with the world champion Sven Nys. Meeting him in person was a great experience and we all got to ask, arguably, the greatest cyclo-cross racer of all time any question we wanted. He is the embodiment of a true champion. Confident, Humble, and disciplined. I learned a lot from him in just half an hour. A big thanks goes out to Geoff for arranging this and Sven for taking the time out of a very busy schedule to talk to a bunch of aspiring American kids.
It didn't take me long to recover from my Namur crash and, just a few days later, I was ready to go at it again in Beernem. It's a local race, smaller and not UCI registered, so it's not limited by any safety constraints. As a result, the course is dangerous. Right after a really long and fast start, you are constricted into a two-meter wide alleyway. There are several high speed corners where you will go into the creek if you don't make the corner, and various rocks and roots strewn about the course just waiting to give you a flat. It's a fun race though, and I had a good time placing 11th.
The next race on the schedule was Loenhout or, as I like to call it, the tractor pull with whoops thrown in. I feel like this adequately sums up the entire course. It's not a well suited race for me, but I still had a decent day and pulled a 23rd.
I was supposed to race Diegem, one of my favorites. It's a super cool course with lots of climbing and unique features. Alas, I woke with a sore throat. I went to the race course to see if I could still race, but could barely breathe in the pre-ride. I decided to opt out and try to get healthy for the last race in Baal.
Despite some disappointments, EuroCrossCamp has been a lot of fun and a great learning experience. It's an honor to attend this camp once again. Thank you so much to all the staff for making it smooth and hitch free. Thank you also goes to each and every person who made it possible for me to attend.

From around the web

'Cross the Pond VII: Namur World Cup & Meeting Sven!

Here is my article for CycloCross Magazine published on Tuesday, December 24th 2013.

CYCLOCROSS Magazine LINK

This is my 3rd trip in Belgium to race Cyclocross, and this place continues to throw curve balls at me. Last year I attended EuroCrossCamp as a rookie to the ways of Belgian racing and the camp taught me more than can be expressed in this post. My most recent trip was much longer and the opportunities to learn were even more so. As I said however, Belgium Cyclcross will always throw you a curve ball whether or not you're prepared.

I've been looking forward to Namur all season, especially since it was a Wold Cup for juniors this year and out of all the 'Cross courses I have done this is my favorite. Almost all Belgian courses are infamously brutal but Namur is, to quote Sven Nys himself, "Something special". It is a course so hard Sven regards it with wary respect, so hard that it pushes the limits of a sport that is about pushing limits. Why? well for one it only has two directions, straight up or straight down. Second there is very few places on the course where you aren't going all out. Thirdly the mud takes away what little control you have on the sheer drop-offs and off-cambers. And finally Namur boasts one of the longest and steepest run ups in 'Cross just to makes sure you're hurting enough. Doing EuroCamp for the second time is a great opportunity for me to do Belgian courses that I am familiar with. It is a big difference jumping on a course knowing what to expect, especially when what you expect is insanity on and off the bike.

The morning of Namur Geoff woke Gavin, Lance, Cooper, Peter, Austin, and myself up at 5:15 in order to make the half hour drive over to the course in time for pre-riding and warm up for our 10:00 race. Of course in Belgium, the sun doesn't rise until about 8:00, so we were pre-riding in the dark. Other than a few switch-backs added in and thinner, more slippery mud the course was pretty much the same as last year. It was really fun doing the course and being able to feel how much I have improved. both technically and physically from last year.

There was a rather large pile up just 100 meters into the race that affected all of the American juniors, some worse than others with Cooper getting the worst of it, breaking his front wheel. After being delayed for an agonizingly long ten seconds, I started to work my way back up through the ranks, going back and forth with my team mate Gavin. Two and a half laps in I was getting back in my groove other and picking off riders bit by bit when I made that one tiny mistake. A rider swept out my front wheel and I caught myself on my hands for a nice covering of slick mud... instead of wiping it off on my shorts, I shook the bulk of it off and resumed racing normally, leaving a slippery film on my hands. a few minutes later I took the same risky line down an already steep and dangerous hill that I had both laps before, only this time my hands slipped off my drops, throwing my weight forward violently and catapulting me into a front flip from which I land my left shoulder blade straight onto a root. I rolled several times down the hill bruising and cutting up my legs.

After the initial shock of the pain, my first thought was to grab my bike and pull it out any oncoming riders who might hit it and crash as well. Then I moved my shoulder and felt that something was definitely out of place. I moved my arm around to make sure that nothing was broken, jumped on my bike, and started riding the course with one arm on the bars and the other on my chest. It was one of the more painful races of my life and I'll be the first one to admit I cried a bit... but dropping out of a World cup willingly was out of the question. I made it till one to go before the officials pulled me.

