Race day for Flanders started with a cold, foggy morning that turned into a nice day.  I have to say that I am always torn about the weather.  I know it is always better for me and my team if the race is hard. And one way to make it hard is to have bad weather.  On the other hand, it was certainly safer with dry roads, and my fingers could still function after an hour of racing!

My goal for the race was to do everything that Eva and Trixie needed me to do.  I really wanted to help them to the podium.  I kept myself near the front and with any splits for the first bunch of the race.  I wanted to be with the first onto the Molenberg and all the stone sections, because those are danger areas for the breaks to go.  I think I did a good job.  Eventually, the race settled down, and it was really just a long set up to the Muur.  Too easy, but hindsght is always 20/20, eh?  When we were about 3-5km away from it, the race got really fast.  Just like a leadout for a sprint... Pushing, shoving, repositioning...crazy stuff... Anyway, as we were going into the bottom of the climb, I found Eva and tried to take her toward the front, at least to help her hold position.  That was a big effort, but I still thought I would be able to ride back up to the front split on “The Muur.”  The Muur is steep...with stones...and lots of people...and where the winning move almost always goes.   I can't say that I noticed anything specific as I was working and suffering, but I did manage to use it to make contact with the tail end of the front bunch at the top.  Yeah.  Then just after this moment, I had just enough of a hesitation with my gears to make a new gap for me to close going down.  Doh.  And I should have been able to overcome this, but those few seconds got me.  I didn't have the legs to close the gap, and instead, I dangled all alone about 5-10 seconds behind the front group. I was drilling it with every last energy molecule I had, but unfortunately, so was Cervelo with 4 on the front of the group I was chasing.  I only lasted about 4 more km... I blew up on the Bosberg, watched them ride away, and promptly went backwards to the next group.  My day was done.  Trixie and Eva struggled in the finish, but the others were too good on that day anyway.

The next day we raced the Dottignies Grand Prix, a relatively flat 126km race on and around the little roads of Dottignies, Belgium.  My goal was to race hard to try to get someone up the road.  And wow... The SRM file confirmed that I did race hard.  Mission accomplished...Money in the bank for me, and Trixie up the road with two others to make the podium.

Directly after the race we drove about 350km to a small town called Dwingeloo, in the Drenthe region of Holland.  I am at a hotel here with my team until Monday, when I will move to the next hotel.  I do not have a base this year... :(

We've got a full Dutch race on Friday... Flat...wind...200 riders...which means survival and speed for me.  And then, Novilon on Saturday and the Drenthe World Cup on Monday.  Both of those will be long (140km) with multiple sections of 3-5km serious stones, (ie they've probably been around since Caesar,) and some circuits around the Vamberg.  Good, hard racing... I hope to contribute a bunch.

I'll write again next week.  Happy Easter in the meantime.

Best,

Amber