12.10.08 - Feeling Stiff at Hakodateyama
This was the location of my first ever race in Japan. Hakodateyama was foggy and windy last time. But apart from the mud in practice the day before, it was nice, dry and sunny on race day. Having not raced since my trip back to Australia 6 weeks ago, my legs were feeling stale. But most riders were in the same situation. It seemed everyone was hanging out to see what their form was like, especially with the last series race being on next weekend. The Asian Championships are also this month in Nepal.
With rigid forks to help on the climbs, the bike was feeling good. But my legs were sluggish and breathing rate high. As with last time, Onodera led the race out and I followed. In the first lap everyone was tossling for positions, trying to find a rythm. By lap two Tsujura took the lean with Takeya, then Yamamoto, then Onodera, me, then Takenouchi. Throughout the race you could see everyone was hurting on this circuit. It's just non-stop pedalling and barely any fun. The one singletrack in it lasts about 20 seconds.
With the track being so straight forward, it was hard to make mistakes. Although patches of mud from the week's rain made for some fun cornering at times. The race felt like a time trial though, so pacing was important. Basically, I just kept pushing through the pain, trying to do consistent laps. The key was to 'open it up' for next week, while not overdoing it. In the end the positions stayed about the same, but I moved up to 4th. Missing out on a podium wasn't good, but it went well enough to give me good hopes for next week's final in Sena.
