TOP TEN BABY !!!

Just found out i finished 10th today at the Herentals Criterium. Considering there was only one girl behind me at the finish line our peloton got real small by the end. Either way, TOP TEN BABY!!! I'll gladly take it - especially considering i lost a pile of salt to get that result.

Just finished race 1 of 5 this week

Wow, that was a shock. After a tough recovery process from ripping my back muscles 6 weeks ago, having to do intervals again was a fairly unpleasant experience. 

Luckily, as the peloton got smaller and smaller i was able to stay with them. I may not have won the race (as that honor well deservedly went to Kaat Hannes) or even placed second as that went to little miss powerhouse Ellen van Loy. BUT i did finish the race with the group and that was enough to put a smile on my face!

Thanks to all of you who came out to cheer for me!! Ik heb jullie allemaal gehoord!!

Tomorrow's race is Bambrugge - with a hill. I'll be able to see if my legs held onto any climbing form from Tour of Cyprus or Benidorm Training Camp with the BABOCO boys earlier in the year. fingers crossed!

Almost "ready" to race..

I say "ready" because racing is nothing like training. And when all you do is train, it is hard to have an idea how a race will go. The good news is that my injuries appear to be healed and i am back on Coach Elmo's training program putting in lots and lots of hours on the bike in an attempt to get back to where i was a month ago.  Bad news is that Belgium's weather has really sucked lately but even so, i have been showing up outside to do the work so i'm ready to race again.

I have exactly two weeks before i am back at a start line again. Once back, it will be busy, busy, busy - just how i like it.

My next races are:

July 26 Herentals Post-Tour Criterium

July 27  Bambrugge Road Race

July 28  Wolvertem-Meise Post-Tour Criterium

July 29  Haaltert Road Race    

July 31 Kapellen Post-Tour Criterium

If you are wondering what Post-Tour Criteriums are, they are a collection of "show" events held just after the Tour de France to show off the tour riders to the spectators.  They also invite some other folks to attend who are known to the public such as cross racers like Bart Wellens, Tom Meeusen, etc.  For the women, space is also by invitation only so i am lucky enough to be invited to these events.  Hopefully my legs will be in order enough to put on a good show.

As always, thanks for reading and thanks to those who sent me well wishes when i broke myself a month ago!! That really helped a lot for motivation!!