Aussie Nationals and Tour Down Under 2008
Aussie Nationals and Tour Down Under 2008
Last week, sunday january 13th, I took part in the Aussie national
championships in Ballarat, about 100 km from Melbourne, Victoria. I
was surprised that I was allowed to start there but because I
could, I stayed in Bendigo with the Dempster family after the
Baycrits series. There I trained with local riders Tom Southam and
Darren Lapthorne (Aussie national champion 2007) in preparation for
the race.
It was very hot there (most days over 40 degrees centigrade) but
that was better than the rain that had been falling for weeks in
Bundaberg, where I rent a house.
The race itself was very hard. It was held on a course of 10 km
with a climb of 3km, then a flat part of another 3 km and after
that a descent of about 4 km to the finish line.We had to do this
course 16 times for a total of about 160 km. The only thing is I
didn't exactly make it that far. In the Baycrits series I was
actually feeling pretty good but a criterium is a bit different
than a real climbers race. In the first part of the race I was
still feeling pretty good but after a little while I felt it was
not going to be my race, my legs just blocked up. This happens more
often in the start of the season but of course I would have rather
had this not being the case during this race.
After the Aussie nationals I flew back to Bundaberg and after a few
days training there, Aaron and me flew to Adelaide on thursday to
really start our season. We have been here in the Hilton hotel in
the centre of Adelaide now for about 2 days and training here is
going alright. The weather is very nice with about 32 degrees
centigrade and sun, so it's not too hot. Tomorrow it starts with a
criterium of 50 kilometers in Glenelg, the expensive beach suburb
of Adelaide. This is not more than a prologue though, a sort of one
day race, which doesn't count towards the overall classification.
On monday we have a restday but on tuesday it really starts.
I'll keep you informed about the race.
See ya Koen