Where's The Finish Line?: Mon premier course en Bretagne

Sam Allen and I, hanging about.

I had my first race here in Brittany on Sunday and it went well. It was a local affair and my team, Hennebont Cyclisme, turned up en masse: I think there were about fifteen of us! Due to this and I suppose it being early season the racing was very intermittent with breaks going and coming back regularly, although a group did form early on and stayed out front for most of the race.

There were several of my teammates in that group so I just sat back and followed a few moves throughout the race. As the group's gap dropped I did get a little excited and spent about 8km off the front on my own, trying to bridge across, although that came to nothing. Eventually the race split and I was in the front as we caught the group up the road, but not before my compatriot Thibault Jeannes had shot off the front. It was a brave but ultimately wise move attacking with 15km to go. He won alone, and I bludgeoned my way off the front with 2km to go to get second, and very nearly caught him. A great day for the team, and the way I felt on the bike was very encouraging for me.