Im not sure who took this one.
The team before the start.
Dan and AJ loking good at the start.
Today was the final stage of the Hex, a 48km XC stage comprising of 2 start laps then 5 full laps. There were a few technical bits and it was fairly muddy but it was still a pretty quick track. The pace on the start laps was really quick and i was well positioned for most of it but stupidily slipped back a little before the first single track. I got caught in a bit of traffic, and lost the contact with the lead bunch. Nick and i found ourselves well back in the pack and had to work hard to make up time. With a decent amount of single trail, we were able to use it to make time each lap. By the start of the last lap we were inside the top 20, Nick went on to get 15th, but i was fading a little and held on for 19th. The good news of the day was that Dellys put heaps of time into Laurence Leboucher to steal the leaders jersey on the last day. That is a great result for Del and hopefully will give her some good confidence for Bejing. Good luck Del and Dan!
Overall, i am really happy with my first hexagonal. I definately feel like i improved thoughout the week. The highlight of the race was definately the Montmartre stage. It was really cool to launch down steep stair cases in front of a big frech crowd. Also there were plenty of Aussie tourists that felt obliged to cher us on.
Another cool thing that i will remember was on the first XC stage, the track went past some back yards and each lap there was an old couple out in their yard cheering us on from the back fence. When i arrived there on the last lap after it had started to pour with rain, i didnt see them. Then when i got closer i heard a banging noise and "allez allez allez". The old lady had gone inside and got a big pot and was banging on it with a wooden spoon from under her verandah. It so cool to see that sort of passion for cycling.
I am really keen now for the world cup in Canberra. Im looking forward to riding rocks again.
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