Tour de Bretagne stage 1

For the next 2 weeks I'm guesting for DID Ladies Racing Team at the Tour de Bretagne and Tour Feminin en Limousin. I'm really excited about this opportunity that DID have given me (thanks guys!!) and it will be ace to race as part of a team for the first time.  Big thank you to the team, their sponsor DID Electrical and   Europcar for the car hire in France. This trip is going to be one of many firsts for me, can't wait!!

Stew loading up the team car before we head off. 

So Thursday 11th July, my first UCI race. I'd been out like a light the night before and had a great sleep so was feeling pretty fresh in the morning. Our team meeting the night before had helped to settle the nerves a bit with no pressure and just to see how the legs were in the race. It was such a contrast travelling to the race with the team, eating lunch together and warming up as well. I felt proud rolling down to the start alongside my team mates (Amy, Siobhan, Mel, Mary, Clem) in the DID kit and standing on the podium at sign-on for a few photos. We have such ace support from Stew (DS), Amanda (soigneur) and Caroline (PRO) so everything is taken care of and all we really have to do is concentrate on the racing!

Team DID at the podium presentation before Stage 1. 

Lining up at the start I think nervous excitement sums up the way I was feeling. I tried to just take a few deep breaths and couldn't wait to get started. Riders had started lining up quite early and so after one final obligatory comfort stop, I found myself quite close to the back along with Mel and Mary. As soon as the race went off I managed to move up into the top half of the field. This wasn't all that close to the front though with the 120 riders in the race! Another first being in a race with such a big field!

The race went off quite steady and a few riders tried an early attack. They were brought back in fairly quickly though and the bunch was holding a steady pace. We all had stickers on our top tubes with key points on the parcours. The first of these was the hill prime at 17km. The pace started to ramp up for this and I had to work hard to hold the wheel in front. Getting the first hard effort in the legs in a race always feels better and I could then settle in to holding my position in the bunch and shelter from the wind, something I've been trying to work on. 

The standard of riding was very good and other than a girl sort of jettisoning into a field, there were no real incidents that I knew of. I soon learned that Mary was really good at positioning in the bunch and so I tried to follow her wheel as much I could - thanks Mary! I just remember at one point in the race, maybe around half way, just thinking to myself "I'm racing in France" and having a wee smile to myself. 

After 95km the race went onto a 6km circuit, where we did 5 laps. This wee circuit proved to be hillier than we thought and not long into the first lap around the 100km mark, my legs sort of gave up and lost power so I drifted off the back of the bunch. There were a few others dropping back as well at this point as the pace seemed to ramp up as we hit the circuit.  I ended up in small group to finish off the last few laps and we were picking off a few riders who had been dropped from the main bunch as the final laps counted down. It came down to a sprint within our group at the finish so I thought just one last wee dig and then it's over! The longest race I've ever done at 79 miles and my legs are definitely feeling it. Amanda's magic massage hands sorted out the tightness in my legs after dinner and then it was time for bed.  

I think it was mixed emotions within the team as to how everyone felt about their own performance, but everyone gave it everything they had on the day.  Tomorrow is another day so bring on the individual time trial! 

Cheers,

Jools.