On a much brighter note, today all the EuroCrossCamp kids and I had the honor of getting a Q & A session with the world champion Sven Nys. Meeting him in person was a great experience and all of of got to ask arguably the greatest 'Cross racer of all time any question we wanted. He is the embodiment of a true champion. Confident, Humble, and disciplined... I learned a lot from him in just half an hour. Big thanks goes out to Geoff for arranging this and Sven for taking the time out of a very busy schedule to talk to a bunch of aspiring American kids.

Despite the nasty crash (which I am healing up from very fast) ruining what would have been a great race for me, I feel more motivated than ever and very happy to be here. I will return to the next race, hungry for more...

A Look Back, Koksijde 'Cross the pond VI

It's a beautiful, snowy day here in Minnesota. As I reflect on my trip to Europe, my 6 week stay in Europe was concluded by staying a week longer than Gavin and Dad, and attending the Koksijde World Cup.

Set on a air force base hugging the North Sea coast, this course boasts long stretches of deep, beach-quality sand dunes spread across climbs, descents, endless off-cambers and 180 degree turns. When the weather is dry the sand is loose and deep, causing ruts that change without notice, stopping wheels cold and bucking riders. When it’s wet, the sand clumps together, sucking energy out of your legs. Regardless, Koksijde provides racers with one of the most technically difficult courses on the world circuit. There is nothing like this in the US, it's a Belgian centric course that is often described as a "specialist course" so I was happy about having one of my better races at 21st. It must be all the snow riding I do in Minnesota. 

Now I'm back in home training in the sub zero temperatures. Gearing up for my next adventure in Belgium, as I have received the honor of being selected for the prestigious eurocrosscamp. This is a very expensive trip, so any help by donating or buying a T-shirt is really appreciated!

Thanks so much to the Segers family for being my everything over in Europe and hosting me for two weeks. You guys are the best! Thanks to RedZone Cycling for all the support this year, and huge thanks to the sponsors who have made this trip possible for Gavin and I. Lastly, thanks to all those who have and are yet to donate.

Descending the dunes Photo credit Jack Chevell

Not everything was sand, the rest of the course was dry and fast Photo credit Patricia Cristens

Hassalt Bpost & Asper-Gavere Superprestige 'Cross the pond V

This was one those weekends where I just couldn't wait to race! I learned a lot of lessons from Jaarmarketcross and was super excited to apply them in another race. Not only that, but both courses looked super fun (in a twisted sort of way).

Saturday was Hassalt and on account of it being a "long" drive at a hour and a half away (man I'm getting spoiled, it will be hard to go back to the US) Dad, Gavin, and I got up bright and early at 6:30am. That might not sound like much, but it feels way earlier in Belgium on account of it not getting light out until 8:00am. We hit a few unexpected snags and left about twenty minutes late so as a result I only had one lap to pre ride.

Photo Credit; cyclephotos.co.uk

Of all the courses to only have one lap to pre ride, this was not a good one. It was certainly not the hilliest course, definitely not the muddiest, nor the most unique. No, Hassalt is simply dangerous and lets you know right off the bat with a 180 degree corner on tar with painted cross walks right at the start. Then after just a few short straights and the first sandpit, the tightest, most technical section of the course is thrown at you. This might not sound like much, but let me tell you, 50 juniors within a minute of starting squeezed into a tight track is quite dangerous as almost anything goes in Belgium. Hassalt then throws its ace of spades at you. This ditch.
There is no "safe" way across this ditch. It's so wide running is almost more dangerous than riding. The first time across it in pre ride, I hopped it, but my back wheel slammed into the edge. I rode it again, and still my wheel slammed into it. Time was running out so it was time to move on. After that there was a few more sketchy aspects, like a corner with wet roots all over it and a set of logs that look deceptively hoppable but ground so spongy in between most everyone who tried ended up face planting into the mud.

I was pretty nervous at the start. I didn't have the course dialed in, couldn't decide whether or not to hop the ditch, wasn't sure how moving up would be possible in such a tight start, and that 180 corner was incredibly dangerous on cross tires. However, I then proceeded to have my best race yet in Europe.

I found that while the sand was ride able, I was able to pass more people running it when they inevitably messed up in front of me. Photo Credit; Patricia Cristens.

I had an okay start, there was some severe bottleneck through the tight twisty section and was forced to stop for a few seconds in places. I hopped the ditch on the first lap, but slammed my wheel super hard on edge and decided to run it for the rest of the race. The brakes on my carbon wheels were not good enough for such a twisty course, so I pitted at my first chance in favor of Ardennes. Then it was just throttle wide open and go!

