On the weekend of September 19-20, the Euskadi Adaptive Cycling Championship was held in the towns of Andoain and Zarautz. After the Jerez test my feelings were better and I wanted to do well.
Technical route since each lap had two 180 degree turns. You must reduce your speed a lot, take the fast curve avoiding making a straight turn and come out strong to launch the handbike.
I started strong, breaking my watts record of the year (I have gained 4 kilos this summer and it shows in my arms). I maintained a high intensity, regulating in the 2nd lap to finish giving it my all in the last lap.
I finished 2nd, just 5 seconds behind the winner, the Frenchman Yannick Le Graet, (a high-level handbiker who has won the Bira de Bilbao in the MH3 category and with whom he competed in World Cup events). I was not satisfied with the result but my feelings were not bad for the route.
The start was slow, I took the lead and pulled on it for the first kilometers to take down a rival but I was not very effective, 5 runners stood out from the rest.
After the bell that indicated the last lap, I took charge, watching in the rearview mirror for possible attacks to react in time. I wanted to attack and change pace but I had learned the lesson from Jerez (not to attack from too far away). Furthermore, the terrain was not very favorable due to the low gradient, and without a doubt, the rivals were strong enough to respond without problems to changes of pace. . .
I tried it after the attack by a Frenchman. I sought to take advantage of his efforts to launch a second dry attack, I was not able to open the distance but it caused an opponent to fall away from the group.
We were still 4 in the lead. Draw the penultimate roundabout in first position. I proposed the end of the race: “arrive at the last roundabout in first position, start first and open a gap to sprint hard since we were 350 meters from the finish line.”
As we approached the finish line, the pace accelerated, I was in 2 positions, with 1 km left to go. When there were 100 meters left to go through the finish line without having gone through the last roundabout, it was a full-fledged sprint. “The end is before the roundabout” I thought and we all sprinted.
I crossed the finish line in 3 positions. I congratulated the winner, the Frenchman who won the time trial and the second place finisher and continued pedaling for a warm-up lap. I traced the missing roundabout and crossed the finish line again, traveling the 8 km of the circuit.
Upon returning, I asked about the finish line and they told me that there had been a misinterpretation about the location of the finish line. We should have completed the return, tracing the missing roundabout. My surprise was that they declared me the winner of the XII Euskadi Adaptive Cycling Championship in the MH3 handbike category.
My joy was contained. Not everyone understood the situation and the saddest thing is to think that I knew and didn’t say anything. You learn from everything and surely next time we will all ask where the race ends.
I will return as many times as I can to this test, for the environment, the commitment to disability and the magnificent organization, THANK YOU.
