Back from Spain last week, and straight into the first race of the season today. Cat 4 circuit race, about 30 starters, 1.8km/1.125m circuit. Not an ideal course for me, with a nasty kick up about half way round and a 300m drag up to the finish line. Plus this is easily the most potent Cat4 field I have encountered, with a bunch of strong time trialists and a couple of known cross racers who have decided to go road racing this year and are in this category only because they haven't had any opportunity to acquire British Cycling points on the road.
So, plenty of reasons why a podium finish might be a challenge. Nonetheless, I am in much better shape than I was this time last year so I expect to be able to sit in with the pack and see what emerges as some of the less experienced newcomers go off the back.
What follows is a chastening experience. As usual, everyone goes hell-for-leather from the start, but that's fine, I'm near the front of the group and all is good. The first attack comes half way around the first lap as we hit the sharp climb. As I'd expect, I lose some places there but there are plenty of wheels to latch onto so I'm not concerned, and I make up some of those places on the run down to the bottom of the finishing straight. Still comfortably in touch at the top of the long drag to the finish line.
Lap two, a repeat of the first with the addition that a rider I haven't seen before, probably a newcomer, hits his brakes in front of me approaching a turn, which doesn't help me, forcing me wide and nearly off. One match burned as I sprint to re-establish myself in the bunch and have to work hard to settle back in in the finishing straight. Similar story on lap three, and lap four. By this time the attacks on the short climb are putting me in serious trouble, and when on lap 5 a few of the strongest decide to hit it even harder the field starts to fragment. Effectively the rest of my race is a supra-threshold training ride with a couple of fellow-sufferers.
So what do we learn? Not much that we didn't know already. Need to do more speed work, need to continue losing weight. C'est la guerre.