Throughout the race I tried many different lines, perfecting the course throughout the race. Each lap felt faster than the previous. With two laps to go I was in 17th place, catching Gavin's group of 14th, 15th, and 16th just seconds ahead when disaster struck.

After running over the logs while putting my bike down I noticed my rear wheel wouldn't move, the chain was stuck in between my frame and little chain ring! I tried to get the chain out while running, but couldn't and started running for the pits. By the time I got a bike change I was back in the late twenties. Also, this bike had the carbon wheels with less than desirable braking and I had to relearn the course. A few minutes later Gavin had even worse luck and I saw him on the side of the course trying to put his pedal back on.

In those last two laps I worked my way all the way back up to the group of 17th. Coming around on of the final corners I opted to run around it instead of ride (fatigue has a funny way of affecting your decision making skills) and my small gap was lost. I finished 20th (out of 50) in a four way sprint for 17th, less than a minute out of the top ten.

Despite being so close to a top fifteen, possibly even a top ten, I was just happy at the finish. For the first time yet this year, I only made one or two mistakes, and if it hadn't been for a very unlucky mechanical that would have shown on paper.

With such a great race at Hassalt, I was ready to have another great race at Asper-Gavere. Alas, it was not to be. The course was amazing, if you weren't going straight down you were going straight up. It wasn't perfect for me as the day of the race it turned into a nightmarish peanut butter-like mud that made it nearly impossible to ride any of the uphills on the course. Still, with the sheer physical and technical difficulty of the course it was looking like a good day for me.

I'll cut to the chase. This start was particularly long and fast, and right before it turned to dirt there was a quick right-left. As we hit said corner in the race, going very fast, one of the kids in front of me slipped out, hit the ground hard and then proceeded to get run over by several people. I got out of the mass pile up unscathed physically, but not mentally. Through out most of the race I just wasn't all there. I couldn't focus and kept failing at routine tasks that usually are not a problem. I was scared, and just kept playing the image of that kid getting run over again and again in my head.

the super tricky uphill. Photo credit; Inne Segers

Needless to say, I had a terrible race. With to laps to go I started to shake it off and race properly, but while riding really close to the course tape I caught my shifter on a wooden post which swung me around and slammed my stomach in to the post so hard I stopped by the medical tent afterwards to make sure I didn't have any internal injuries. I finished 29th place.

It was a weekend of ups and downs and I'm determined to end my trip here on the highest note yet Saturday at the legendary Koksijde World Cup. 

Despite some frustrations, I had so much fun this weekend and am very thankful for the privilege to race such legendary courses! I can not thank all those who have supported me enough.

 Thank you HED Cycling, Apex Physical Therapy, Challenge tires, Enzo's Cycling Products, Lazer Helmets, Cuore of Switzerland, Honey Stinger the Thirsty Pagan, the Skihut, Focus Bikes, and last but not least, Thank you to each and every person who has so generously supported me in the past  or recently by donating and/or buying a t-shirt. Without you, I wouldn't be able to do this.

GGEW 'Cross Cup & Soudel Neil, 'Cross the pond IV.

This past weekend I had the wonderful opportunity of going to Germany, to race. The intent behind this was to get UCI points. Dad and I packed up the car and left Saturday morning. Besides riding into Germany a few weeks ago while at the USA house, this was my first time in the country. I had not anticipated how beautiful it would be! Flanders has it's own rugged -yet quaint- aura to it's hills and forests... Germany oozes grandoise with hidden valleys, forest, and real elevation change.

We arrived at the course saturday evening and I did a few laps to get a feel for the course, see where the lines were and what-not. Unfortunetly, this pre ride became a moot point as it rained all night... but I'm getting ahead of myself. That night we stayed at very nice hotel and had a good night's sleep, which isn't especially hard when you don't have to race until 13:20 and are ten kilometers away from the race venue.

Once arrived at the course Sunday morning, it had completely changed. In tire tread jargon, it went from a Challenge Fango, debating if one could get away with even a Chicane, to an unquestionable Limus. It was raining really hard there was standing water, and just a few degrees above freezing... needless to say these are some of the coldest possible conditions for a Cyclocross race. So I hopped on the course to take a look at what had and had not changed. The start straight was long, paved, and slightly uphill which fed into the separate finish line, directly after it went slightly downhill, turned to bricks, and took a left hand greater than 180 degree corner. After which it quickly turned right (still on bricks) into a flight of concrete stairs. This already looks like a formula for disaster (something like Rain + bricks + cyclists going fast on mud tires = high likliehood of crashes) but it gets better. Or worse depending on your perspective. After the flight of stairs the course follows a paved town street so you can build up your speed... and then goes down a flight of stairs. Yes you read that right, not up, down.

