Alex's Latest Installment

Well the worlds training camp is on us!! The last two weeks have passed somewhat uneventfully from a training perspective, however the races have been quite interesting. Two weeks ago I travelled over into Lithuania for a 3-day race. The overall attracted a prize of about $400aus, so it could have been a big payout if the 3 races all went well.....


It didn't at all, and I was out of the GC race after a DNF in the first race. I was riding fast and orienteering well but 3/4 of the way through the 1 hour race I changed gear and the rear derailleur exploded. In the same ride I managed to snag my bars on a sapling, fall and shred my nix too......not happy Jan!!! I then had to pull a few strings to get a replacement and organise a Yeti hanger couriered from Spoke(n).
The other race was a marathon, but it was flat with a lot of bitumen and puddles. Our lead vehicle was a 4wd, which handily managed to spread muddy water all over the road just in time for us to ride through. Both Adrian Jackson and myself made the lead group of 4, but as one of them was an ex-pro roadie (who'd in the past won the Tour of Poland and a stage of the Dauphine Libere) he easily won the kick for the line. I had felt bad all day so 4th was a good result for me. We're now in a classy hotel (not!) in Nova Kaletka fine-tuning our navigation. Finished in white and mission brown its a communist classic. The champs themselves start on Monday, so I'll update once we've a few results to show.