Richard England

Philly…Not the return i was hoping for

// June 16th, 2009 // Uncategorized

So after 4 months of a season spent in the hustle and bustle of Europe, I was excited that me and my team were going to get the opportunity to return to America. Being able to visit Philly again and line up for the 5th time in that race, this year, with a legitimate belief that we had the ability to challenge for the win. Yuri, my massive Ukranian sprinter was coming and although we only were representing with a team of 6 i still felt like we had the core group of guys we needed to get the job done for him.

In the lead up to this race i had certainly put a lot of pressure on myself for a standout performance. Not just because i was returning to the place where my career began and racing against people who i knew well, but because i knew this race better than any other on my squad. Because each and every year i have raced it, i have progressed further and further to doing well and now i finally had a guy that i could put on my back wheel, drop off with 200m to go and know that he would get the job done. If i was not there to fulfil the role that i enjoy so much on this team, then the result would definately be a lot harder to achieve…so the stress and anxiety for me was definately at a premium in the lead up to Sundays big race…

It became obvious fairly quickly that if we were going to do well in Philly then we were going to have to overcome some bad luck and work hard for it. By midway through the race we had already had our entire team on the front at one point to bring back a 20man group, Mamos had hit the deck hard and i was about to do the same. On the decent from the wall a KBS rider blew out his front tire right in front of me…i had no option but to head straight for the concrete barrier at the road side and i connected with some speed, hitting my hip and somehow in the process straining my hamstring…After the chase back to the peleton i looked my director in the eye and told him i would give what i could to make the finish…but to be honest, i was not confident…2 laps later a puncture in a particularly fast portion of the race and then a subsequent dropping of my chain on the wall the last time up saw me have 2 more tough chases to make it back to the pack.

After all the frustration, chasing, bad luck and crashes i was back in the pack and riding the final circuits in the main bunch with energy to spare for a lead out. Something that has changed for me this season, different to previous years is that despite the pain and torture of a race, once i am within striking distance of the finish i am capable of blocking out most of the pain and making sure i am there to deliever Yuri. Mamos, myself and Yuri all managed to get together on the final curcuit and were well prepared and well positioned to do what we have done well this year…work off other trains and drop Yuri off with 200m to go on or close to the front…after 259km of bad luck and hard work we were there…then…bang, crash, boom…a crash directly infront of us gave us little choice but to basically stop and the race was over…

A hard luck story maybe…but that is racing and that is why there is always another one the next week…as disappointed as i was that it panned out in this manner…we were there, we raced well and there was nothing more we could have done….

Onto Nature Valley…and lets try our luck there…new sponsors, fancy lunches and 6 stages in 5 days…