European Masters Track - Quantitive easing

3Km Pursuit :- Two days later after Points race success I had a chance to redeem my problematic British Masters ride in the individual pursuit, a hiccup at the start meant a disappointing 6th place so here I would be paying particular attention to every detail, I was riding the same bike I finished the Elmet 12 (the spare) kitted out with a 97" gear (up from 94" at Newport)
The European Championship run with a qualifying round and the top two ride for the Gold and the next two ride for the Bronze, I was against Steve Clayton in my round with two heats remaining I needed to be the fastest for the chance to be in the top four. The start went without a hitch and I settled into my ride, the first kilometer is just a waiting process but as you enter the half way your legs tighten and the result of keeping the revs per minute at 110 begins to make the pressure inside your head build up as your back arches to support the force of your legs through an arc of ever increasing pain. By the time you are in the last few laps the burning pain is only held at bay by the memory of all those sessions on the turbo that push you to the point of collapse.
I had glanced across the track and saw I had my opponent at a couple of seconds but was unable to 'lift it' any more on the final laps as my legs were blocked by the sudden and increasing pain so my effort finishes on the gun but I had no more to give. My time a PB 3:41:751 I'd snuck in ahead of French rider Sylvan Abadie 3:41:838 from the previous heat and I could only afford to be beaten by three of the final four. Both the British Champion Peter Ettles and Alistair Taylor (2nd at Newport) were faster with 3:35:786 and 3:40:702 respectively so it would be the Bronze ride off if I beat one of the final heat, World Champion Claus Christiansen came home 2nd fastest 3:37:906 but Ian Greenstreet (3rd at Newport) could only manage 7th so I had another chance to get a medal.
The final was in the evening so I went back to the flat where I was staying (Thanks Kelda!) to do some stretching and have a sleep, all the while coughing and re-living my ride thinking how I could improve the second needed to beat my opponent. Track racing is a series of races done on fitness but also pent-up and nerve jangling energy, I was able to ride the Points race with luck and skill but here in the physical desert that is pursuiting, nowhere to hide, the bleached effort of a pursuit is not mental it is just the physical sensation of effort stripped away so that it burns until your body is a husk, building yourself up for another effort is the skill, push away the pain and the doubt, encourage your mind to think that it wasn't so bad, settle in for another voyage to the surface of the sun.
It comes around soon enough, I'm up in the trap with the countdown from 10 seconds, 3, 2, 1, GO another safe start, already I feel better with the blank wood of the track passing under my wheels, the black line pulling me forward and my breathing dominating my senses. It is close, I do not have anybody 'walking the line' so I do not know if I am up or down, it is close, I glance across I know we are close. For the final laps I am able to pick up the pace, my rev counter is not working so I just go for it, as much as my body will take, the bell for the final lap ring together, still too close to call, right to the line with a lunge at the line and the guns go off together. I almost come a cropper as I go over the foam blocks into the banking but it is over and my body relaxes a bit, its all over
When the result shows I am not crushed, I had no more to give, I ride over and congratulate the Alistair the winner, he had gone a second slower but crucially I had not gone faster. A mere 27:1000th of a second had split our efforts, not more than a foot in it at the end after a joust at 35mph with the track stopping us from coming together. The positions from last year were reversed in the ride off for Gold, Ettles the Champion in a new European record time (3:35:483) and although Christensen had pushed the Scottish rider he faded in the last kilometer to finish just under two seconds behind
Victory ceremony for the Pursuit

I felt I'd made some amends for my ride at Newport and 4th place is the worst place to finish but I had Gold under my pillow and that makes failure a bit easier to swallow. I missed the final days racing where I could have ridden the Brain Cossavella scratch race on the Saturday in favour of heading out the next morning at 4.30am in search of a fast Pennine CC '50' on the Yorkshire Dishforth course. A promising day blew up into a bit of a storm and I rode like a 'bag of spanners' to finish just inside two hours, event was won by Joel Wainman (Team Swift) who I'd narrowly beaten in the Elmet a mere seven days before, I suppose something had to give I was a bit of a physical wreck in the race and the tough conditions just served to expose my frailty with no inner power to 'boss' the tough conditions. Track racing on top of the mental stress of the 12 Hr. I was in need of a break.