Holla!
Well I had a real fun time in Zwolle, plenty of UK in attendance, about 700 riders for the whole thing, the track had been put into the main hall at the Isstlehallen and was a much better layout than last years, the deal is they keep the dirt year in and year out, but as this was in a bigger hall they ran short. What this meant was an amazing 3 straights and a last straight that felt like you were riding through a Victoria sponge. It sapped your speed and killed the flow, everyone had issues, you know it ain't all that when you see elite riders pumping and pedalling through it!
But the weekend went well for me in general, Saturday i won my motos easy and got a 3rd in the semi behind Marco, it was the first time all weekend that i jumped the big double into the 2nd turn and it felt awesome - i was going to be making that a regular from then on! I ended up with lane 5 in the main, which wasn't great as the previous round winner Ruben Bi Zamble, a French rider that has serious horsepower, a great gate and first straight, was in one, and Remon Brink a consistent Dutch rider in 6.. Not to mention one day specialist Marco Del'losola representing it strong in 7.. I was going to feel the pinch in this one! Turns out i was right although my gate was good i didn't have it to pull ahead and clear got caught in the traffic and swallowed up. I ended up finishing 7th. Ruben took the win with Remon in 2nd with Marco in 3rd.
Day 2 i felt a bit better i had Ruben in my moto and managed 2 great laps to finish just behind him, in my 3rd moto i was feeling good, had a great snap and was level with Ruben into turn 1, it was a little smooth in there and as i turned my front wheel went from under me, i hit the deck pretty hard caused a bit of a pile up and finished last in that moto. I still qualified 3rd and got a decent pick for my semi gate. I had a a good start and Ruben on my inside unclipped, this allowed me to sneak ahead and follow Remon home for a sweet 2nd. In the main i chose lane 1 thinking i'd be able to move over, what actually happened is i missed the gate, panicked and messed up the 1st straight, attempted the 2nd straight doubles with no where near enough speed and managed a good old fashioned rimmer! Oh well, i finished the race in 7th again.
Stoked to be in the main both days though, and stoked to be the one of 2 guys rocking flats, the other guy never made it out of motos although he was a top 3 finisher in last years rounds, guess the DC WH training has been paying off a bit. I need to keep focussed and calm though, and I know i can do better.. It's all in your head.
Mint weekend and good rides from the UK crowd, Lauren made her mains and finished 7th and 8th. Shanaze killed it of course. Joey G rode well but didn't make it out of the motos, a big crash at the St. Ettienne round might have knocked the wind out of her a bit, i know she can ride better than she did, i'm sure she knows it too, kill it at Douai, Joey!
The Taylors performed well, good results from Chloe and Abbie making the mains both days with good finishes and a spot in the main for Dave Taylor too on the Sunday!
Marco one day specialist got a sweet 3rd on the Saturday and Andy Shaw 30+ SE Elite took 4th and 5th.
A super fun weekend, i love how the Dutch roll out a race, a real good vibe and very well organised. Plenty of euro pop/dance/trance/bigfishlittlefish, plenty of Kenny race wear, plenty of clip pedals and shed loads of peculiar Euro warm up techniques!
Hopefully find some pictures soon, there were plenty of flashes going off!
Super tired today, but back in the gym tomorrow morning, all eyes on China!
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