Ras de Cymru

So it’s all over and the dust has settled. I’ve even been back to work!

I’m pretty sure that when Fabian Cancellara finishes a stage race nobody asks him to clean out a deep fat fryer the next morning! But that is the life I’ve chosen (I am a history graduate, so a job in the service industry was automatically assigned to me upon completion of my studies). Mediocre bike racer by day, miserable kitchen staff by night... I am officially the worst super hero concept in history.

I would like to begin today’s report with an apology. I had hoped that I’d be filling these posts with tales of epic racing and brutal attacking. I’m sure that is happening in the race, but I haven’t seen any. The racing I have seen has been all about survival, about finishing without the offer of any reward. No yellow jersey or applause. Just tired legs and a sore arse.

Today was a big day in the race. Two back to back stages and a whole load of pain!

It was an early rise, followed by an early breakfast and early drive into the Brecon Beacons for the race start. We got there with plenty of time to spare, just as it was starting to rain, again. Wales should invest in an umbrella!

I won’t lie, trying to sleep last night was difficult. I was nervous, anxious about the race, about the time trial, about how much I’d eaten or not eaten, Nervous. When I eventually did get to sleep it felt like a brief second before I was awake again and I was rubbing my eyes on race day.

249. The number of British Cycling points that could sit between two imaginary cyclists lining up side by side for the prologue of a 5 day, 6 stage race around the Welsh countryside. One of only a few chances for the lower categories to try multi day racing in the UK, the glory of the Ras is that literally anybody can ride it. All you need is a BC license, a bicycle and a helmet. Unfortunately that doesn’t mean the race is going to be easy. It’s open to 2nd, 3rd and 4th category riders and that’s where things get complicated.