March recap - 2/2

I didn’t expect to win both my races in March. I hoped for a ‘nice’ result in some races that I wasn’t convinced suited my racing style and continue to build to the next ones.

So to take a win in both Turnhout (Belgium) and 114Gravel (Portugal) is really a nice way to close out the month.

Let’s start with Turnhout.

Turnout, part of the Bolero Gravel Series is an exceptionally flat race, one of the flattest in fact. Held in Belgium the course its 143km with less than 50m elevation over the entire course, which honestly might all have come from the overpass you go over twice…. Last year I did this race and I finished about 8th, coming into the final technical section among age groupers and causing chaos that meant I didn’t contend for the win. I hoped for better this year.

The course was altered, with 2 laps instead of 3, meaning less congestion in some parts, but in particular the final, this was good. They also kept most of the final the same, but with different conditions this year. There was less mud to test your skills, as well as virtually no sand, in a key technical area of last year, this was a shame.

I came into the race I guess with a more attacking mindset and to have fun with it, I hadn’t felt amazing through the week, very tired, especially on my recon day when I didn’t even complete my efforts and took extra rest, so I tried not to overthink the race too much.

I had a few old teammates in the race as well, Kirstie van Haaften (former Parkhotel teammate), Anne Knijnenburg (also former Parkhotel) and Clara Lundmark (former Hess Cycling) and it’s genuinely always nice to see familiar faces. Anne quickly made it clear she wanted to try and get away on lap two, before the ‘muddy’ tree section. I thought this sounded fun, so I gave it a dig in the (last years) sandy section before a single track which would cause chaos chasing behind and when I eventually looked back found we were with three; Anne, Romy Kasper (PAS) and myself.

We immediately worked well together and formed an alliance to stay away. It wasn’t until the final closing km that, unknown to us, a chasing group came back to us with the chasing men with Wendy (PAS) shooting past me with about 600m to go. I quickly reacted to be on her wheel, and knew I needed to lead the final two tight corners before a short sprint the line. If you’re a sprinter, being in second or even third wheel here is okay, if you are not, like me, take the lead.

I managed to hold on and honestly winning from a sprint is a cool feeling, not one I experience so much, that’s 1 from 1.

It was then a quick turnaround and we were off to Portugal/Spain for the next race.

114Gravel - Elvas - Portugal

This was a new race for me this year, and a new country. I love ticking off new countries. Last year I was at the Hills and honestly I still have PTSD from it. I spoke about the mud in Santa Vall this year, but this was so much worse. I also have personal issues with completely trashing all of my equipment in such conditions, but anyway, we are in Spain/Portugal this year.

That’s what makes this race a little more unique, we start in Portugal and end in Spain. That also means we change time zones. Luckily we stayed in Spain which is the hour ahead, so for the start the worst that can happen is that we arrive too early, not too late.

Everyone was talking about this race being very flat, but since last years they added quite some elevation, up from 600m to 1,100m this year across the 135km route with most of this coming in the first 80km.

I was also initially concerned how I was going to approach this race and get away. But as I saw the terrain and the hills I thought I could defiantly use them to my advantage. This race my main competitors that I singled out were Sophie Wright (Ribble) and Romy Kasper (PAS) was here again. There were also wild cards of course, I don’t know everyone.

The first 25km were more on the road, and I had in my mind a point where I wanted to give it a go and see what followed. The first age-grouper men caught us about 5km before this point and it becomes more survival. I positioned myself in the top 3, I really like to see ahead, especially among men who are much bigger than me. We were quickly down to the ‘favourites’ I had picked out.

I was able to follow one of the stronger moves up a climb as the only female and found myself in a group of ten. Some time after a sand section forced me to unclip as a male fell into me, and I wasn’t able to regain contact with them, joining Romy’s group behind. I don’t know if I would have been able to stick with them for the entire course, in the end my group picked up some for the dropped riders from this group in the final 20kms, and probably that would have been me too if I had ridden that in the red all day.

There was definite frustration in our group, as they wouldn’t ride, despite it being their front-men up ahead, yet chasing me down if I attacked and inevitably dragging Romy back to me every time. This is some of the additional tactics that happen in the races where we become mixed in with age groupers.

I eventually managed to get away, and we formed a group of 5 which would almost stay together to the line. I loved the first 80km, the rolling terrain, the scenery, the final 50km, they were pretty brutal. The terrain was rough, a 50mm tire would have better suited in the front that the 45 I was running, but I forgot to pack them (rookie mistake). There has also been a lot of rainfall so a lot of washed out pot-holes which really make being able to ride smooth difficult and make you very tired by the end. Add in a headwind for the final 30kms and I was really happy to see the finish line, albeit I first place again. 2 from 2.

March was a good month, I can only hope my luck continues.