Just a quick update, as today was a rather important little race... the Commonwealth Games :)
Chris attacked off the gun, which was as expected. Then we were a chase group of 5 riders with Liam, Oli, Sid and Seamus. Surprisingly, Kabush was off the back. I made a few efforts to break up the group, but the course was so fast that it was like a road race and I was not going anywhere. There were also so many hair-pin corners, meaning constant accelerations. Chris was around 1 min ahead, holding a very good tempo. After half the race Oli picked up the pace and things started to heat up. My legs were starting to suffer, but I was still feeling comfortable and riding smooth. Then with 3 (of 8) laps to go they picked up the pace again and I cracked badly. I just ran out of accelerations!
I suffered alone for 2 laps before regaining my rhythm on the final lap. I managed to pick up a dead looking Sid and just before the finish got close to a blown Chris, but didn't catch him. So my place was 5th, in around 2.15hrs... a very long race considering 30d+ heat and the course.
Up front the Brits stole the show with Liam and Oli taking 1st and 2nd respectively. Seamus McGrath from Canada took 3rd.
So that's that. This course was always going to be a huge challenge for me to do well on. I'm certainly a bit bummed not to win a medal, but happy that my legs felt so good on the first few laps. It shows that the speed work I've done has been working. So, now a few days to relax, then onto Curacao to see my team again!