Race Report: Herentals Fietst

Can't remember what I had for breakfast so let's skip straight to the racing. It was my first time racing cobbles. I was confident and ready to roll. I lined up first row and waited for the gun to fire. We were off. Something felt off. I was trying really hard, but it felt like I wasn't going anywhere. I didn't know what to else to do but power through it. 

I spent the first few laps hanging onto the back of the pack for dear life. It was a mess. I didn't feel tired, was it the cobbles? Did I just suck at cobbles? Even the asphalt felt like a challenge. Did I choose the wrong tire pressure? Whatever. Fight harder.

I fought harder and moved up into a better spot. Round and around we went. Over the cobbles, onto the asphalt, I tried to stay toward the front. I just didn't have enough umph to hang off the back anymore. I had to stay toward the front. 

I noticed my tire started to feel squishy. FUUUUUUU a slow leak.. Gosh flammit. I was still rolling, so I decided to keep fighting. Seated power through the cobbles, out of the saddle on the asphalt. Do whatever it takes. Stay up there. 

The big name of the day was Sanne Cant. World Champ CX racer. She was in the same pack, I was expecting her to make a move eventually, but she never did. Some other folks went up the road. No one chased. I decided to stay in the pack where I was. It seemed like a good bet. There were about 4-5 girls up the road. Still space for a top ten finish.

With about 4 laps to go, we were turning on the cobbles and I heard my rim hit the ground. It was a wrap. Not worth destroying my fancy smancy Zipp Wheels over... My race was over.  DNF.