EVENT: Olonne-sur-Mer Stage Race - France

Report Provided by SKNT rider David Wiswell who is currently racing the spring season in Europe.

The opening stage was a 140km road race. Some of the teams featured was the Bouygues Telecom development squad, U Nantes Atlantique along with several other very strong French teams.

The stage opened with a flurry of attacks for the first 50km or so until a break of two riders got away. In the final 25km or so the Bouygues Telecom team went to the front to bring the break back in and set up their sprinter. Unfortunately, this did not go exactly as planned and the two riders held on to a slim advantage by the finish. It was a massive sprint for the final podium position. I ended up taking 24th and was 10th on the GC for best young rider.

The following day was broken into two stages, a TTT in the AM and a 115km road race in the afternoon. That day did not turn out as well. I have been experiencing some problems with my right knee and decided it was best to pull out about halfway through the road race. It was a bit frustrating since I was only a minute or so off the race leader, but there are bigger and more important races so I thought it best to rest my knee and get it checked out by a doctor before I pushed things too far.

Otherwise, I am happy with the form, my weight is coming down nicely, and the speed and endurance from all these race miles is starting to really show. Hope everything is going well back in the States and look forward to joining the Team in May.

David

Look for David at U23 Nationals! - Editor