Last weekend my first racing season as an Under 23 got under way with 2 races in the province of Toledo here in Spain.
Firstly, I had the nostalgia of racing on the same 154km parcours as my two roommates Louis Bilyard and Santiago Cadavid raced on last year and I watched on from subsequently my team car for this year. Unfortunately, we had only 2 riders from Escribano in this race, myself and Javi Sanchez. I went into the race with the intention of just getting stuck in to racing and with the aim of finishing well. Frustratingly I was caught in a big crash at around 50km in. Luckily, I was unhurt coming away with a cut thumb but it was always going to be tough for me to catch back and with many teams using their team cars to drag their riders back and as we didn’t have a team car there, I couldn’t catch back on in time so was out of the race which was annoying but I took the positives from this as my legs felt good and pinning a number on felt good.
The second race was a 125km circuit around the town of Oilas del Rey. Again it was only Javi and myself starting this race and unfortunately Javi had to pull out of the race as he suffered more from the previous day’s crash on the second day. As I was by myself for the most part of the race, I had to just work off of other teams and riders to help me. I made a few tactical mistakes, but I gave it my all and managed to finish in the top 50 which I was pleased with.
I’d like to say a big thank you to Cesar Neira for taking the time to take me to my races and being there for me. Thank you also to Escribano and Pedal Potential for your continued support.
Next week I have my biggest challenge yet so stay tuned for my thoughts on that.
Thanks
Lance
Lance Childs 