BONJOUR EUROPE, GOODBYE US

So I have just returned from my whirl wind trip across the world to France where i was able to catch 3 days of the Track World Championships. The primary reason for the trip was to support Kate in her quest for a world title but it was also an opportunity for me to learn a little about a country and continent i know nothing about.

The city for the worlds was Bordeaux. A beautiful town south west of Paris which is based along a river. The city itself is highly famous for its wine and while that is one such pleasure i passed on, i did get to soak up the atmosphere of some of the little villages where the production is at its peak. I flew in on Friday and was able to spend an afternoon with Kate before here points race. She was a bit down after a less than perfect day in the pursuit and i took it upon myself to try and repair some of the damage. Though she is not one to make excuses, she was suffering from a pretty nasty case of the flu. Despite this her performance in the points was one she should have been happy with. Despite missing a medal she put in a solid ride to finish in 5th. The scratch was equally as frustrating for her as the pursuit and also frustrating to watch as a spectator. Eventually it was just agreed that it would be put down as a bad week and something to improve on for next year. The remainder of the Australian team also struggled to back up from their efforts at the Comm Games, with exception to the teams pursuit who put in, what i considered to be, the best race of the meet to win the world title. Awesome effort boys.

Monday was a day i got to spend looking around town with my girl. We had a great day, despite the fact that the town was lacking its usual atmosphere due to the public holiday. It was however a fantastic day of sight seeing and just general wandering. It was a great finish to a short trip which also included a nice river side dinner with Kate and her parents following the racing on the Sunday night. The following morning we had to tear ourselves away from one yet again and go our seperate ways. It is only 3 weeks, however, until we are reunited when Kate flys into the US to spend some time with me and the team. It is a trip that i am looking forward to with great anticipation because it should serve as a good filling to the middle of both of our seasons.

So now i have returned to Georgia to continue my preparations for the upcoming criterium series. Its still 10 days away, however and the team is suffering from a severe lack of racing. We are considering a 6hr drive this weekend just to get in a race before we start in Athens Twilight next weekend. The tour of Georgia TT comes within 1km of where we are staying here tomorrow, so i have scheduled in some time to cheer on Menzies as he passes by. Looking forward to getting back into my stride and hitting the racing scene again.

I hope everyone is well at home and all around places that i have been. Keep in touch and hopefully keep an eye out for some good results in the coming weeks.

Rich