They have boards on them so it's sort of okay

After going down the stairs you feed into the grass and the rest of the course simply switchbacks back and forth across a very muddy field with a set of barriers thrown in here, going up a ditch there, Ectcetera. After preriding I was very wet so finding shelter underneath a tent with Jonathon Page to warm up was life saving.

JP and I warming up

 

I finished 7th out of 25 starters. It was dissapointing to not get any UCI points, especially with being so close to the podium... (10 seconds back entering the final lap) I was in touch of fifth place the entire race and screwed up on the last lap, (flipping on the barriers... fatigue has a funny way of messing up your judgment) in the end though, this race was about learning, not results. Initial disappointment in my result allowed me to take a step back and remember why I love riding and racing bike. It's not for a virtual point, or a number on a results sheet, or even success itself.
I love racing because it pushes me to better myself in every possible way to get that extra second.
I love Cyclocross because it's raw, primal, and rewards the tough people.
I love getting a result not for the result itself, but for it to embody all the hard work, difficult lessons, and teaching that had to come together to create that moment.
I love Cycling because it gives me freedom and the opportunity to explore the world.

Apparently it took something really painful like that result for me to learn my lesson because the next day at Soudal Neil was a blast! Dad and I drove back to the Chainstay Sunday night, got all of our equipment and clothes ready, got some sleep, and left for Neil at 8am Monday morning. Once arrived at the race venue Gavin and I immediately jumped on the course to pre-ride. It consisted of lots of tar, more running, and even more mud. 

Gavin and I. Photo Credit; Inne Segers

Pretty much my entire race experience was fun... I was much more motivated, focused, and relaxed. I had a great race. It was a small field, only about 20 juniors, but many of them had placed top ten in the Superprestiges and Bposts we have been doing. Also every one in the top 5 has actually pulled top 5 results in the other races we have done. The rider who won got away at the start, but by the end of the first lap I was in the chase group. Lap 3 I was driving the group. 
 

Covered in mud. Photo credit; Inne Segers

After reflecting on the race I realize my excitement of finally being at the front battling for the podium led to some poor tactical decisions, namely never letting myself rest on the road sections by driving the pace everywhere. I paid for this on the last lap and lost 4 spots fading from 5th-9th. 

Obviously there there was a little bit of "What if" frustration after the race, it's hard not to when I was battling for the podium at one point in the race. Mostly however, it was a huge confidence booster. I'm ready to rock for Hassalt  and Asper-Gavere.


Big thank you to the always wonderful Segers family for hosting us and taking such wonderful photos! Thank you to my Dad for always being there to help and my Mom for being ever-strong, supportive, and loving... On the team and sponsor side of things, Thank you to John Haley, HED Cycling, Apex Physical Therapy, Challenge tires, Enzo's Cycling Products, Lazer Helmets, Cuore of Switzerland, Honey Stinger the Thirsty Pagan, the Skihut, and Focus Bikes!

'Cross the pond 3; Koppenberg and Zohoven

The legendary Koppenberg... 'Cross race style! For those who don't know, the Koppenberg is a famous Cobblestone climb in the Tour of Flanders that is very steep. Koppenbergcross is a Cyclocross race that goes up part of it and then back down. I pre rode the course a couple of times the week before as it's only 7 kilometers away from the Chainstay. It's not the most technical of courses, however  what it lacks in corners it makes up for in sheer brutality. The start turns off into an extremely muddy feild, then winds through town on roads until it hits the Koppenberg. Half way up the Koppenberg it turns off, then goes downhill. You then turnback up the hill and do a brutal grassy/muddy slog fest back up again. Once at the top, you head down a hill full of switch backs into town and do it all over again.

This time, I had a slightly better starting position. 6th row instead of 9th. My start was also better than usual, by the time we hit the mud I was up in the thirties or twenties. Around the first corner, some one was running and ran into me. His bike got tangled up with mine and by the time I got going again I was back in the sixties. I made my way back up quickly enough, by lap two I was in the thirties. However the course was not technical enough for me to make up a ton of time so I placed 27th.

Zonhoven was two days later, this course was almost as tough as Koppenbergcross, and far more technical. My kind of race. The race was almost entirely sand and a large part of the course dropped into what was basically a sand pit.

My starting position was once again last call up and the start was hard to move up in, but move up I did, slowly but surely. On the second lap I moved into the top thirty. The entire race I could see a big group of riders just a little bit ahead of me, but I was never able to quite catch them. I was in 20th on the last lap, but a bobble cost me a place and I ended up 21st. I was just 36 seconds out of 15th and 1:06 out of the top ten.

Next weekend will be a race in Germany and then back to Belgium for Neil.