Clinton Avery Cyclist

Hey All,
Hope all is well. Just thought I would let you know how things have been going and how they are going. I have done 3 races since I talked to you last and 2 of them went well. The 3rd wasn’t so good but that had something to do with racing the day before.

The first race was GP van Geluwe 1.12 and I was told at the beginning of the race that “even though I had to race the next day I was racing to win”. It all went good and they were about 19 riders out of the 220 left with 2 laps to go. It was a hard race with the heat and the wind but I handled it. The only problem for me was, every break I was apart of was brought back. I think too many of the good riders know who I am and were not letting me go anywhere with out them.

Anyway me being the marked man left options open for the rest of the team. The last attack of the day saw 7 riders go away with 3 from the team so I wasn’t going to chase. We still came away with the victory though. It wasn’t me who won but it worked out good for the team. Once they got away I was left keeping the rest of the strong guys neutralised. That became hard work and in the end sprinting for 8th place wasn’t looking inviting so I just rolled in for 12th.

The next day was Oetingen 1.2, with the pros. It was a race I was capable of doing well in with all the cobbles but 170km of hard racing the day before left me swinging after 100km. I was dropped not long after that. The problem I am having with the team at the moment is… They are becoming “Continental” next year and therefor have to drop some riders. If I don’t get a contract I would like to stay with the team. All the directors from the team like me and know what I am capable of and selections for races become arguments on who gets me for their race. Hence 2 big races in a row. I dont want to argue or say no because I want to stay in the good books.

After a couple or recovery rides I raced again, but this time it was just a kermese. Anyway all the big names from kermese racing were there and also a couple from Palmans. It went good with a lot of riding in the gutter with the cross wind. After about 30km it began breaking up into small groups. I was caught in the 3rd group when it happened. While the gaps were small I jumped up to the 2nd group and rode straight past them to the 1st group. It was hard work but I was still in the race. We rolled around and around and slowly the lead group got smaller. With 4 laps to go 2 guys attacked but both had team mates. After a while I realised they were not going to chase so I attacked and bridged across. Again I was marked and because I was there the break was coming back.

The others realised they were being brought back and sat up, but I kept going. Alone. I was kind of hoping a few would come across but they were just happy to work to bring me back. I was caught at the beginning of the last lap. As soon as I was caught 2 others counter attacked. I had nothing to go with it or shut it down so I was hoping the others would do that but they didn’t. they were out to about 20secs so when I recovered enough I attempted to bridge across again, but 2 of them were moving faster then me and kept pulling time. But then both guys were ex Pros. I held of the chases for 3rd place.

Anyway that’s all that’s been happening so far. I have a few more big races over the next few weeks so will keep you posted with how they go.
regards
Clinton Avery

First off I would like to apologise for the delay, I know people have been waiting to find out how my last attempt at Paris-Roubaix went. Too tell you the truth my fingers were too sore and writing emails was not looking attracting. But the easiest way to say that would be I was too lazy.

Anyway my final attempt for U23 paris-roubaix was looking good with those two earlier victories but the team needed me to race a 3 day tour in the Pyrenees, France the weekend before. I didn’t email about it because there wasn’t really much to say and I had other things on my mind. I had to ride for the teams climber so being first for me was the lowest priority. Anyway Yannik (the climber) turned up to the tour with a stomach bug and me being his room mate I ended up with it on the last day. I rode 16km of the last stage, from the start to the hotel. I was soooo crook. The First half of the week leading into Roubaix I was desperately trying to get rid of my crook guts and finally I felt good again on the Thursday. I tried hard not think about the few days where I couldn’t really train and tried to remain positive but I wont lie, the further into the week I got feeling back was making things harder and harder. “Why is it always my turn for something to go wrong when there is something really important coming up?” if any one has that answer please email me and tell me? The main thing was i was feeling 100% by Friday.

The race……… I had a good sleep, I hadn’t thought at all about the earlier few days, and I was amping. Finally the day I had been waiting so patiently for was here. Leading up to the start, if I said I wasn’t nervous I would be lying. I was constantly to and from the toilets, but not from being a little nervous but more I was well hydrated. Thats what I kept telling myself anyway. It was the first time I have actually been nervous for a while. I knew who were the favorites were from the highlighted markings on our teams start list but judging by the huge “!” (explanation mark) my director had drawn next to Taylor Phinney’s name I knew he was a big priority.

The first 50km is just like a normal road race with rolling hills but no cobbles. I knew they would let an early break go but wasn’t at all concerned when it went because all the favorites were still sitting in the peloton. All though I think to bridge to the break wouldn’t be that hard if I needed to. The Peloton was creeping and the break wasn’t taking much time so they cant have been going that fast either. I think in that first 50km I spent a lot of time in my small chainring.

I was expecting shit to hit the fan once we reached the first section of cobbles but it didn’t. And the race never really go hard until the 3rd to last section of cobbles. It was really frustrating but every time we tried to do something about it, it would only last a few minutes and then slow down. Thats all that happened in the first 130km. After that things started heating up a bit which made me happy. Normally at this stage in the race the peloton is 20-30 riders, but this time the peloton was still 60-70. It didn’t take much, all the strong riders went to the front and drove it over the longest section in the race. That made 9 riders left at the front. I WASNT one of them!

By this stage everyone in riding in the dirt on the side of the cobbles and I was a few riders back from where it was splitting. I hit the cobbles as soon as I realised what was happening and rode around the few guys that weren’t fast enough and then back down to the dirt where it was faster. They only had about 20m but I was running out of legs fast trying to catch them, But I did! So did one other guy and that was it race over.

The unfortunate thing was there were 3 guys from one team and 2 guys from another in the front group of 11. They attacked all the way to the finish, and with every gap I had to close or attack I had to shut down, I could feel my sprint getting less and less. Finally we reached the Velodrome and I was saying to myself “one last effort! Com on.” But unfortunately again, It didn’t com on! I stood up to sprint and everything cramped. I mean everything! Fingers, Forearms, quads, calfs. I knew right when I sat back down that it was going to be a repeat sprint of the first year….. SEATED! And seated sprints aren’t that effective. I gave everything I had seated but it was only enough for 7th.

I was SOOOOO disappointed because I knew I was capable of better but the more I looked back at the race the less I can find that would have been better doing differently. I raced the best race I could have but I guess it wasn’t my day to shine and the other 6 riders were better. I caught up with fellow kiwi’s Jesse Sargent and Sam Bewley of trek-Livestrong before the race and they had no idea what they were in for. When I caught up with them after I don’t think they knew what had hit them. Sam comes straight up to me after a performance I did not expect he had in him (16th) for someone who hasn’t ridden cobbles before and said……”That was that hardest thing I EVER done in my life!” I could see on Jesse’s face there was an AAAAAAAAA-MEN! So thats how the day went for me and despite doing everything right it didn’t work out.

I have other things to focus on now so hopefully one of them will work out.
Clinton