I’ve been on a bit of a points hunt this year, trying to bump up my World ranking after I missed out on a lot of points at the back end of 2022. I decided to fit in one more race before the World Champs. I raced in Dornbirn, Austria back in 2020 in what was one of the coldest, muddiest, craziest races I’ve ever done.
This time around the conditions couldn’t have been further apart with a scorching 34 degrees and dusty, dry track. I’d been on a rest week and hadn’t ridden my bike since the Val di Sole World Cup the weekend prior. I got out on course the evening before the race for a couple of late laps and then it was straight back into things the next day.
I had a good start and was reasonably comfortable at the front until I washed my front wheel out on a gravel corner leading into the main climb. I had to get off and change gears higher up my cassette so I could get going again, losing some positions and a bit of rhythm. I gained back a couple of spots but spent the next few laps about 20 secs behind the leader. I was hopeful that as the race went on he would come back to me but I was suffering in the heat and didn’t feel like I had my best legs.
He kept on holding a strong pace and I had to settle for second place in the end. Happy to take a decent points haul and now I can turn my full attention to World Champs in a month’s time.