Breakaway
Our day at the track highlighted a couple things for me in terms of racing, both on the track, but especially on the road: not only the need for sheer speed and strength, but also the need for quick thinking and intuition. It’s about spotting the gap and taking it without hesitation.
When my mind turns to tactics I always remember one of the most amazing moves I’ve every seen. I haven’t been following professional racing for very long, so this might not make any top ten lists, but the final kilometers of this year’s Tour de France Stage 18 really got my heart pumping and my mind racing.
Many will remember Sandy Casar as the guy who ran over a dog earlier in the day, but few will forget his winning move. Just inside 3km to go in Stage 18 Sandy Casar came off the back of a four man breakaway to create an immense gap. It seemed in vain as Axel Merckx and the others caught up to Casar with a kilometer to go, but he refused to give up and came across the line with arms raised in victory.
Obviously I’m not trying to report something that happened in the summer as news, but since the winter began I’ve been focusing all my thoughts on training strictly towards fitness (which of course I sorely need). However, now would be a good time to start thinking again not only about racing fast, but racing smart.
