The course was nice and flat no drags or hills and I could see this would be a super quick course in the right conditions but this morning the stretch heading north was into a slight headwind which kept the average a couple of miles an hour slower than coming back down the other side.
I had a cold this week so my power was down on usual and I really had to push very hard on the pedals to keep the speed high.
First time I was totally prepared for every eventuality with spare tub and co2 ready for any blowouts.
There were quite a few DNS this morning but I still had plenty of people to catch
On the first lap I saw Jon off then at the far North turn I could see I was reeling him in, surely I could get to him by the next roundabout
Then at the next roundabout I couldn't see him so I was sure he was just slightly ahead obscured by the central hedge, but to no avail I kept pushing hard expecting to see Jon up the road but he didn't come just other riders who from afar looked slightly yellow and black but upon reaching them the mirage had faded into a different club kit
After a while I came to the conclusion that Jon must have had a problem so had pulled out. My 5 min 0 man caught me for 5 mins at 30 miles and zoomed past with such power I was blown into the weeds.
The last 10 miles I pushed some big gears and let it all hang out, I knew my time wasn't going to be spectacular but I was determined to get under 2 hours.
I finished with a 1.59.07 bit down on power I reckon today but good to ride a new course Ian Cammish won with a 1.52 so conditions preventing him from getting into the mid 1.40's
Got back to the HQ and no sign of Jon or his car, unfortunately he didn't have the legs today and packed on the first lap, you'll be back Jon
